Welcome back to Hoot Recommends! This week, in honor of the spooky holiday, members of The Hoot Editorial Board will be sharing their best Halloween costumes
Calli: I am fortunate to have very creative parents that love Halloween. Growing up, my costumes were a mix of both homemade and store-bought. In my opinion, my best Halloween costume was an iPod Touch back when those devices were all the rage. My dad helped to make the costume an exact copy of the home-screen of my iPod and even added lights on the inside so it looked like an enlarged version of it. This costume was comfortable as it just had a harness that went around my shoulders and I was able to dress warm underneath. I would 10/10 recommend being an iPod Touch if that strikes your fancy.
Cooper: I was never one for dressing up on Halloween, and I’m still not, really. I say this currently dressed as the main character from an anime I like, but that’s just to keep my Editorial Board’s morale up. I’d much rather just wear normal human clothes and get on with the rest of my day. But, that said, I’d say my best Halloween costume was the time I was a surfer about 12 years ago. I even had a boogie board that I had taped a shopping bag to, and I used that to carry all of the candy I got.
James: My favorite Halloween costume was that time that I dressed up as a Baja Blast can. It wasn’t the most original costume that I’ve ever had; after all, it was just a Spirit Halloween premade costume. However, I really love Baja Blast. Also, I could actually walk in that costume, unlike several of my previous costumes. Would I dress up as a Baja Blast can again? Maybe.
Michael: I have never been a big Halloween person. SAD! I’m like the Grinch of Halloween. Other than the candy part, I just don’t get it. Just like how I’m not an ice cream person. Cry about it. Anyway, my best Halloween costume from childhood was either Captain Rex from Star Wars or a generic cowboy. And both of those were store bought. I have no idea where either of those costumes are now, so I can’t bring them on campus. But who knows? One day, I might discover the Halloween spirit and start dressing up again.
Jenna: When I was in highschool I bought a knight costume. No, not Joan of Arc or some kind of sexy crusader—just a straight up knight. It was not my best look, but damn did I feel good dressed head to toe in fake limping silver chrome foamy material. Lets just say the effort I put into my looks these days is far, far less; guess I peaked in highschool as far as Halloween goes …
Lucas: I have an unfortunate history of bad halloween costumes—which is why I haven’t done any for recent Halloweens. While I don’t think I can say I really have a best Halloween costume, my worst one was probably when I tried to make a knight costume, by hand. Lacking any good materials, I naturally chose to use cardboard instead. And lacking any silver paint or coloring, I used silver duct tape to make the costume look metallic. The end result? A big, bulky, bird-like costume with absolutely no resemblance to a knight.
Ella: While I have a history of wearing very basic costumes, as I was a witch basically every year, there was one year where I was the Disney Pixar lamp in middle school. My friends helped me make it in English class in I believe seventh grade. We made it out of recycled plastic I believe, and it looked like crap, but it was an excellent idea on our part. It was unique and fun. That’s all that matters.
Rachel: When I was a child, if I wanted to wear a Halloween costume, I wanted to go all out. I was not going to wear a costume that everyone was going to be wearing. I had to be unique and stand out. That was true for my everyday outfits, and it certainly would be true for Halloween. On Halloween, everyone wants to be a zombie, right? Child me decided to put a fun little twist on the concept. I looked around me for inspiration as I went about my day, and I finally got it. I was going to be a zombie traffic light. That’s right, I would be a traffic light back from the dead, as opposed to the normal traffic lights that everyone dresses as. I wore all black, with a red circle on the top, then a yellow circle, then a green circle. For the zombie part, I ripped the clothes a little and painted on some scars and blood. I was the perfect zombie traffic light, directing where cars can go even in the afterlife. I would say that I had a wonderful time in my special costume. I had a huge, and I mean huge, orange trick or treat pumpkin with me and got a ton of candy while looking fabulous. I feel nostalgic for these days and my fabulous costume sense. Maybe I will revive this idea again in the future, as I believe it was my peak of creativity. Or maybe I should be a different zombie item next. Table? Laptop? Marker? Tool Shed? The possibilities are endless.
Avery: Gender equality has been in my blood since the very beginning, folks. My hands-down favorite costume was when I was 11 years old and dressed up as a knight in shining armor. My younger brother, at a mere three years old, was of course the dragon. As he had recently entered the phase of seeing, stealing and running away with my stuff, I was happy to portray the Great Slayer. My sword may have been made of foam, but my resolution to smash the patriarchy from the inside, switching up the pre-established gender roles laid before me by the great Disney stories of old, was made of steel.
Jason: Halloween costumes are unfortunately not a part of the childhood of most kids who grow up in a religious household, but my rebelious nature led me to tap into creativity every October. Every year, I would come up with a Halloween costume that didn’t look like one to my parents, and one year I got away with a Michael Jackson costume, and managed to convince my parents that it was just a normal day for me. When I moved out, I started going crazy, and I think I have reached my peak this year, combining cultural references, TV shows and music pop culture. This year, which is by far the best costume I have put on, was A Pimp Named Slickback of the Boondocks.
