This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 at 12:58 pm and is filed under Holidays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Trends in Halloween costumes change every year—after all, no one wants to be seen in the same costume they wore last year. However, costumes always fall into one of several categories:
Cute
The cute costumes are usually for infants and younger children, and are often similar from year to year. Most costumes for very young children dress them up as an adorable animal like a monkey, bunny, or dinosaur. There are also miniature versions of costumes for older children, which can range from devils and angels to witches and pirates, or whatever else is popular for older kids that year.
Silly
Funny costumes are for all ages, kids and adults both. Many silly costumes are foods or other inanimate objects, and there are also sets that go together for couples, like Fork & Knife or Ketchup & Mustard. Many costumes in this category are a play on words, like A Chick Magnet being someone dressed as an actual magnet with rubber ducks attached to it. The possibilities are endless, and this is a great way to show off your creativity.
Scary
By far the most popular category, scary costumes play on the long tradition of Halloween superstitions and ghost stories. Old stand-bys like vampire, witch, werewolf, and mummy remain prevalent each year, but every year also sees new ideas that push the envelope of what is frightening. Masks, makeup, and costumes are becoming more and more realistic so that it is very easy to come up with a hideous persona that will startle your friends and neighbors.
Sexy
Sexy costumes for women have become very popular in the last decade. Many of these play on traditional sexy characters, like French maid and belly dancer, while others take characters from movies and children’s TV shows and create a more flirtatious version of their outfits. Stick Rainbow Brite in a short skirt and stockings or modify Lara Croft’s costume just a little, and you’ve got the perfect sexy costume.
Pop Culture
This category is the most ephemeral of all, for it shifts with every trend. Costumes can portray currently popular entertainers like Lady Gaga, political figures, characters from recently released movies, or play on a trend like the vampire craze started by Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series. For Halloween 2011, the Zombie Apocalypse will be a huge trend, popularized in books, graphic novels, movies, and TV shows like The Walking Dead. Many boys may want to dress as Thor or Captain America this year. Steampunk continues to flourish in a smaller portion of the populace, and is an excellent choice for creative and detailed costuming.
