Making it Work
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Off to see the wizard
By Aimee Rancer, Blogger
November 6, 2007 | 2:10 p.m.
My first Halloween in Athens has recently ended, and I have to ask, “Did it live up to its usual hype?”
A week prior to the Halloween festivities here in Athens, I picked up a copy of The Athens News. Upon grabbing the Thursday copy, I just stared at the front page for a few moments. Three scantily clad women in what it appeared to be bustiers, stockings and some form of underwear graced the cover, with the byline being something along the lines of “Is it acceptable for girls to wear provocative clothing on Halloween?”
Hmm… good question. I mean, 95 percent of the population has seen or at least heard that famous line in “Mean Girls” when Cady Herron, ironically played by the queen of scandal, Lindsay Lohan, states, “Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut, and no other girls can say anything about it.”
The more I thought about this quote, the more I found it to be inaccurate. I’m not one for being judgmental, but when I walk down Court Street and see a girl in nothing more than a bra, underwear and a set of wings, I begin to think, “Who is she trying to impress? And where do these girls get this idea that they need to dress up in as little clothing as possible in order to be sexy to men?”
Three days before Halloween, I was with no costume and panicking to find one. I ran to the nearest store on Court Street that stocked costumes. As I stepped in and walked to the back of the store where the costumes were displayed, I couldn’t find one that was longer than midway up one’s thigh. In a bind, I tried on a plethora of costumes, ranging from Goldilocks to a scarecrow. Alas, due to my procrastinating nature, all costumes were either too small, too big or, well, just way too short.
With my frustration building, I bought the cheapest costume, which was Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz.” Being the quasi-conservative one in dress, my costume was an enormous departure from the costumes and clothes I was used to wearing. Of course, I was naïve in the idea when I thought that the entire concept of Dorothy was to symbolize a bit of purity. I mean, honestly, she was trying to find her way to Oz. How could someone “slut-ify” that character?
Being too apathetic to care, I kept the costume, having extreme buyer’s remorse on the way back to my dorm.
I tried on the outfit again once I got back to my dorm and thought to myself, “Am I part of that girl equation that dresses in scantily clad outfits to impress men?”
I kept reassuring myself that hundreds of other girls would be in tighter and shorter costumes than mine, but still, I felt a pang of insecurity in my stomach. I continuously asked my roommate if I looked remotely trashy.
“Aimee, you’re the farthest person from trashy I know. As long as you feel comfortable and you like it, then it’s fine,” she said.
My roommate’s words, “as long as you like it,” kept repeating in my mind during the day. She was right. I did like my costume, and if it’s a little short, whose right is it to judge?
So, with my newfound confidence, I suited up, ruby slippers, or in my case off-red flats, in tow, ready to experience “what Athens is known for.”
My friends, dressed as a scarecrow, a Dalmatian, a bumble bee and Velma from Scooby-Doo ventured out from Jefferson Hall to Court Street for our very first Athens' Halloween. We went from Mill Street to Court Street, observing the types of costumes. Victoria’s Secret Angels, gangsters, flight attendants and sailors flooded the streets in their bare-it-all costumes, despite the sudden downpour and chilly weather.
What I noticed was interesting. The most hoots and hollers didn’t go to girls with barely-there costumes but to those who possessed interesting garb such as my friend, dressed as the Dalmatian. While she kept being mistaken for a cow, everyone kept commenting on her unique outfit. Others that were a hit, and made evident by the pictures in The Post, were characters from “Forrest Gump,” girls dressed as the Burrito Buggy and people clothed as if they were in the iPod commercials.
In the end, I realize Halloween in Athens is what you make it. Even if you wear a barely-there Dorothy costume.
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