As a favorite holiday of both children and adults approaches, it is only right to speak about the well-known facts: Halloween is your chance to be anyone you have ever wanted to be with a judgment-free card as your encouragement.
It is not only about the opportunity to be someone fictional and unreal, to pretend for a night to have powers or be the “baddest” superhero around, it is about the confidence boost a piece of polyester gives each and every one of us.
The minute we put a costume on, we are no longer the nerd that sits in the front row of science class, or the jock that is barely passing his classes. We are not the weird hipster who is always on his guitar, or the pothead who’s secretly a genius. On Halloween, we become our alter egos. In most cases, that alter ego is confident, cool, and untouchable-able to do anything and everything his/her heart desires.
Women for instance, have the opportunity to dress down rather than up and be the inner goddesses they have always dreamt of. For females, Halloween is about showing the most skin possible and party stores know that. Hence, ironically, the less material a costume has, the more money it will cost. Take Party City for instance, a nicely made, fashionable pirate costume whose skirt reaches past the knees is selling for $24.99. Meanwhile, a Cowboys Cheerleader costume with spandex white shorts and a bandeau blue top, is $49.99. That is exactly double the price.
Why is it, exactly, that we girls prefer to spend so much more money to look like what society would consider “promiscuous,” instead of paying less for a more acceptable costume? Why is it that, even though Halloween is about scary characters and mischief, females lean towards the shortest, tightest, dresses and highest heels instead? In all honesty, once again, it all goes back to the whole “inner goddess” concept.
Females like to feel “sexy.” Yes, being called pretty and cute, and even beautiful is all very charming and appreciated. Although not many will admit it, nonetheless, once in a while the compliment of being called “hot” and “attractive” is much more preferred.
A goddess is the ideal female figure: she has both the sensual appeal as well as the innocent beauty that takes a man’s breath away. That is what ladies are striving for, that feeling of taking breaths away, of being wanted- even if it is behind a mask.
While doing some Halloween costume skimming, it became evident that the “sexier” the outfit was, the more money it cost. Regardless of the stores I visited, the price range did not significantly change. If I want to stand out (or more like fit in) on Halloween, I will have to be sacrificing some good fifty dollars from my budget. Is it worth it, though? That, I have not decided yet.
Halloween is mostly a great time. Creating the persona we wish to take on for a night, being a character that we admire, and looking like we belong in a fantasy are all reasons that motivate us to find the perfect costume. What does not make so much sense though is why we are willing to pay so much for a one night outfit. Do we even spend as much on a dress we know will only be useful for one night of clubbing? Yet, why should a tutu and corset be worth it?
I’m not in denial, I know that regardless of how expensive the piece of clothing is, females, including myself, will go out and purchase them. What bewilders my mind, however, is how far back society has gone. We have built a culture in which wearing the shortest skirts and tightest blouses makes ladies feel attractive and accepted. I dare you to put this theory to a test: go out on Halloween, whether you celebrate it or not, and look around.
Count how many females are actually covered past their knees. I can bet you one hand will be enough to count your total. I know so because as mentioned before, Halloween is the perfect opportunity to bring out each of our inner goddesses.
IMAGE TAKEN from halloweencostumes4u.com
