Imagine you walk into a party. You spent the entire month of October planning out your costume, sourcing different parts of it from various clothing sites. Someone comes up to you and asks, “What are you supposed to be?” You explain, they compliment your costume, and the cycle repeats for the rest of the night. Instead of allowing your costume to shine, you have to spend your night explaining what your costume should’ve already communicated.
I want to preface this by saying that you should be able to be whatever you want for Halloween, and a “good” costume is entirely subjective. If anything, Halloween is the best time to express yourself in whichever way you feel the best. With the internet’s new obsession with the word “niche,” however, there seems to be a particular emphasis on being something no one can actually name. Somewhere along the way, the word has become synonymous with “good.”
Contrary to popular belief, a good costume doesn’t have to be obscure. The so-called basics — a black cat, vampire, devil, angel, and so on — are “go-to” for a reason. But just because you dress up in a costume that everyone has probably done once in their life doesn’t mean you have to look the same either. The best costumes, in my humble opinion, are the ones that incorporate a little creativity.Â
If you’re going to be a cat, ditch the black tank top and eyeliner whiskers. Have fun with makeup or hair, get contacts, glue on some fangs, and really make it your own. The pizazz is in the details! Costumes don’t always have to serve as some sort of social proof that you have good taste or interesting hobbies. Costumes are meant to be seen and enjoyed by you and others, so if you spend the entire night explaining the complexities behind yours, where’s the appeal?Â
Ultimately, there’s nothing wrong with dressing up as a character or concept that only a handful of people recognize, but niche doesn’t automatically mean good. And a basic costume doesn’t automatically mean boring.
The classics will always be classics: familiar costumes with endless room for personal interpretation. So, don’t feel the need to make Halloween into an opportunity to prove how interesting your Pinterest boards are. If you want to be a cat, be a cat. Just why not be a great cat?