The Real Trick of Halloween: Finding a Costume You Actually Like

Halloween comes around at the same time every year, and so does the issue of finding a costume. Why does finding a Halloween costume for girls have to be so difficult?

I mean, you have to find the balance of something you look good in but also something you feel comfortable in. But the tricky part is that there’s never a balance, for me at least. Every single year, I pick a costume, order all of the things online, and they come in, and I always hate them.  

I spend so much money each year on a costume that I would like to say I love and feel comfortable in, but truth be told, I never do. This year, for example, I am dressing up as Cinderella for the first night and Dragon from “Shrek” the second night. I ordered all of the things for Dragon just for them to come in, and I hate the costume. 

Don’t get me wrong, they are adorable, just not on me. The pieces themselves are cute, but not together. So, then I was left with no choice but to go out and find different pieces to wear. 

Every year is a struggle to find a good costume. You pick the perfect costume and the pieces with it, but then you have to worry about whether it is both hot and comfortable. It’s like you find something you feel both hot and comfortable in, but then you think about how others will perceive you based on the stigma surrounding Halloween. 

But I know I can’t be the only one who feels like this! There is so much pressure to find the perfect costume for everyone, and it blows my mind that only girls have this experience. Realistically, guys can throw on normal clothes and call it a costume, but the same cannot be said for girls. 

For a girl, you have to find a costume that’s sexy, hot, but also not too revealing, and something you are comfortable in. Why can’t the costume be funny or just comfortable? Why does picking a costume for girls have to feel like you need to objectify yourself just to make sure people like you?

Not everyone feels that way, but there’s a stigma around Halloween for girls, and it’s nearly impossible to win. You pick a funny costume, yet now you have to make it hot. You pick a hot costume, but you don’t feel comfortable; it’s a never-ending battle. 

Girls should be allowed to feel hot and comfortable for Halloween without feeling like they have too. They should be able to wear the cute, funny costume without having to worry about what other people are thinking. 

As I said before, not everyone feels this way, but for a college girl, it’s a pretty common experience to feel like this. You should be able to dress however you want or as whatever you want for Halloween without feeling like it needs to follow the stigma. 

There should be that perfect balance for girls to feel hot and comfortable, but there never is. There will always be something about every costume you put on that you don’t like but the only thing that should matter is how you feel in it, not how you imagine others thinking about you in it. 

• #trick or treat
• costumes
• girlhood
• halloween