For those asking the question, “What should I be for Halloween?” the answer is to go big or go home, try to be as original as possible and don’t be over the top.
The answer seems simple, but it took this writer two Halloween costume failures to figure it out. May this article help you avoid you own poor choices.
The first costume failure was out-of-the-box weird but also hilarious: Borat. The costume was a dress shirt, khakis, dress shoes, a mustache and black hair. It transformed a Caucasian with a poor Middle-Eastern accent not into Borat but into Hitler. People looked at me funnily, but for all the wrong reasons.
Next, mom bought a big tube of cheap green face paint to complete the transformation into The Mask of Jim Carrey fame. Neglecting to read the ingredients label proved this costume’s horrific demise as halfway through trick-or-treating, my face started to itch and soon swelled up from an allergic reaction. In attempting to be The Mask, it became me.
A different approach was needed after having two horrible experiences — something more personal with less social and skin allergens.
I decided on a science teacher from my high school. He had a big red face, big ears, short and skinny stature, suspenders and a lizard belt and a high-pitched Ned Flanders voice. The only costume needed was glasses, suspenders and a shave right down the middle of my head to finish off the bald-in-the-middle-and-peach-fuzz-on-the-sides look.
This turned out to be the perfect look-alike costume that won the hearts of students and teachers alike, but most importantly, didn’t turn into a political or medical mess.
So for Halloween and making a great costume, the thing to remember is to be original. Also, if you can’t do a good accent, people may find it annoying.
Read labels and make sure you’re not allergic to substances in paint, or the partying and trick-or-treating will be cut short.
Lastly, always remember to be creative, be original and always have fun. If you can learn from my mistakes, then Halloween 2013 will be awesome.