Today’s children’s costumes are certainly more complex than the costumes of our youth. There’s a realism to them that’s, well, a bit unnerving. Never mind the slutty Little Ho-Peep numbers that have been garnering so much press of late. I’m thinking of costumes so byzantine, they would be right at home in a Julie Taymor production of The Lion King.
So when a pint-sized Spidey rappels down the side of your house tonight or a Remy the Rat slinks its way out of a nest of autumn leaves beside your porch, I’d like to encourage each of you to remember a forgotten time of the simpler costumes of our youth. Yes, a time when Ben Cooper “flame retarted” costumes reigned supreme (”See, here, mom, I’m not going to burn up in this number. No Way!). A time when, if you wanted to be a super hero, you didn’t dress like the super hero but rather had a picture of that particular super hero emblazoned on your chest for easy identification. A time when a costume could be purchased for a mere $3.99 and, if you were lucky, might make it all the way through Halloween night without the cheap rubber band on the back of the mask breaking.
Yes, back then, our costumes came in ready-to-wear vinyl jumpsuits that you wore over your clothes and we liked ‘em! When you got that caramel apple all over the front side of your vinyl lapel at Johnny’s after school party, mom could easily wipe you clean with a damp dishrag or water hose before sending you out on your way for more trick-or-treats.
In keeping with the arcade theme, I dug out these two old Halloween costumes I bought on eBay a number of years ago. I was never cool enough to go as Q*Bert or Pac-Man (and, my, how the Namco property has evolved over the years–back then, Pac-Man looked hopped up on something besides power pellets, if you know what I mean.). But I’d like to think that the kid who did wear this Pac-Man costume back in 1982 rang the doorbell and when the unsuspecting adult opened the door, he just cooly held out his Pac-Man pillowcase and said, “Wacka wacka.” The Q*Bert kid was even more bad-ass. Instead of “Trick or Treat!” he must have said, “Gimme your @!#?@! candy!”
