The Afterparty

Published on October 30th, 2013 | by Betty Schnockered

3

Sassy Suffragette and Other Feminist-Approved Halloween Costumes

First of all, I should admit that when Em Dash asked for something about feminist Halloween costumes, my first idea was (jokingly) “Sassy Suffragette,” which thankfully is not a costume that’s available. If buying a costume is your thing, that’s fine, but here are a few fun, easy-to-pull together costume ideas if you don’t feel “sassy.”

Suffragette

If you have a long white or dark skirt and a long sleeved shirt, add a sash, carry a sign and wear a big hat and you’re ready to go. Pro-tip: Besides badges, suffragettes also wore “suffragette jewelry,” which slanted toward art deco and favored purple and green. With the Great Gatsby bringing back the art deco style, this accent shouldn’t be too hard to find.

TLC

With a biopic coming out soon, there will probably be more TLC’s at Halloween parties next year, but I’ve never seen one. They went through a lot of different phases so you can dress this up more if you want. The 90s phase is probably the easiest, when they were all reds and yellows. If you want to be super comfortable, rock the huge pajamas ala Creep.

Spice Girls

Sure I picked a glammed up picture of them here, but it’s enough to jog everyone’s memory. I would wager that we probably all have the clothes in our closet to be 3 out of the 5 Spice girls. If you want to win a costume contest as the Spice Girls, you’re going to need at least one Union Jack dress and lots of tall shoes.

Daria Characters

You’re probably have the clothes to be a Daria character and don’t even know it. Make it a group costume and go as Daria and Jane, Daria’s parents, The Fashion Club or Mystik Spiral.

Lizzie Borden

Who is scarier than Lizzie Borden? I get the creeps just hearing her name. If you’ve got a dark victorian dress, you’re already a fake axe and some blood splatter away from being the scariest one at the party.

Peggy Hill

Peggy Hill is, in her opinion, the leading feminist roller derby queen of Arlen, Texas. In her shorts and huge shoes, she’s easy to dress up as. I’m unsure what her hair would be doing in real life, but feel free to get crazy. Peggy has done a lot of things, so you can be roller derby Peggy, real estate Peggy or pageant Peggy Hill. Bonus points if you have bring Apple Brown Peggy (she adds nutmeg) or a speak horrible Spanish.

Saved By the Bell

If you look vaguely like any of the Saved By the Bell crew, just folow their style and call it a day. Or get a group together, pick your characters, and have fun doing the Kangaroo Hop, being “So excited, so scared” and learning valuable lessons. Remember, dangerous opinionated women characters wear leather jackets and dare to not fall in love with Zach the second they see him and his huge phone.

Newsteam

Great Odin’s Raven! There are a lot of possibilities here. All you need to be Veronica is a wrap dress or colorful pantsuit, a purposeful walk and a blond wig. The news team can be assembled with some luck at Goodwill and some more hair magic.

Golden Girls

It’s kind of the same situation as the Anchorman newsteam, score something fantastic at Goodwill (or borrow something fabulous from an older relative), add a wig and there you go.

Medusa

Sure there will be plenty of Goddesses out on Halloween, but how many Medusas? You can buy the headpiece if you’d like, but there are lots of instructions online with the products ranging from a headband to something made of aquarium tubing that moves. Here’s a link to something in the middle.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Medusa-Headpiece-and-Costume/

Amelia Earhart

Who is more badass than Amelia Earhart? Obviously the most important thing about being Amelia is getting goggles and an aviator helmet, after that the rest is pretty simple.

Also, if you are dressing up as someone who has a different skin color than you, you do not need to do blackface or whiteface or any other skintone to get your character across. Just dress up like the character and rock a few props or make sure your costume is good enough that it’s obvious who you are.

In closing, we all know that there will be a bunch of Mileys, Duck Dynasty guys and Real Housewives out there so I encourage you to be different and be you. Whatever you choose to dress up as; do the voice, have an accessory, rock that character like a drag queen playing Snatch Game and have a good time.

As always, feel free to leave some costume ideas in the comments or share any costume disaster tales. This year I’m rocking crutches so I’m a bit limited (if you’ve got any costumes that involve crutches, your suggestions are quite welcome).

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Betty Schnockered

Latest posts by Betty Schnockered (see all)

• Sassy Suffragette and Other Feminist-Approved Halloween Costumes - October 30, 2013
• This Is What a Derby Feminist Looks Like - October 9, 2013

Tags: dress up, feminist halloween costumes, halloween, king of the hill

About the Author

Betty Schnockered