My favorite Halloween costumes

Halloween: my most favorite holiday and time of year. The candy, the decorations, the pumpkin flavored and scented goodies, the cool weather — you simply can’t beat it. The thing I look forward to the most is by far the costumes. Creativity comes to life for one special day a year (or maybe weekend, depending on what you’re doing), and it makes for something fun and exciting. For this piece, I thought I’d sit back and relax and share some of my favorite halloween costumes I’ve encountered over the years. 

1. Daphne or Velma, Scooby-Doo: I’m not sure if this is biased since my roommate and I are absolutely going to rock this costume this year, but I absolutely love a good Daphne or Velma costume. They’re a dynamic duo that makes for a very cute best friend costume.
2. A Rockford Peach, A League of Their Own: One of my favorite movies, A League of Their Own. It’s a classic movie, an inspiring story, and has some really adorable outfits. Besides the fact that they are extremely unconventional for baseball, they do make a tasteful fit. 
3. Jack Skellington or Sally, The Nightmare Before Christmas: “And I just can’t wait until next Halloween ‘cause I’ve got some new ideas that will really make them scream. And by God, I’m really gonna give it all my might!” – Jack Skellington. A scary but amazing couple costume, the creepy but beautiful Jack and Sally.
4. Any Form of an Animal: Boring? No, just easy and inexpensive! Animal costumes don’t deserve the heat they get. It’s fun, flirty, and affordable. As a very wise woman once said, “I’m a mouse, duh.”
5. Mermaid: Ariel, Aquamarine, the girls of H2O: Just Add Water — There are so many mermaids to choose from! All of these characters are beautiful and would make for a great costume. And if not, a mermaid from your imagination would rock too.

So, these are some of my favorite go-to Halloween costumes. It might seem a little bit lackluster or basic, but to me they’re pretty awesome. Since this is still the Girl Talk column, I want to touch upon the harsh criticism women face during Halloween costume season (specifically teenage girls and young adults). In all honesty, it seems like we just can’t catch a break. Every costume on this list will most likely be criticized or labeled as boring. And if they’re worn in any type of revealing style, judgment will be passed and snotty looks will be given. Why? I don’t really know. But my advice as a young woman is to not take Halloween too seriously — wear what empowers you to be the best version of yourself and what makes you feel beautiful. Choose whatever costume your heart desires, hang out with your friends, have a great time, and most importantly, eat a lot of candy. Happy Halloween! Stay safe.

Girl Talk is an Opinion column written by a current female student to discuss issues surrounding women, whether it be feminism, current events, personal experiences at Stevens or in life, and more.