Costumes of Halloween Past: A Costume Timeline

October is in the air and I couldn't be more excited. This month is all about candy, going out at night, and dressing up. I'm definitely a bandwagon leader when it comes to Halloween because it is my favorite holiday. I don't even call October "October," because this month is actually called Halloween; the calendar gods just don't know it yet.



Anyway, I thought it would be fun to revisit some costumes of my Halloween past; pre-Pinterest and pro-DIY.  Shout out to my mom for allowing me to be a princess every year when she probably had some more creative ideas for me to explore. Another shoutout to dad for always taking me out trick or treating and allowing his payment to be all the Whoppers I collected over the night.

1995- A mermaid. Here we have a mermaid featuring her trustee pea in a pod sidekick. I wanted to be where the peas were apparently. 

1996- A clown. Or am I a Wonderbread package?

1998- A bunny. The best thing about being in dance recitals is a lot of the outfits doubled as Halloween costumes later that year. Keep that in mind if you want to be a parent sometime in the future.

1999- A bride. I think one from the 70s though because look at those shoulder pads, or maybe I was a part-time football player.  

2000- Rapunzel, after she let her hair down. Just kidding. I was a princess. Are you actually a little girl if you don't dress up as a princess for Halloween? Ages five to eight are prime princess years. 

Moving right along....

2003- A witch. I would have totally been a princess again but I think it was time to let my cousin enjoy her princess days while she still could. This was also the year I experienced how much I enjoyed painting my face for Halloween. My face was green at the beginning of the night but I probably melted a couple times through the night bobbing for apples and kicking butt at pin-the-bolt-on-Frankenstein. 

2004- A Baton Twirler. Courtesy of my tin soldier tap dancing outfit I was a baton twirler this year. I highly enjoyed this costume because it motivated me to learn how a baton worked. This was probably my peak in life. 

2005- Spider Queen. I don't have any photos of this that I came across, unfortunately, but I need to explain this. This was my first DIY costume. My mom and I looked high and low for the perfect fabric and finally, we came across this blue metallic spiderweb pattern on black silk fabric. It was one of my greatest Halloween accomplishments. Fun fact: I went trick or treating with my friend who was a ladybug. Sometimes I think my life is one big ironic joke. 

Fast forward a couple of years because middle school is a dark time for anyone and no one needs to relive that kind of anxiety...

2010- Maid of Money. I thought this costume was so freaking clever. I still have it to this day. It's a maid outfit, made of money. Come on how ingenious is that?! I don't think anyone else really appreciated it as much as I did. 

2011-  Sybill Trelawney. She is the crazy crystal ball lady from Harry Potter. This was a last-minute throw together. We can't have it all together all the time friends. 

2012- R2D2. I can't say this is the only year I broke this costume out. I still have this costume to this day and use it more than I would like to admit. Its easy and everyone gets it. I finally figured out that I don't like costumes I have to explain.

2013- A Frat Boy. TFM. This was a twitter inspired costume. Top that.

2014- A Robber. I'm entitled to a basic costume a few times in my life. This was absolutely one of those times. Striped shirt, black hat and gloves, and a knapsack. You can never go wrong with tradition.

2015-  Mrs. Incredible. Sometimes it is worth it to spend a couple extra dollars on a decent costume instead of figuring something out with that you have. I happened to use this costume three times since, so it was a decent investment. 

2016-  Willy Wonka from Johnny Depp's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Some people got it right away, some it took some convincing, but then I did a somersault right in the middle of the Halloween party and everyone knew.  

2017- This was a year of hodgepodge costumes because I was so busy with work I didnt have time to really come up with anything creative. I was a circus ring leader, a skeleton and then I broke out the Maid of Money costume again for a last-minute Halloween invite., This time, the costume and the pun got the appreciation it deserved. 

2018 - This was the couple's costume of the year and it was a hit! I went to Washington D.C. earlier this year with some sorority sisters and was completely inspired. I found some other sisters with the same amount of love for Abraham Lincoln and that carried on with me all through the summer. So, here you have Baberaham Lincoln and Abraham Drinkin'. 

2018 Continued - "Honey, I've got a runner in my pantyhose. I'm not wearing pantyhose." For the night I went out solo as Vivan Ward from Pretty Woman. I've never done a costume with a wig but I highly suggest it. You can really step into character! 

2019- Millenial Pop culture took over and my boyfriend and I went as White Claws. Ain't No Laws, When You're Drinking Claws.

So there you have it, folks. My ghosts of Halloween past. Does anyone have a favorite past costume or a good idea for future costumes? Comment below!