“Why are you dressed so scary?….It’s Halloween.” One of my favorite lines from the movie Mean Girls, that premiered back in 2004 when they were at a Halloween party.

It’s Halloween weekend and it’s time to get creative, put your costume together and celebrate! Whether you are going to a costume contest, a concert, a haunted house, or even bar-hopping, stay safe and have fun!

Halloween is a popular holiday since it consists of a weekend full of events where you can dress as your favorite animal, superhero, celebrity, etc. I love to go to Halloween stores every year to see what costumes they have to help me come up with what I want to be for Halloween. Checking out what pieces you have in your closet or checking out Pinterest is also a great way to come up with some costume ideas if you do not have one yet.

However, media and Halloween stores promote that women (and now even teen girls) should be wearing more sexualized versions of these costume ideas. I noticed that the majority of women’s costumes had the word “sexy” in front of it and am noticing more and more over-sexualized costumes being sold every year.

Here’s what should be the most important detail for any Halloween costume: I believe that women should wear whatever they want and feel comfortable wearing. A woman needs to know that she does not need to show more skin to be in the “spirit” of the fun holiday.

Dress how you want, whether it is scary, funny, adventurous, daring, or if you want to dress sexy than go ahead and do it, but it is crucial to feel confident in your own costume and not feel pressured to dress a certain way because of your peers. Stick to your own guidelines!

With that said, I personally love to design my own costume instead of buying one. This past weekend I went to Haight street in San Francisco and shopped at all of their cool boutiques that have unique pieces for all costume ideas and varying price points. I saw a lot of creativity going on and there were definitely some pieces that I passed on because I would not feel comfortable wearing that.

Happy Halloween!

Kristen was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a media enthusiast who loves fashion and makeup. As a recent college grad, Kristen is pursuing her dream of becoming a journalist. Follow her on Instragram at @itskrikri.