With Halloween right around the corner, college turns into a whirl of activity: papers and exams are being turned in, reading is completed in a frenzy, and costumes are thrown together at the last minute. Halloween remains a popular holiday even with the dark stigmas surrounding the day. Children are given the opportunity to dress up as their favorite characters and get exercise from walking around, knocking on doors and being passed out candy. However, Halloween is not just a time for children to dress up—many colleges throw parties to celebrate.
To some people, Halloween is seen as less of a real holiday and more of a secular day celebrated by the general population. Regardless of one’s views on the day, Halloween is a time when amateur and professional cosplayers alike show off their talents. Costume parties are extremely common during this festive season; however, it can be extremely challenging to find sensible and modest costumes, unless the costumes are hand-made. The main problem for college students looking to make their own costumes is the steep price involved—not to mention the hours of preparation and sewing it can take to complete an entire outfit! It also seems to be a common theme these days that not every college-aged woman actually knows how to sew well enough to undertake such a large project.
Let’s be real here. In this secular and fast-paced world, it may seem impossible to accurately portray a beloved character without showing excess skin and cleavage; but ladies, it is completely possible to dress up for Halloween and still be modest! Halloween does not have to be composed entirely of young women dressing up as a sexy something-or-other.
The intense pressure to be sexy really pervades culture during the Halloween season. Every store has racks upon racks of skimpy “clothing” choices for young women to squeeze themselves into, and peer pressure to not be an outsider talks many who do not feel comfortable in their own skin into showing off their bodies to the world. Call me old fashioned, but I do not believe any man (besides your husband) has any right to see you barely clothed. Besides, the fun atmosphere of Halloween does not depend on a specific clothing choice.
If you don’t have time (or patience) to create your own modest Halloween outfit, here are some quick ideas on how to dress:
- Go to a thrift store! Thrift stores often carry more outdated clothing that can easily be paired up with other clothing articles to create a great costume. Since some of the clothes are older, they are generally more modest than current fashion trends.
- If you have a costume in mind that you really want to wear, but aren’t sure it’s appropriate or not, ask your roommate! It’s always a good idea to get a second opinion on clothes, since you can only see the front once you’re dressed.
- Find a creative way to incorporate a shawl, scarf, or another type of overcoat into your costume. Being modest does not mean you have to wear a burlap bag—unless you purposely want to be a potato for Halloween, then a burlap bag might be perfect.
The most important thing is that you feel comfortable in your own skin. Don’t allow popular opinion to force you into choosing a skimpier outfit just because it’s the “normal” thing to do. Anyway, since so many older styles are beginning to make a comeback, maybe modesty will, too.