Halloween gives us all an excuse to dress up as a character completely different from our everyday selves. However, it’s time to put away the clichéd costume ideas and start brainstorming new and improved ones. Ladies, let’s take it outside of the box this year; we don’t want a repeat of last year, with ten million Lady Gagas and Michael Jacksons running all over the place. Her Campus has the scoop on the most expected Halloween costumes and some creative alternatives to these overused ideas:
Mean Girls
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “I’m a mouse, duh”, and I don’t mean in the classic movie “Mean Girls”. I regret to inform you all, but this quote is only funny when watching Amanda Seyfried as Karen Smith during an all night classic movie marathon. I’ve seen more than five groups of people dress up as Regina George, Gretchen Weiners, and Karen Smith every Halloween since the movie came out. Whether it’s the Halloween scene or the Jingle Bell Rocks Santa ensembles, these costumes are simply overused.
Alternative
As Cady Herron once said, “Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.” Well, how about for one Halloween we try to approach it a little differently? If you really have your heart set on a Mean Girls Halloween, why not try dressing up as Kevin and the Mathletes? Or as “a terrifying ex-wife”, like Lindsay Lohan did? Although these costumes aren’t necessarily sexy, they’re unique and original, which is always hot.
Referee
Every year you see the same old referee at your local Party City or Halloween store, and it continues to be one of the most popular outfits in their repertoire. Unfortunately, there is no way to make this costume original—it’s just WAY too overdone.
Alternative
Instead of being the referee, why not dress as the main player in the game? I rarely see college girls dressing up as athletes; they’re always the cheerleader or the referee. Come on girls, take a chance and be the quarterback for the football team, a defensive basketball player, or if you’re not into team sports, go with a racquetball or tennis player. It’s so easy to throw on a jersey with some little shorts and cute knee-high socks—don’t forget to put the black paint under your eyes if you’re going the football route!
Tom Cruise in “Risky Business”
I must confess one of my favorite movie scenes is Tom Cruise dancing in his underwear, Ray Ban sunglasses, cotton tee shirt, and high white socks. I unfortunately fall under this category; I have dressed as Tom Cruise for two Halloweens in a row, and I know for sure I’m not the only one. This costume may be cute and easy, but it’s just an excuse to wear a men’s button down tee shirt and tightie whities (or boxers, for the more timid among us) with your bra hanging out. Sometimes, this costume gets confused with the walk of shame. It’s time to slide down the living room hallway in a different costume.
Alternative
Want an original 80’s costume? Well, there are many alternatives to the “Risky Business” Halloween ensemble. Try Ferris Bueller in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”—all you need is a sweater vest and a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses. Or why not be Stiles from “Teen Wolf”, also wearing Ray Ban sunglasses, a funny tee shirt, and neon-colored pants? If these choices aren’t for you, pull out the neon pink dress and white wig and go to your Halloween party as Jem, or dress up as a Mall Rat.
School Girl
There are so many variations of the schoolgirl outfit. Whether it’s Britney Spears’s ensemble from “Hit Me Baby, One More Time”, or a schoolgirl in “Dazed and Confused”, or a student at a school Party City made up to sell more costumes, girls in plaid skirts descend in droves upon the streets every Halloween. This costume is just an excuse to dress like the teacher’s pet, and unfortunately it’s old. It’s for girls who are too lazy to create a new costume, so they pull out one of their old uniforms from high school. Time to graduate to something new!
Alternative
Although many versions of this Halloween costume have been over-worn, don’t give up. If you absolutely have your heart set on wearing a schoolgirl outfit, there are other options. Halloween is all about dressing up as a character you’ll never have the opportunity to be, so why not take this chance to be a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? All you need is a grey sweater, an emblem of your favorite house, a pleated skirt, and grey knee socks—and a wand, of course!
Jersey Shore
The most anticipated clichéd costume of the 2010 Halloween season is the “Jersey Shore” cast: Snooki, Pauly D, Vinny, Angelina, Ronnie, Sammi, Mike “The Situation”, and J-Woww. If you’ve had this idea a few months back and thought you were being original, I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but there will be many Snooki poofs to compete with this Halloween.
Alternative
Really want to dress like a Jersey girl? Be creative and dress like New Jersey, literally. Make an outfit out of cut-outs of New Jersey. Partygoers and trick-or-treaters alike will be shocked at the originality of your costume.