Halloween and the ever-dwindling costume

Halloween is fast approaching, and for those of us who choose to immerse ourselves in the holiday, costume hunting has officially begun. Seems like an easy enough task — find a costume, purchase the costume, and successfully mask your identity for a day.

Alas, this is not the case ... especially for women.

If you don’t believe me, browse a store or the internet for women’s costumes. What will you find? A plethora of barely-there, plunging neckline, mini-skirt, thigh-high-fishnet-stockings-included costumes better fit for a burlesque show in Las Vegas.

Ladies, are you looking to dress-up as for your favorite childhood character? Not a problem! These sites offer the brothel version of any character from Strawberry Shortcake to Wonder Woman to Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

If I were to deduce anything from these offerings, it would be that Halloween has the potential to become any man’s new favorite holiday. One website even boasts a link that will bring you directly to their “sexy costumes”.

Now, while there are costumes toned-down enough for most women to feel comfortable enough to wear in public, the vast majority are something straight out of the lingerie department.

I want to know when, exactly, did Halloween go from good, clean fun to sexual propaganda? I have spoken to women about this, and I know that I am not alone — ensuring your costume isn’t an all night wardrobe malfunction is more of a task than you would think.

I will make one exception for adult costume parties (though even these could use a visit from the decency fairy). But what about parents looking to dress-up with their kids? If a mother wanted to be a princess with her daughter, odds are she would end up looking like a Cinderella skipped the ball and went to Mardi Gras instead.

Not to mention, the teen costume section is just as bad. Girls that are anywhere from 13 to 18 have their choice of skimpy costumes only slightly modified from the more “adult” versions. It makes me want to purchase robes instead of candy in anticipation for what I’ll be seeing this year.

Also, this is the Upper Peninsula. Women wearing these skin-baring monstrosities aren’t fooling any of the parents who have put snowsuits underneath their children’s costumes. Put a coat on — we all know you're freezing.

My requests for this holiday? I want the ease of finding the costume that will cover ALL parts of me. I want to walk out of my house and see women who are confident enough to forgo the stereotypical “sexy” costume. I want to see teen girls escaping peer pressure and dressing up, not down.

Halloween is supposed to be scary and comical, not a risque runway show.