When should you start considering your Halloween costume? (Now, the answer is now.)
With August coming to an end there's no better time to start planning your Halloween costume (Aside from perhaps 3 months ago). Halloween is only 61 days away (probably even less at the point in which you are reading this) & although you may feel like that is plenty of time to figure out your Halloween costume I'm here to tell you that it isn't. 68.5% of Americans plan on participating in Halloween activities this year & that means 68.5% of Americans need to plan out a costume. I'm from the old school of belief that at Halloween you MUST wear a costume. At least one costume, somewhere (I'm sympathetic to those who don't consider themselves creative but that doesn't excuse you from putting forth any effort).
“Of Halloween’s oldest and most appreciated elements is the idea of wearing costume”
One of Halloween's oldest and most appreciated elements is the idea of wearing costume. Costumes not only offer the chance to conceal your identity, they also allow us to transcend normal boundaries, perform special tasks, and assume new identities completely. This, plus loving the thrill of dressing up is what keeps me a firm believer that getting into costume is an essential part of Halloween (I even tolerate the extremely lazy individual that sports an ironic Halloween themed T-shirt).
What to wear & why do I have to start planning now? Because Halloween comes so quickly upon us & you don't want to run out of time to curate the perfect costumes (Yes, costumes. The more the better. #HalloweenForever). This is especially true if you plan to create any or all of your Halloween costume yourself. Crafting some or all of your costume almost always takes more time than you initially anticipate, be sure to allocate additional time to this step in the process. The good news is that you still have just enough time to brainstorm concepts, consider applications, and locate everything you will need.
To start your initial brainstorming try considering the biggest pop culture moments of 2016, your favorite fictional characters, how to execute a scary look, exploring Pinterest Boards as well as other online Halloween forums, & collecting the ideas of friends & family. The core element of Halloween is fun. So have fun with your costume & all that you do this Halloween season.