For Halloween 2012, old and new reality TV favorites, blockbuster movie franchises and the presidential election are among the most popular costume category ideas. Whether you’re planning to stand out solo or gather with a group of friends to reinforce a look with multiple characters, dressing up is a sure-fire way to get involved in the Halloween spirit. If you can’t get a group together, you can also pick a best friend or boyfriend/girlfriend to collaborate with you to do a couples costume.
This year’s top grossing film was “The Avengers,” making $623 million in domestic ticket sales alone, out-grossing the highly anticipated “Dark Knight Rises.” Needless to say, any Halloween store you go to will have Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye and Black Widow costumes. The great thing about superhero costumes is that they are available for both men and women. If you’re fonder of the “Dark Knight Rises” this year, then you and your partner can suit up as Batman and Robin or Batman and Catwoman.
Another favorite this year is none other than reality show superstar Honey Boo Boo. How does one dress like the pint-sized diva?
Joy Perry, a DePaul sophomore said, “Lots of make-up, tiara, pink dress and maybe tote around a little stuffed pig.”
The little stuffed pig is in reference to Glitzy, Honey Boo Boo’s pet pig. Dressing up like the small town Georgia family is fairly simple. Wear t-shirts with sassy sayings and bright colored or denim shorts to portray Honey Boo Boo’s sisters Chubs, Pumpkin and Chickadee. For Sugar Bear, the father of the family, wear a trucker hat, jeans and a t-shirt.
“Jersey Shore” is in its final season, so it’s your last time to dress up like your favorite Jersey residents before it becomes out of style. Go “Jersey” with a fake tan, flashy clothes and jewelry. In Jersey, it’s all about the hair – take tips from Snooki and JWoww and add colorful hair extensions or straighten your hair like Sammi Sweetheart. For guys, your best hair accessory will be hair gel – and lots of it.
Vampires and zombies seem to never go out of style for Halloween and DePaul students are looking to their favorite shows for costume ideas.
“I think doing the ‘Walking Dead’ would be a great group costume idea,” said Ian Goodman, a DePaul junior. “Some people could be the zombies, while others could be the main characters.”
Another idea is being a vampire couple. Dress up as Bella Swan and Edward Cullen from the “Twilight” series, Stefan and Elena from “The Vampire Diaries,” or Bill and Sookie from “True Blood.”
One of the most iconic costumes of this year is Psy, the South Korean k-pop sensation whose video for the song “Gangnam Style” has taken the U.S. by storm. The music video has 423 million YouTube views and counting. There is no doubt that a lot of people will be going “gangnam style” this year. Pull off Psy’s look by wearing his signature round shades, a suit with a bow tie and slicked-back hair.
Aside from finding inspiration in music, TV and film, some may look to the political sphere for ideas. The heat of the election year provides a number of options for politically-inspired attire. Duke it out with a friend as President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Obama and Romney masks are available online or at your local Halloween store. You can also break out your suit and tie and brush up on your comedic political rhetoric to take on the role of funny guys John Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Colbert even has a printable mask online that you can use to complete the look.
“Just be sure to drop words like ‘truthiness,’ ‘jacksquat’ and ‘Wikiality’ to really channel Colbert,” said Will von Schrader, a DePaul senior.
According to popular costume stores, the election year isn’t just inspiring political costumes. In light of Romney’s comments about cutting funds to PBS and Big Bird, there has been a large spike in sales of the “sassy Big Bird adult costume” and some people have gone as far as to get a gang of angry Sesame Street characters together holding “Occupy Sesame Street” signs.
If the do-it-yourself aesthetic is more of your thing, channel your creative energy into a hilarious YouTube-inspired outfit. All you need is a large piece of cardboard and markers or a printer to decorate the front like the YouTube homepage. Cut out a large square and your real-life antics become the video; want to be the drunken guy making out with a cute girl at the party? How could she resist with a costume like this?