Halloween, as the full-on, Americanised, fancy dress event of the year, invites a cornucopia of dress up ideas.
Halloween, as the full-on, Americanised, fancy dress event of the year, invites a cornucopia of dress up ideas. Whether you’re going to be a slutty bunny or a ghost in a bloody sheet this year, you need to try and avoid a fancy dress faux pas this year.
‘Halloween is the one night of a year when a girl can dress like a slut and no other girls can say anything about it’
The above statement is a lie, you can dress like a slut any day and it’s likely that there will always be other girls talking about it when you do. However, I do agree with the fact that any occasion involving fancy dress is an excuse to dress a lot less modest attire then your usual get up. From school parties (high socks, cropped shirts), Hawaiian (bikini and grass skirt) to army parties (cameo shorts and leather boots anyone?) every theme invites minimal clothing and a bit of sex appeal.
While sexy costumes are rampant on Halloween, my main irritation with this is the widespread ignorance to relate costumes to the holiday. Halloween is a holiday of ghosts and ghouls, so why is it ever relevant to go as a sexy sailor or a police officer to a Halloween party. I get it, you went to Ann Summer and bought a new costume, great, but please wear it in your bedroom not one of our mutual friends front rooms. But don’t worry, it’s fine you can pull of Karen’s ‘I’m a mouse. Duh!’ as long as you keep your mouse outfit on the fearful side, rodents are a common phobia after all. Here are my three ways of keeping sexy outfits Halloween appropriate:
- Vamp it up – this can be done with any costume, from animal to Lolita with a red lip, fangs and a bit of a fake blood trickle.
- Zombie Style – A greenish tinge, big black eyes (think actual black eye, not a sexy smoke) and even the sluttiest nurse can be a hot mess of a zombie.
- Keep it simple – If you really want to go for all out sexy Halloween glam then do it properly. Be a devil, or a black cat or a lust vampire.
The other end of the scale, the ‘real’ scary costumes can go either way. I’m all for scary masks, bed sheets with splatters of red paint and even Cady’s dressing up in an old wedding dress ‘’Ex Wife’’ do up, but please don’t go over the top. Anything OTT and particularly messy should be kept for horror films only, not for casual party events. No one wants to clean up fake sticky blood and toilet paper soaked in food colouring off the floor the next day and please keep any ‘fake scary smells’ away. I don’t care if you bought a zombie, flesh smelling perfume, I don’t want that at a party and keep kitchen ingredients to a minimum, no one wants an odd foodie whiff creating a weird atmosphere in a room. As for the costume choices themselves, please toe the scary/offensive line:
- Zombies, Vampire, Jack the Ripper = Fine
- Skinned children/pets ( a ‘boy skinned alive’ costume being a particularly gruesome find on the internet) , recent serial killers, burns victims =Not Fine
As for me, this Halloween I’ll be rocking the same look I have since I was tiny – my Mum’s vintage green sequin flapper dress, witchy hair, a hat and fishnets. Standard witching hour do for me.
