“In Girl World, Halloween is the one night of the year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.”
We can thank our teenage idol Cady Heron from Mean Girls for providing us with “Girl World’s” Golden Rule of Halloween. Whether skimpy is your thing or not, we can all agree that Halloween is the best opportunity to be as wild as you want, without any judgment. However, Halloween at the University of Wisconsin, or “Freakfest” as it’s called in Madison, does come with some unwritten weather guidelines everyone should be aware of.
1. Nighttime during fall in Wisconsin will show no mercy on your unclothed skin.
By nightfall on October 31st in the state of Wisconsin, it will be EXTREMELY COLD. Although it may have been seventy degrees during the day, don’t let the sun’s temporary comfort fool you. Even true Wisconsinites can tell you that the first few thirty-degree days and nights are shocking and brutal. With that said, dress like you’re going to spend an entire night standing outside. Pretty straightforward, I know, but it’s really valuable to keep in mind when dressing up. Incorporate leggings into your costume, sacrifice the short sleeves, and don’t forget your chapstick unless the cute windburn mustache is your thing.
2. Your alcohol sweater cannot help you here.
The “I’ll be warm enough once I’m drunk” trick DOES NOT apply here. If you plan to attend any of the concerts on State Street, expect to be outside and in one place for at least two hours. On a regular night out, walking to and from bars or parties makes sacrificing a jacket okay, but no amount of alcohol can keep you warm while standing, even in the State Street crowd.
3. Add-ons after the fact will probably look worse anyways.
Even if you do convince yourself to skip the warmth and keep it cute, you put yourself at risk of ruining your costume! In the late night hours of Halloween when you’re shivering and making stops into any open State Street shops to warm up, you’ll be desperate and grateful for someone, ANYONE with an extra flannel or jacket. But aside from warming you up, what will this addition to your outfit do? Your costume will be ruined! Save yourself the heartache of a miss-matching costume and plan ahead. Use your own clothes right from the start to create your own cohesive, WARM look.
4. Whiners ruin everything; don’t be a whiner.
Going into a night out, we all plan to make wonderful, ever-lasting memories with our friends, but I don’t have to tell you that it doesn’t always end up that way. Avoid spending your night complaining about the cold and searching for relief somewhere indoors. I speak from experience when I say that being cold can and will ruin your night and your friends’ nights if you let it. Start the night warm and end the night warm, and everything in between is almost guaranteed to be fun and memorable.
The hype about Freakfest in Madison is absolutely real, and there’s no reason not to have fun on the year’s craziest and most scandalous holiday. But the best part about Halloween at the University of Wisconsin is that it’s an all-weekend holiday. So save your cutest costumes for Thursday and Friday night, and dress to impress stay warm on Saturday!