We seem them every year. They fill up the sea of Halloween party-hoppers with similar-looking and forced costumes. Whether you’re the type who scours through your (or a family member’s) closet for a last-minute Halloween getup or one who prepares weeks ahead, try to veer away from these 8 overused ideas.
8. Godfather

In every Halloween party, there’s at least one dude who thinks it’s clever to don a black suit and top hat, hold a cigar on one hand, pretend to smoke it all night, and declare, “I am the Godfather!” The problem is, the moment he gets tired of flaunting the stick, he’ll look like a waiter or a bar manager.

Your alternative: You really want to wear a suit, eh? Purchase this Robin Thicke-inspired getup online and we guarantee you’ll have dozens of girls twerking for you before the end of the night—no pickup lines necessary! If you’re cheap, just buy old white pants and a blazer from any ukay-ukay and paint black stripes on them. Make sure you get the fit and cut right or you’ll look like Beetlejuice.

7. The one that needs a 5-minute explanation.

More annoying than devil horns is that friend who comes dressed in regular jeans, a graphic t-shirt, an eyebrow pencil-drawn beard, and exclaims, “I’m from !” What about that snobbish couple who keeps insisting that they’re simply because they’re wearing matching leather jackets? After a night of tequila, nobody will want to listen to you explain why wearing carrot jeans and Supra sneakers makes you Justin Bieber, or wearing a floral crown and a floral dress makes you “a garden.”

Your alternative: It’s not a costume if nobody gets it—not even your intellectual hipster friends. If you don’t want to spend money buying or renting a costume, gather your other thrifty albeit creative friends and come up with a theme using existing outfits and resources you already have at home. Alone, your forced last-minute costume looks lame, but with a group, you could pull it off.

6. The sexy schoolgirl

Because our yearlong tropical weather and conservative Catholic society won’t allow it, girls (and boys) can’t help but be frustrated about wearing ultra short plaid uniforms with matching knee-high socks.

Your alternative: Zombiefy it.

5. The ghoulish fillers

They look cute on trick-or-treating kids, but on grownups, those cliché witches, vampires, skeletons, white ladies and other supernatural creatures just don’t cut it unless you take it a notch higher with creativity, stage makeup and optical illusion.

Your alternative: Create something that will make heads turn or will really frighten the children.

4. The mask

They grab a last-minute scary mask or colorful hat that looks so out of place with their regular t-shirt and jeans.

Your alternative: Go all the way by styling your entire outfit or borrowing a costume to go with your mask or hat. Another option is to borrow a career uniform from a friend or relative. Or why not indulge the conservative church’s suggestion of dressing as a Saint or any religious figure? Most Pinoys don’t get satire anyway.

3. Angel wings

We don’t mean to burst your heavenly bubble, but angel wings, fairy wings or any other set of flimsy kiddie wings just screams, “I bought this from SM/Divisoria and you’ll find dozens of us here at this party!” Because girls have more time to shop and browse for the perfect pair of pretty wings to go with their glittery dresses, you’re guaranteed to see winged minions on Halloween night.

Your alternative: If you have time to shop, rent or have something made for you, go a few levels higher by coming as a disturbing or flamboyant character from a movie, book or theater production. Have a costume made by an affordable mananahi or just rent from local theater groups or costume shops such as Mame’s Cosplay Shop or Twinkelita.

2. Devil man

Unlike those girls who go as sexy devils, these guys are simply lazy. The wear an all-black ensemble, purchase battery-operated devil horns from manong vendor at the stoplight, and head straight to the party.

Your alternative: C’mon, guys! You can do better than that. Visit any department store on the day of your party. Look for the section where moms go crazy buying costumes for their little kiddos. We dare you to buy the biggest size of any costume that’s out of your comfort zone (ex. Peter Pan, Bumble Bee, and Fairy Princess) and rock it. They cost anywhere between P500-P1,000 a getup, accessories included. You’ll thank us after the party.

1. Sexy devil

Allow me to quote Lindsay Lohan’s character Cady in Mean Girls: “Halloween is the one day a year when a girl can dress up like a total slut and no other girls can say anything else about it.” A girl can finally whip out that borderline racy getup she’s kept in her closet for ages. All she has to do is add a pair of devil horns and she’s all set. A close cousin of this predictable bunch is the playboy bunny—floppy ears headband, a fluffy tail, and a tight mini dress.

Your alternative: Sexy devils are as cliché as giving away mugs and figurines to your friends on Christmas day. If you really want to unleash your inner wild child, we hear that foam fingers (similar to the one Miley Cyrus, uhm, “played” with at the recent VMAs) are now for sale in US retails stores and online shops. Just buy a pair of nude-colored undies and twerk it, ladies! If you’re conservative, add a one-eyed bear shirt on top.

What other costumes are you tired of seeing? Post the photos in the Comments Section.

Kate Alvarez


A former full-time magazine and newspaper editor, Kate now juggles a career in writing, modeling and acting. She is also an advocate of animal rights and mental health awareness. Check out her blogs, Kate Was Here and Retro Prints, as well as her beauty articles in BDJ Box.



 


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