Costumes for Halloween now funny, cheekier
Print Edition
When a Donald Trump look-alike and a faux Caitlyn Jenner ring the doorbell on Halloween night, they may solicit a piece of candy but the treat they really seek is recognition.
Pop culture experts say these 鈥渞ipped from the headlines鈥 costumes to celebrate the October 31 holiday 鈥 such as 鈥淓l Chapo鈥 the fugitive Mexican cartel kingpin or 鈥淟eft Shark鈥 from pop star Katy Perry鈥檚 Super Bowl halftime show 鈥 are a way for adults to connect in a world splintered by a myriad of choices for information and entertainment.
While children typically dress up as witches and ghosts, the most popular costume this year among adults shopping on Yandy.com is The Optical Illusion Dress, the subject of an online debate that went viral over its color. The hot seller is a compromise: half blue and black, half white and gold, said CEO Chad Horstman.
Also in high demand is Pizza Rat 鈥 a gray mini dress with a tail, hood, ears and two pepperoni pizza slice pockets 鈥 that is arguably sexier than the video of a New York City rat dragging a pizza slice down subway steps, shared more than 100,000 times on Twitter in the last month, according to Topsy.com.
The lion-slaying dentist Walter Palmer of Minnesota who gained notoriety for his trophy kill of Cecil the Lion, considered a national treasure in Zimbabwe, inspired a US$139.99 getup from Costumeish.com, complete with a blood spattered dental smock and mock lion head.
鈥淚t used to be we all watched the same TV shows, we all knew the same cultural references. Now the culture is really fragmented,鈥 said Robert Thompson, who teaches pop culture at Syracuse University in upstate New York. 鈥淭hese news stories, the ones that hit the big time, that cross that point of penetration, those are the things that everybody shares.鈥
Jim Von Schilling, the Pennsylvania-based area chairman of the Popular Culture Association, said when it comes to envisioning a Halloween costume, imaginations are sparked by current events.
鈥淭he world around us is our pop culture,鈥 said Von Schilling.
Limits to poking fun
The costumes are meant to touch a nerve, but some vendors say there are lines they will not cross.
Ricky鈥檚 NYC, a beauty supply store that features Halloween costumes, and Yandy.com both decided against carrying a Caitlyn Jenner costume featuring a shiny white padded bustier resembling the outfit the Olympic gold medalist and reality TV star formerly known as Bruce wore to come out as transgender in a Vanity Fair cover story.
鈥淭he transgender community is a huge portion of my customer base and is incredibly offended by this,鈥 said Richard Parrott, president of Ricky鈥檚. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 really see anything funny about somebody wanting to change their gender. There is no place to really poke fun.鈥
Jenner told NBC News last month that she did not find the costume offensive: 鈥淚鈥檓 in on the joke... I think it鈥檚 great.鈥
Politicians are typically fair game and Ricky鈥檚 carries a Hillary Clinton mask and Yandy a Donald Trump costume.
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