Why You Should Wear a Good, Cheap 2007 Halloween Costume this Year

2007 Costumes

2007 Halloween costumes might seem passé, but it's best to remember that what all things that once were, can be again, and that's why these outfits and masks are no different.

The big thing to remember is that 2007 was a great year for politics, so it's worth looking through some of that year's biggest stories to find a costume that makes sense for you for your next party or event. After all, the food will still taste the same, won't it?

There is, of course, the president and vice president of the time. George W. Bush was winding down his presidency in 2007, and that's a great place to start. A Bush mask is in itself a perfectly good costume, and in the context of 2009 it has almost a totally different meaning than it had in 2007.

Bush was on his way out, a hated (his approval rating was just 23% at the time) relic of an ugly age that was mercifully coming to an end. In 2009 he remains a relic of that age, but is almost viewed as a tragic figure who was manipulated by those stronger than he. Throw a dunce hat on, then, and you've got your 2009 version of the best of George W. Bush.

Those who were stronger in office than Bush, and probably manipulated him throughout his two-term presidency (I still can't get over that), start with Dick Cheney, Bush's vice president.

Cheney kept a relatively low profile near the end of Bush's second term, but this isn't 2007 anymore. Since Barack Obama took office, Cheney has been a relentless critic of the new president, making speeches, giving interviews and even writing a book in which he details he criticisms of Obama, but reveals the fractures between himself and Bush during their final years in office.

So in a way even though Cheney fits the model of 2007 Halloween costumes, he makes an even better 2009 Halloween costume. He makes sense on both levels.

Or, you could just throw out two years ago and go as a homemade or store bought Cyndi Lauper this year. That'll show 'em!

What about the 1950s

1950's costumes are a popular choice for Halloween revelers every year, and with good reason. In many ways the 1950s were the beginning of modern fashion, and haute couture became more than just a realm of the uber-rich or uber-connected, or French.

These costumes, then, reflect their importance down all the way to the clothes most people wear today, be it to work or to play, and this is something to keep in mind when picking out your own outfits not only for Halloween, but for your day-to-day life in general.

One of the great things about 1950's costumes is that they were so heavily influenced by the films of Alfred Hitchcock, probably the most stylish and stylized filmmaker ever to get behind the camera.

Hitchcock used colors, patterns and lines in his films - not just the 1950's costumes that his actors wore, but in the way he framed entire shots, the buildings he chose to stage his plots around, all the way down to waving, mazy fields of corn or wheat - in a way no one else had previously.

His films are unique, and the best costumes come from the master filmmaker himself, as does so much else in the world of art and cinema.

Take, for example, the film North By Northwest. It is one of Hitchcock's later films, one of his greatest films, and one of his most famous films. In it Carey Grant plays a New Yorker caught up in international intrigue, theft and murder.

And, since it is Hitchcock, romance as well. Sex was always the subtext in Hitchcock's films, and North By Northwest ends very famously with a shot of a train entering a tunnel as Grant climbs into bed with Eva Marie Saint (signifying, of course, what they are about to do. A brilliant way to get around the censorship of the time).

Even better, though, is the opening shot of the United Nations building, perhaps the epitome of modern architecture at the time. The United Nations building is slightly curved, made up of thousands of windows and bars that provide it a machinelike sameness.

Hitchcock uses that shot to create a sense of individualism being lost in the machinery of the modern - 1950s modern - world. It's stunning, and you can see costumes then and now reflecting that shot equally.

The ideas keep coming once you get started. You might buy wigs and contact lenses and wear this homemade outfit to the party. Have fun, discuss the origin of Halloween with your costumed friends, cook up some easy gross recipes, find some cool adult games to play online. You'll have a blast and your event will be a huge success!