It’s officially midterms, the second busiest part of the semester. The extra hours of studying have been wearing me down so much, I’ve neglected one of my most sacred October traditions: I still haven’t figured out what I’m going to be for Halloween this year.
As a resident of the city of Madison, home to one of the craziest Halloween parties known to man, my costume conundrum isn’t acceptable. To many Sconnies, choosing a Halloween costume is more important than deciding on a major. This makes my situation that much more dire. I can’t pull off the “freak” look wearing corduroy pants and a hooded sweatshirt.
Let me go back in time to explain how Halloween has always been my absolute favorite holiday, which makes my lack of disguise extremely troubling. Other than a brief awkward middle school phase, when I for some reason thought I was too cool for costumes, I’ve dressed up for Halloween every year.
From Darth Vader as a Star Wars obsessed little-tyke, to a French maid as a bizarre teenager, my costumes have always been thoroughly thought out. But this year I have no conclusive plans. The pressure is on for me to get my act together, or else I’ll have to accept my status as a lame-costume wearer.
My basic formula for deciding what makes a good costume accounts for several variables. First, the costume has to be creative. If it’s an idea that has already been done a million times, forget it.
Something that makes a good costume great is if it can be complemented by what other people wear. When a costume idea can accommodate an entire group of friends, it will without a doubt lead to a fun time.
My final criterion is that no matter what costume I decide to wear, I have to go all out in designing and making it. Nothing is more despicable than someone who half-asses Halloween.
So I have a few general ideas for a costume, which have decent potential for greatness. But these plans are still far too rough.
My first idea was to do something with Pokémon. I’m sure none of you have forgotten the once ubiquitous card game that introduced the world to the cute, but strangely vicious creatures that communicate by saying their name in various rhythmic sequences. Something about a bunch of college-aged people dressing up like stuffed animals sounds absolutely hilarious.
The character from Pokémon that I want to dress up as most is Professor Oak. I feel like dressing as a gray-haired man in a lab-coat who collects wild animals would fit my personality well. The best part about a Pokémon-themed costume is there are so many ways to adhere to the theme. I don’t know how many Pokémon there are at this point (does anybody?), but any of them would make an awesome costume.
A second idea that my friends and I are contemplating is dressing up as colors. I know it sounds kind of dumb at first, but just bear with me for a second. Imagine being entirely red—red shirt, red pants, red face paint, red hair dye, you know, the works. Now think about doing this along with a few other people, all with different hues.
Maybe people will be confused by this costume. I don’t think it really matters. Halloween shenanigans should always be questionable. Either way, the color costume idea is unique, which perfectly captures the spirit of Halloween. I wear a costume on Halloween because it’s the one night when I can become somebody or something else.
Whether you’re planning on being a Teletubby or the Tin Man, now is the time to get organized. Halloween only comes once a year, so don’t let the world’s best holiday pass you by without celebrating.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and Andy is open to hearing your suggestions and comments. Email him at holsteen@wisc.edu.
