That's what she said: The lowdown on the costume question
Courtney Carbone
Issue date: 10/23/07 Section: Opinion
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This week I received a letter from a junior girl. She writes, "Courtney, what are some good costume ideas for Halloween? I can't think of anything this year."
Here is my response:
Good question. The time only comes once every year. Sure, we may go to a Jesuit school, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy a good pagan holiday every now and then, especially one that gives us an excuse to dress up and strut around Fells Point like a horse after it's won the Triple Crown, but before it becomes glue.
It's the one night of the year where you can be whoever or whatever you want to be. Remember what that's like? Think back. Way back. You know, before you got your SAT scores. Therein lies the million-dollar question, "What are you going to be?" This year, why not try thinking out of the box? I mean, you're already drinking out of one, right?Brainstorm something that no one's ever done before, like a Playboy bunny, Angel, or a French maid.
Oh wait. Hey girls, I'm not one to judge. I was a flight attendant my sophomore year and by the end of the night I was about ready to slaughter the next guy who told me his tray table was in an upright position.
Still, every girl has got to do the cliché costume at least once in her life. Play it off as a rite of passage and your serious need for a new Facebook picture. I won't judge you. Everyone else will, but I won't. On the other hand, there is a certain novelty to being something completely original.
The problem is that if you get too creative, you risk having to explain your costume all night long. Case in point: Last year my friends decided to go as the Flintstones. Too cool for school, I decided that I would go as Judy Jetson. Get it?
Yeah, neither did anyone else.
What did I learn? Beware of the "collective" costume.
This is the one where your best friends come up with this magnificent idea (and by magnificent I mean completely overdone but constituting the number of people you happen to have listed on your roommate agreement form).
Here is my response:
Good question. The time only comes once every year. Sure, we may go to a Jesuit school, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy a good pagan holiday every now and then, especially one that gives us an excuse to dress up and strut around Fells Point like a horse after it's won the Triple Crown, but before it becomes glue.
It's the one night of the year where you can be whoever or whatever you want to be. Remember what that's like? Think back. Way back. You know, before you got your SAT scores. Therein lies the million-dollar question, "What are you going to be?" This year, why not try thinking out of the box? I mean, you're already drinking out of one, right?Brainstorm something that no one's ever done before, like a Playboy bunny, Angel, or a French maid.
Oh wait. Hey girls, I'm not one to judge. I was a flight attendant my sophomore year and by the end of the night I was about ready to slaughter the next guy who told me his tray table was in an upright position.
Still, every girl has got to do the cliché costume at least once in her life. Play it off as a rite of passage and your serious need for a new Facebook picture. I won't judge you. Everyone else will, but I won't. On the other hand, there is a certain novelty to being something completely original.
The problem is that if you get too creative, you risk having to explain your costume all night long. Case in point: Last year my friends decided to go as the Flintstones. Too cool for school, I decided that I would go as Judy Jetson. Get it?
Yeah, neither did anyone else.
What did I learn? Beware of the "collective" costume.
This is the one where your best friends come up with this magnificent idea (and by magnificent I mean completely overdone but constituting the number of people you happen to have listed on your roommate agreement form).
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