by Crystal Kim
I could start by blaming my parents for not instilling a passion for Halloween costume creativity as a young child. But ultimately, the creative genius of one’s Halloween costume starts and ends with the one wearing the outfit. Every year, there are precisely two thoughts that crop up in my mind when the topic of Halloween is discussed. One is this great desire for my costume to be relevant as well as chic, sexy, smart, and edgy all wrapped up into one. Right on the heels of that thought are reminders that inordinate amounts of candy will be consumed, induce me into a sugar coma and put me into a deep sleep spell long before I have a chance to step out of my front door. This turns into quite the cyclical thought process.
My anxiety towards choosing Halloween costumes has consistently hindered my thorough enjoyment of this holiday. One year I was so overwhelmed that I gave up and wore my middle school sweatshirt to trick or treat with my friends. My neighbors were reluctant to hand me candy and my bag was certainly much lighter at the end of the night. To add to the pressure, members of my family continue to shine brighter than others when it comes to costume picking. As an older sister, it is hard for me to admit that my younger sibling is doing anything better than me. But I have to hand it to my brother, he was crushing the Halloween costume game since I can remember. He consistently won the best costume award throughout elementary school. One year he went as a rock and won. A rock. “He won as a rock…really??” you may ask. “Was it an excellently constructed rock costume at least??” you may also ask. He won with his two friends who collectively made up the rock, paper, scissors shoot trio. It was a glorious Halloween costume triumph that left me sulking in its shadow.
Every year I get overwhelmed with subpar costume ideas that I never act upon. So I usually end up going as a cat. Cat ears, tail, whiskers, done. Out the door. So to be anything besides a cat feels as magnificent as snatching that last KitKat bar from your neighbor’s candy bag. To date, I think my fairy costume gets the top prize for looking like I had some level of commitment to a costume idea. The dollar store had a fairy costume kit for $8.99 and there was only one left in my size. It was meant to be!
Maybe you too get a little stressed out about costumes. And because of a plethora of lukewarm ideas, you too consistently put on cat ears, draw six lines somewhere on your face for cat whiskers and step out for Halloween fun annually. To those like me, I say fuck punny, sexy and smart costumes! If you’re the one to bring the best candy, who cares, right??
Just make this!!
Are more than just costumes stressing you out today? You’re not the only one.
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