By Liana Satenstein
My first Halloween costume experience was anything but sexy or funny. As a high school freshman, I tried to channel a Victoria’s Secret Angel. But by the end of the night, after being groped by masked jocks in superhero spandex stuffed with tube-socks and seeing that my homemade lace corset had flattened my chest, I realized that my attempt at sexy was a failure.
And still, after five consecutive years of failed costume attempts, the fundamentals have not changed. Robert Pinzon of “Abracadabra Superstore,” a massive costume retailer in downtown New York, says it is still the “sexy Halloween costumes” for the girls and the “funny ones” for guys that are the best sellers.
Today, almost every innocent costume can be crafted into something sexy or funny. Altered by the definition of Halloween, fairytale characters or political figures, such as Alice in Wonderland and former-President Bill Clinton, are instantly changed. Alice, once a na’ve little girl lost in a rabbit hole, becomes a buxom woman busting at the seams with the help of a corset while Bill Clinton, once untouchable behind a desk in the Oval Office, is transformed into a mere gag at the mercy of a rubber mask.
The power to make characters that were once fictitious or revered and transform them into one’s own version, sexy or funny, is one of the core elements of Halloween.
The popularity of men’s Halloween costumes often correlates with popular movies or video games. According to Linda Breig of Long Island Costumes, last year, it was the pirate-themed costumes that were the fastest selling due to the release of the “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
This year, the sold-out release of the “The Dark Night” has spawned a high demand for the Joker costume. The Joker has sold out in numerous Halloween stores, including Abracadabra and Long Island Costumes.
Other costumes, such as Indiana Jones, Batman and Iron Man have also been in high demand due to their respective movie releases.
While men will most likely be seen carousing the streets, warm in their Joker or Iron Man costumes, it is the “anything short factor” that will generate an uncomfortable wave of frost across the chests and legs of thousands of American women.
It is not movies that strongly dictate what trends are popular in female costumes, but it is the “sexy aspect.”
“Girls want to be anything sexy,” says Pinzon, and although the popular costumes this year for women have been Robin Hood, Catwoman and Batgirl, there has not been a definite theme for women’s costumes.
Women’s costumes can range from a Russian peasant to a 1960s airhostess. As long as the costume exudes some sort of sex appeal, even historical references, such as Marie Antoinette, become obscured by a push-up bra.
In the attempt to break the curse of failed Halloween costumes, a trend that I started as a freshman in high school, I have drawn from the influences of the movie and media culture. I have thought of anything from a homemade Amy Winehouse to a child-size Superman and I have tried to inject the right amount of sex appeal and humor into each.
Still, almost every idea has been promptly turned down. Yet, I had a flash of hope when Pinzon told me that the sexy pirate was selling fast this Halloween. A sexy pirate: the right amount of sex appeal and the potential to be funny.
“So maybe I’ll try out the sexy pirate this Halloween. I could even wear a peg-leg, that would be pretty funny, right?” I jokingly asked him.
“But that’s not gonna be too sexy,” Pinzon replied.
The quest for a sexy costume trimmed with funny, makes for a chilly Halloween.