Halloween is upon us, and perhaps you’ve already started celebrating. For those of you just getting started or still coming up with costume ideas for a night or two (or three) of festivities, here’s a list of dos and don’ts for the upcoming weekend.
Do: Dress as something relevant to the year 2014
Whether it’s the dancing girl from the Sia music video, a celebration of the return of “Twin Peaks” or an Uber driver complete with a steering wheel, keeping things topical is a good way to go for Halloween. You could be Shia LaBeouf with a bag on his head. You could be Grumpy Cat. Just please, for the love of Halloween, don’t pick a horrible or tragic current event for your costume.
Don’t: Appropriate a culture
Many people may not know this, but it’s entirely possible to come up with an excellent, even last minute, Halloween costume without appropriating another culture. That’s right, this year, step away from the culturally insensitive characters and costumes and reach for something else. Not sure if your costume is insensitive or offensive? You can start by asking yourself if it perpetuates cultural stereotypes, makes a joke out of a marginalized group, or steals from an important part of culture to which you don’t belong. If you said yes to any of these things, don’t go in that costume. As students at Ohio University beautifully put it, “cultures aren’t costumes.” Be smart out there.
Do: Dress in an ensemble with your friends
I insist that there is nothing better than a well-executed group costume. If you and your friends can pull it off, ensemble costumes are the way to go. From the cast of your favorite Wes Anderson movie to the Belcher children from “Bob’s Burgers” to the Oscar selfie, the possibilities for ensemble costumes are endless. If you’re more on the duo side of an ensemble, there are still plenty of options for costumes that don’t fall into the cheesy “couple’s costume” category (which you should avoid at all costs). Instead, go for the very topical tap-dancing emoji girls or “True Detective” season 1 theme. Or dress as your favorite funny duo, like Garth and Kat from “Saturday Night Live” or Garth and Wayne from “Wayne’s World” (Garths are very in this year).
Don’t: Dress as your RA or Hall Staff
Just trust me on this. You have to see them for the rest of the year, so don’t give your RA a reason to hate you.
Do: Stay in costume the whole time
There’s probably nothing funnier than seeing someone in full costume devour Taco Bell at 2 a.m. Whether you dress in an ensemble costume and get separated from your group or end up at some fast food restaurant long after a party ends, stay in your costume, because there’s nothing funnier than an out-of-context college student in full Halloween garb.
Don’t: End up on ND Makeouts
That being said, no one wants to see Miley Cyrus and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle or a “Despicable Me” minion all up on Finn from “Adventure Time.” Try to keep your Halloween PDA away from the cameras.
Do: Go for a clever costume
There’s a delicate space between cliché and complicated costumes, and that’s where you want to aim. If it’s too cryptic, you’ll have to spend the entire night explaining your costume. If it’s too obvious, you’ll run into about a dozen of your costume twins over the course of the night. The key, then, is to hit that perfect middle ground, whether it’s a pun or a portmanteau, and you’ll be the hit at any party.
Don’t: Be that guy who goes as himself and calls it clever
I mean, come on. You’re better than that.
