With pricey Halloween costumes flying off the shelves quicker than you can say ‘boo!’ a determined young reporter tells us why you won't find her forking out a fortune or freezing to death on Halloween night.
Traditionally, Halloween has been a time to celebrate the harvest season by staying inside with family and friends, playing games and perhaps putting on a silly hat and a prosthetic nose, says Headliners reporter Eabha Doherty, 16.
However, in the last decade or so in our city, Halloween has accelerated into what can only be described as the most over-priced, over-anticipated and over-rated night of the year.
Every autumn without fail, the local theme shops in Derry open at the first sign of a fallen leaf. Thus, cue the hoards of local punters coming in their droves to buy everything from voice-altering alien masks to made-to-measure mermaid tails.
I’ll admit, I enjoy the build-up to October 31 just as much as the next person, and of course, the Derry carnival brings nothing but a positive tourist boom year after year. However, with costumes priced at an excess of £50, the pressure to dress up on everyone, young and old, and the growing demand of trick-or-treaters, the question at the back of everyone’s mind must be obvious: Is this getting out of hand?
When you begin to think about it, Halloween has turned into the only night of the year when walking down Shipquay Street in Derry in next to nothing is deemed acceptable… and that’s just the men! It’s apparent that too much money is being spent on ready-to-wear costumes, and, in the last few years, tailor-made outfits have become increasingly popular.
If it wasn’t Halloween, would you actually spend around £70 for something that will only be worn once? Halloween and fancy dress in general should be about cracking open the poster paints, cardboard boxes, felt, old shirts and mucking in with friends to create some hilarious costumes that you can all wear together and go out and have a good laugh in.
Costumes with rather suggestive and unsavoury names are becoming the popular choices for girls of all ages. At the time of year when it’s traditional to look scary and enjoy yourself in the process, I believe that too many girls my age and even younger feel pressured into wearing short skirts, high heels and corsets just to look ‘sexy.’
My advice is to bring something to keep you warm and realise that this is probably the one night of the year when leaving the house with really messy hair, glitter all over you and a plastic horror mask is part of the night’s festivities.
We should embrace it! Wear something old and musty that cost you 50p in a charity shop, choose comfortable shoes, be safe and most importantly, be original. On the morning of November 1 you won’t have blisters on your feet, the flu, or an empty purse to face, but instead you can awake to a head filled with happy memories of the laughs and good fun you had the night before!
About this article
This story was written by Eabha Doherty, 16, and appeared in The NorthWest Telegraph, Foyle News and The Derry Journal.
