Halloween has been one of my favorite holidays for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, it was because I got lots of candy one night and cake the next. After all, my birthday is Nov. 1.
However, with age has come my appreciation for Halloween style. The costumes I prefer are unique, crazy or just downright hilarious. In my senior year of high school, I fashioned a unicorn costume from a blue wig, felt and a light gray hoodie and sweatpants. There are Facebook pictures to prove it.
I saw a male rugby player last year donning a skimpy French maid outfit – the best photo-op of the night. This year, my roommates and I are going with an Alice in Wonderland theme and purposely not including an Alice.
Obviously, my friends and I aren’t scared of looking or acting a bit ridiculous. However, as out of hand as we might get, we have one condition: lingerie with animal ears is not acceptable. We have a hard time understanding why girls would want to freeze in the chill of fall, wearing overpriced scraps of fabric bought in a sex shop when they can get just as much male attention any other night of the year wearing something as demure as a pair of jeans and a sweater.
So, I decided to find out if my untraditional group of friends and I are the only ones who harbor no desire to look like a sexy animal for the week of festivities.
Sophomore biology major Rachel Chiaverelli is spending her Temple Halloween dressed up as a Playboy bunny.
“But a cute one, not a slutty one,” she insisted. “Bunny ears, a bunny suit that looks just like the real ones, black leggings, white gloves and heels.”
The way she described it doesn’t make it sound too bad. A classy bunny? I love the irony, however unintentional it may be.
On the subject of girls willing to show more skin, Chiaverelli seemed indifferent.
“I mean, some girls aren’t that bad – it is the one night of the year when you have the excuse to look slutty,” she said. “But when girls act like the sluts they’re dressed as, that’s just not cool. I think they realize the next day how unattractive they looked to people.”
Chiaverelli brings up a good point. Don’t let one of your tricks end with the treat of an STD. Ladies – like any other night of the year, exercise caution in your desire to have the same bedroom behavior as bunnies.
Senior English major Andrew Susser has seen a few Temple Halloweens in his day and was more than willing to give his two cents to me.
“Common thought is that it’s an excuse for girls to run around half naked,” he said, beginning to echo Chiaverelli’s sentiments, “but basically it’s no different than a spring day. The only difference between the two is some black and white makeup.”
Honestly, I’d never even thought of it that way. “Slutty” Halloween costumes really are just a seasonal version of summer-style clothes, and what’s wrong with that? The girls get to wear what they want, the guys get to see what they want and everyone walks away a winner. However, when I asked Susser if he particularly liked the bare skin, he said something that made me suspect he’d been reading my notes.
“I’d rather see creativity,” he said.
My extremely brief study yielded somewhat inconclusive results. But here’s what I can tell you, ladies of Temple: creativity counts. In a time where the economy sucks and it doesn’t really matter to girls or guys – well, to Susser, at least – if you’re wearing something you can be seen in during summer, you might as well have some fun, save some money and invest in some Halloween memories that can’t be bought at Condom Kingdom. But if you do decide to exercise your right to sluttiness, wear a coat outside! Having a cold is never sexy.
Libby Peck can be reached at elizabeth.peck@temple.edu.
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