Harvard’s Halloween Costumes: Pop Culture’s Ever-Present Influence

October seems to have only just arrived with its pumpkin spice, cool air, and color-changing leaves, yet the autumnal month is already almost over. With November just around the corner, one must first begin to prepare for the spookiest holiday of the year: Halloween.

Halloween has served as an opportunity for people of all ages to carve jack-o-lanterns, trick-or-treat, and, very importantly, dress up as anyone or anything they choose — a tradition that, in its earliest form, began in the late 15th century. With the celebration right around the corner, students are starting to think about what costumes to wear this upcoming week.

One Harvard student, Alexander “Alex” V. Papazov ’28, provided examples of what he plans to dress up as and what he thinks will be popular this year.

“Halloweekend — it’s a few nights — so I’ve got a few different ideas. One of them is a sexy cowboy thing, another one’s a sexy Harry Potter thing, and the other one is ‘Saltburn,’” said Papazov.

An opportunity for artistic expression, Halloween is the night to test out a variety of costumes that, typically, one would not otherwise have a chance to — and the possibilities are endless.

“I feel like maybe something that has to do with ‘Saltburn.’ Maybe some people dressing up as Olympians because of the Paris 2024 Olympics. I’m not sure beyond that,” said Papazov.

Papazov went on to add what kinds of costumes he would be most interested to see.

“I think that there’s a difference between what I think is really interesting and what I think is fun to see,” said Papazov. “I think the historical, more cultural costumes are probably on the more interesting side for me. But, to be completely honest, I think the funner costumes are the ones where there’s — I don’t know — more risky [aspects].”

Another Harvard student Tiffany Oh ’28 provided additional input on what she’s wearing and her costume predictions for this year.

“I’m going to be doing a friend costume. My friend is going to be the white angel, and I’m going to be the black angel,” said Oh.

With movies like “Challengers,” sports like women’s rugby, and western themes like Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” currently rising in social relevance, such trends have become increasingly exemplified in modern costumes — and there’s no wrong choice when it comes to finding what fits best this year.

“I feel like maybe Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders because of the new documentary on Netflix, or — I don’t know — something to do with the new shows that came out,” said Oh.

Oh went on to share what she believes are influential factors in the evolution of costumes.

“I think it’s definitely pop culture driven, and it depends on the new media that comes out every single year. And, especially with social media platforms like TikTok, I feel like trends come and go super quickly,” Oh said.

Furthermore, Oh shared more on what costumes she looks forward to seeing on campus this year.

“I personally find the really niche social costumes really funny,” said Oh. “If there’s an inside joke going around on social media and someone uses that to make it into a costume that not a lot of people are doing, I think those are really funny. Other than that, I like to see creativity because I feel like costumes can get really repetitive.”

Brooke R. Augustine ’28, another first-year student at the College, shared what she believes is going to be popular, her thoughts on how social media can catapult costume ideas, and, ultimately, what costumes she believes are the most interesting to see.

“I think sailors are becoming popular because the color navy is really making a comeback,“ said Augustine.

TikTok has been a driving force in what is considered relevant among society’s younger generations. Ultimately, since the platform’s rise in popularity, it has served as a mode of sharing outfits, daily routines, and, now, costumes for Halloween.

“I think a lot of costumes are influenced by trends and trending moments, so, I don’t know, whatever the trend is right now, I think we’ll see it soon,” said Augustine.

As Halloween inches closer and closer, uniqueness and creativity seems to be a center focus in the costume-selection process.

“I would say that cultural value costumes are the funniest to me or the most interesting to look at. I think funny costumes in general are the best ones,” said Augustine.

Social media evidently plays a large role in establishing what costumes are relevant and popular. As we saw with “Barbie” last fall, the movie’s influence made Barbie costumes exponentially more popular than Ken costumes. Social media and pop culture ultimately causes people to go out to stores, invest their money in accessories, and represent their personalities, and it is undeniably entertaining to witness the creativity.

At least at Harvard, look out for cowboys, angels, and navy blue extravaganza this Halloweekend.