All Hallow’s Eve. As a child, it meant dressing up as pretty as you could or as scary as you could. Barbie, Dracula, a ghost, faerie, mummy— it was all for the fun of wearing clothes you didn’t get to wear the rest of the year. As adults, many have progressed beyond “just for the fun of it.” It’s become a time for people to shed their inhibitions (and their clothes) and be as raucous as they can. The manufacturers have taken note and suddenly popular opinion has become the only opinion. Every costume is some form of “Sexy Blank.” Sexy Alice in Wonderland? Sure! Sexy Nun? Go ahead! Sexy Witch? What else could you want?
People censor themselves so much these days that if they are given any sort of chance to unbind, they take it to the limit and beyond. They gorge. It’s like denying yourself food for a day; when you finally allow yourself to eat you feast upon everything you can get your hands on. Once work is over, these people want to shed their stuffy office clothes or their shapeless uniforms and don an outfit that makes them feel vibrant and sexy.
Enter Halloween. I’ve heard Halloween described as a time for people to become someone else, but I don’t believe that is right. I believe Halloween is a time to become yourself even more. Costumes people wear are their way of showcasing their true selves. That’s not to say that what they dress up as is supposed to be a literal vision of who they are inside, but rather that having the costume lets their true personality shine through. It’s a means of having some sort of anonymity in their real-life excursions. Most everyone has a fake persona—the mask they wear in their day-to-day that they feel is presentable. A lot of people have a hard time ever taking that mask off. When Halloween comes, they can change their metaphorical mask for a real one and suddenly they are finally free.
It’s empowering. They can finally unbind from all the restrictions they put upon themselves by simply putting on a costume. However, as aforementioned, these costumes have been taken to the extreme. A simple dress is no longer enough to let loose. It has to a low-cut top and the hem has to hit the upper thigh. If it covers any more skin than that, they might as well still be bound.
It may be that most desire these skimpy costumes, however, there are still plenty of people out there who desire a costume that is dare I say, a little more tasteful? A hemline that reaches the knees and a bust that is fully covered is all they ask for. Halloween is a time for everyone, but these costume manufacturers seem to forget about those that do not want to bare all to all. That is what’s the most concerning.
I understand that popular demand dictates what is available, but in terms of clothing, it would be a lot nicer if all options were covered. Never mind the ghosts and demons and monsters, what frightens me most about Halloween is that we no longer truly have a choice.