Collegiate Times

Image: 2012-10-25 21:22:04

He said: Work with creative costumes

I’m not a huge fan of Halloween. Ever since I became too tall and neighborhood adults started making cynical comments and being misers with their candy, some of the magic of this scary day wore off.

However, after a few years of college, I see I am in a small and shrinking minority. College students treat Halloween with awe-inspiring reverence normally reserved for religious events and Hokie football.

Weeks are spent picking the best costume, arranging plans for which parties to attend and contemplating how much skin you can show before being charged with public indecency. Last year when temperatures dropped below freezing, the bitterness was almost palpable — at least until around 11 o’clock when no one really seemed to care anymore.

This year, the weather is promising to be far better, and folks on campus and beyond are in full swing of costume preparation. Chatter concerning the subject can be heard all over. Should I be a witch again? Are bunny costumes cliche? Pants — how necessary are they? These are the concerns of our generation.

Although I claim to be no expert on the subject, I have been considering different, fun costumes ideas for the past few days, jotting down notes and creepily giggling to myself in public. So if you’re currently about to break down in an anxiety attack because you can’t choose between being Petey the Pirate or Scuba Steve, take heart because you now have fallbacks.

Logan Thomas: Go invest in a number three jersey, acquire some stilts and you’re good to go. White pants are fine but if you go full pads more power to you.

Kanye West: You can dress up in shades and a leather jacket if you want, but this one is more about attitude. Constantly compliment yourself, refer to yourself as Mr. West in the third person and interrupt people whenever possible.

Ke$ha: This one isn’t that creative and is probably on the verge of being overdone, but the concept of a major music artist spelling their name with a dollar sign is hilarious. To get this costume down, just don’t sleep or shower for a few days.

German Club program salesman: Super easy. Dress business casual and rock some free Virginia Tech shades. Say “$5” over and over again while carrying around a week-old program.

Hipster: Go to any vintage clothing store aka Goodwill, or just wear stuff that was popular in the '70s. Ride a fixie — a fixed-gear bicycle — listen to some vinyl records and write a blog filled with self-angst. Be warned, however; if you choose to dress too cool for school, you probably shouldn’t attend any Halloween bashes — way too mainstream.

So if you are struggling to decide on your Halloween wardrobe, found my ideas ridiculously clever or are Logan Thomas, you should consider trying out one of these. Or you can use one as a last resort, either or.

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A version of this article appeared in the Oct 26 issue of the Collegiate Times.