Masuk Free Press

From candy to costumes to trick-or-treating, Halloween is a staple for millions of people across the United States. Some people host parties, kids go out trick-or-treating and others stay home to watch scary movies. Throughout it all, every year, there is one problem. What costume should you wear?

In order to choose, we have to categorize the costumes. Generally, you are either a regular, traditional costume like a witch, or you have a unique costume that you put together on your own. An eccentric costume could be something special to you, or one that isn’t seen very often, like Ahsoka, from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Both ways have their pros and cons, so whichever costume you choose is personal preference.

When you choose a costume that’s basic, there are both good and bad to them. For one, they are so easy to find. You can walk into any general store of your choice and pick one blindfolded. There is also a high likelihood that there’s a superhero or cat costume hidden in the back of a dusty closet in your house. Most of all, they are tried-and-true. They may be basic, but they will never do you wrong.

On the flip side, elaborate or unique costumes can be really cool when they are done well. Some costumes have crazy accuracy, while others are really funny, like a Smurf. These costumes have a ton of variety. You can do anything from The Legend of Zelda to your favorite musician. They have the potential to cause laughter or impress your friends.

Sophomore Coralina Goyette is on the team ‘unique costume’. “Halloween is one of the new nights where you can express yourself however you’d like,” she said. “It’s really important to take that opportunity and show a side of yourself you might not be able to show on regular days.”

Goyette brings up an interesting point of personalization. It shows that a costume can be more than just ‘a costume’. They can help you express yourself through your personal presentation. Say you love Super Smash Bros, for example. You could go with your main character choice, like Kirby or Link. The canvas of Halloween costumes is empty, so why not make it your own?

This year, Goyette is thinking of doing “something that’s more individualistic rather than funny.” Like Goyette, there is a large population that wants to take advantage of the night by individualizing their costumes.

This can be achieved in a ton of different ways, which is some of the beauty in a unique costume. One of the ways you can personalize it is the process of putting the costume together overall, or even making your own costume. You can personalize before you even wear the costume through your process of collecting pieces, or even making them yourself. This allows you to get the exact look you want.

“I really enjoy making my own costumes, and I’ve made a couple in the past,” said senior Derek Heffelfinger. “A few years ago, I went as King George from Hamilton, and it was awful making that crown, it took me like a month, but it looked really pretty in the end.”

While the prospect of going as handsome Squidward is appealing, so is a bear costume. If you are the type of person who hates putting elaborate things together, then reach for something quick and easy. When you have a costume in your back pocket, it eliminates all the stress in picking a costume, or in Hefflefinger’s case, making one. Though it was a great costume, not everyone would respect or want the payoff of making a perfect king’s crown for a costume. They save you a ton of time.

Elementary Teacher Beatriz Rodriguez said, “It’s a lot easier to find stuff, I suppose, and you can tailor it to what you want.”Rodriguez also mentions the environment of where you are as an important factor. Usually, traditional costumes can be more universal. A bedsheet ghost can go to a lot of places, like trick-or-treating with your little brother.

“It depends where you’re gonna go perhaps. Maybe I can make it scarier if I’m going out and I’m gonna be with my family,” said Rodriguez.

Being aware of the environment you’re around is important, and that means thinking of people who are going to be near you. For many, being recognizable is a hallmark of a good Halloween costume. It could even allow you to strike up a conversation with someone if you have the same costume.

Sophomore Sophia Wright says, “I would love to go for relatability with my peers, and having an outfit that could correlate with my friends for trick or treating,” adding, “Imagine you’re going trick or treating with your friends, and a little kid walks by… Being that person for that little kid or just being that witch you see on the street can be a memory-making moment,”

While specialized costumes tend to have more ability to be customizable, they are not limited to just those. Seeing other people with the same costume as you can highlight how customizable they are, as there’s a high chance you have slightly different costumes. There are so many variants of ghost costumes and witch costumes that all are recognizable.

“Everybody thinks ‘oh it’s traditional it’s gonna be boring’ no it doesn’t have to be boring you could do all sorts of stuff,” said Rodriguez.

Overall, both types of costumes have plenty of pros and cons. It all really comes down to personal preference and deciding what is more important to you. Some may want to be a super-specific character, like Hobbie from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Others may want to keep it to a well known Iron Man. Now, the intense decision is yours. What do you want to be for Halloween this year?