This Katamari Feels Halloweenish

(That’s probably because you rolled up nothing but costumes!)

Greetings, fellow costume aficionados! October is here, and that means we have one more excuse to examine many many costumes! Other good excuses are Mardi Gras, DragonCon, Comic-Con, and pretty much any time we can convince large swathes of people to play dress-up. Because, really now, playing dress-up is fun!

Halloween can yield awesomeness, but it is also amateur night for costume-wearers. So let’s start with the most depressing stuff and then move up to the most awesome. Yes? Yes!

The Sexy Body Bag Costume: Rated S for SUPER DEPRESSING. I don’t love the whole “every woman needs to wear something “sexy” on Halloween” attitude in general, but this one is even worse than sexy Goldilocks or Cookie Monster or whatever (yes, I have encountered IRL sexy Cookie Monster before, and I am still somewhat scarred by that experience). Here’s a tiny tip of the iceberg explanation of just why this costume is so disturbing.

She’s a Hoot (Snowy Owl) Adult Plus Costume: Rated DB for Equal Parts Depressing and Baffling. This costume… I just don’t get it. Would anyone ever look at this and think, “Oh, you’re a snowy owl!” My best guess would be some sort of cultural appropriation cheerleader. Why do snowy owls need to be sexy, anyway? Are they not majestic enough as they are. Here’s a real female snowy owl for comparison:

The 7 Hottest Cosplays Ever!: Rated H for HOT. And also hilarious. Seriously, check out these super hot cosplayers. Pretty sure no one ever needs to be this hot. Also: I am having flashbacks to the time we had to watch the Star Wars Holiday Special for Torture Cinema. Given the hotness, I suddenly understand why Wookiees speak solely in whines and groans.

I have no idea how furries do it... — Rappy Raptor’s character, Blooski. I have no idea how furries can stand to be so hot…

Princes and Princesses: Rated A for AWESOME! Can’t decide whether to be a prince or a princess? Be like this person and choose both! Richaerd Schaefer dressed up as Disney princesses and princes is this amazing photo series. Mmm, gender fluidity plus really good costume design for the win.

And finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for! The Best Costume Possibly EVER!

Wampug: Rated HA for HILARIOUSLY AWESOME! I could talk about why it’s so awesome, but really, I’d rather just watch the video again. Join me!

Katamari! — The Katamari approves of this message.

Costumes, Fantasy, halloween, Science Fiction

Julia Rios

Julia Rios is a writer, editor, podcaster, and narrator. Her fiction, non-fiction, and poetry have appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, and Goblin Fruit. Currently the Fiction Editor for Fireside Magazine, she won the Hugo award in 2017 as Poetry and Reprint editor for Uncanny Magazine, and was a Hugo finalist as a Senior Fiction Editor for Strange Horizons. She is a co-host of Walkthrough, a discussion of exercise and geekery with Amal El-Mohtar and Layla Al-Bedawi. She has narrated stories for Podcastle, Pseudopod, and Cast of Wonders. She’s @omgjulia on Twitter and @zomgjulia on Instagram.

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