Halloween is the perfect time to make a statement about this year's pop culture hits and misses. According to Insider, some of the most popular pop culture Halloween costumes in 2017 will include pregnant Kylie Jenner, Wonder Woman and a Playboy Bunny.
According to Quartz, what this says about us, besides that we like to dress up, is that our collective psyche is riddled with TV and movies. But Quartz also pointed out the common human desire to be more powerful, which is why superheroes are a Halloween fashion staple.
Other pop culture favorites appearing this Halloween season include any costume that has Disney characters. In September, Pinterest noted that just the term "Disney costume" has been pinned more than 675,000 times this year, with Belle and Gaston from "Beauty and the Beast" leading the pack.
A costume that became cliché in its first season is Pennywise, the kid-killing clown from the screen adaptation of Stephen King’s “It.” Pinterest saves for clown makeup and costumes are up 941 percent this year. If you must join the horde, please, please, step away from red balloons near sewers in suburban neighborhoods. Other pop culture Halloween costume popular on Pinterest included “Baywatch” characters, frat boys and Wednesday Addams. One of the most popular Halloween makeup options is pixelated face makeup, which has been pinned more than 26,000 times.
Hit pop culture Halloween costumes from the media
Ripped-straight-from-the-headlines costumes make their own kind of scary Halloween statements, even if those headlines come straight from TMZ or People.
Fake News: Insider reports a mini dress of newspaper clippings stamped "Fake" in big red letters sold by costume retailer Yandy.
Pregnant Kylie Jenner: You may not be unique, but you'll be in good company in one of Yandy's $60 pregnant Kylie Jenner costume.
Hef and a Playboy bunny: 2017 claimed the life of Hugh Hefner. Sure, dressing as the dapper (if elderly) Hef and a Playboy bunny is a time-honored Halloween tradition, but this year's news adds a morbid touch to the Playmate (Yandy, $80) and Hugh Hefner (Target, $40) couples costume.
Dancing hot dog from Snapchat: The wildly popular dancing meme from Snapchat makes a hot pop culture Halloween costume. You can pick up a $40 hot dog suit from Target, but you must supply the over-the-ear headphones yourself.
Handmaid: Hulu's 2017 hit, based on the Margaret Atwood novel , "The Handmaid's Tale," is a dark metaphor for the current civil rights and political climate. A handmaid ensemble is easy to pull off for one or a group, from thrift store finds or ready-made purchases like the $64 version from Azure Costumes.
La La Land. Another great couples' idea from the Pinterest people, and if you can jitterbug and whatnot, all the better. For the snarkiest, include a "Moonlight" costume in the group as a nod to the 2017 Best Picture Oscars mix-up.
April the Giraffe and her baby from Animal Adventure Park: With giraffe costumes and make-up running wild on Pinterest (up 1,200 percent from last year, unless someone made a typo), what a great time to dress as the ever-pregnant and finally a mom April the Giraffe. Depending on your companions and physical condition, you may want to go for pregnant April, during her eternal labor, or with her offspring.
Kinder, gentler pop culture costumes
Groot: According to Pinterest, searches for this soulful, leafy "Guardians of the Galaxy" character's costume have gone up 133 percent in the past year. It's a more involved costume than most, with those branches and all, but it has the prime advantage of also having a baby costume option: Baby Groot from "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2."
Bob Ross and Tree: That's a happy tree, mind you, a perfect foil to 2017's political and environmental strife. And hey, Pinterest reports 25,000-plus saves on the costume idea.
Unicorns: Rainbows and sparkles will be in the forecast for Halloween 2017 trick-or-treating and costume parties for sure, with searches for unicorn costumes up 110 percent this year on Pinterest. According to Quartz, "The draw seems to be childlike positivity and magical thinking, allowing people see themselves and the world through rose- (and cobalt-) colored glasses."
"My Little Pony": With the 2017 release of the "My Little Pony" movie, the animated characters should give you plenty of sweet costume options for every optimist on the block. Just be sure your costume has a pony name and a birthday on Equestria.
Cox Media Group
