Just picture it. It’s the only night of the year when you can dress up as creatively as possible, but you’re just not prepared. We’ve all been there, scavenging last minute through our closets on Halloween night looking for anything acceptable for the spooky holiday.
But true Halloween aficionados start planning months in advance for the chance to wow everyone with their creativity and personal flair.
But how do people choose?
There are so many things that influence people to select their costumes, but the main source of most Halloween costumes is popular culture.
Pop culture is what a lot of people like and talk about right now. It includes popular movies, music, TV shows, fashion, and trends that everyone knows about. Basically, it’s the stuff that’s cool and popular in everyday life, and it changes all the time based on what people are interested in.
Social media platforms such as Tik Tok, Snapchat, and Instagram have been leaders in defining pop culture.
This Halloween, you’ll probably see people dressed in black shirts paired with cheetah or leopard print skirts (or shorts) and topped off with cheetah or leopard ears. Welcome to the trending world of the Kolageras sisters.
The concept of animal patterns has been a recurring trend on social media, but 2024 has been the year of the leopard print. As influencers, the Kolageras sisters’ fashion choices – in this case – wearing leopard prints – spread all over the internet and became a fashion trend.
As Halloween costumes go, this is more on the simple side, which makes it very easy to assemble. It’s a trendy, basic costume that many people can pull off easily.
Several people predict that the leopard will be the most popular Halloween costume this year. “Probably – definitely – cheetah, you know? I think a lot of animal prints, for sure,” said Malina Mayer ‘28.
Other students claim that Beetlejuice, princesses, and police officers will also be very popular costumes for the spooky holiday. Some people might say that these Halloween costume ideas may be too childish for the mainstream.
So why are these specific costume ideas suddenly booming?
Eva Upton ‘28 said, “I think they get more popular because people can twist them into fashionable and trendy costumes.”
Ms. Thomas said, “I would say it’s more popular amongst around 3 to 13 because they see the characters as a positive thing, and as you grow older you change the meaning behind all of these costumes because the reality of life starts to set in.”
An article published in Psychology Today online tried to explain what Halloween costumes might say about our personality. While the article tapped into the cliches about people expressing the sides of themselves they tend to keep hidden or exposing their developmental needs, one idea resonated as a more universal truth. Kit Yarrow, Ph.D. writes, “Costumes are communication devices. They say something about you to others and are meant to elicit a response. Nobody (normal) puts on a costume to sit home alone. Costumes are vehicles of social connection.
Choosing and crafting a costume takes imagination and creativity. It’s strutting around your mental assets and interests.”
Ultimately, the message of the article remained clear – Don’t overthink it. Most people are not going to look at your costume and try to decide what you are saying about yourself. For Halloween, you can be a social media trend, a princess, a visual pun, or a bunch of grapes. The day should be devoid of judgment.
Compared to Christmas and Thanksgiving, Halloween isn’t such an important holiday, but costumes can be fun, which makes dressing up even more special and exciting.
So, this Halloween, don’t be that person rummaging in your closet for a last-minute costume. Whether you are sporting a pop culture trend or taking a classic and making it your own, enjoy a moment to be someone or something else.
