Teen Costumes

Teens don't have to squeeze into children costumes or have an adult costume altered anymore-now costume manufacturers have created costumes specifically for teens, to fit their size and style. A successful teen costume should bridge the gap between child and adult themes. Since they're definitely not children but not yet adults, teenagers often struggle with straddling the middle ground for costumes. Parents don't want teens dressing too sexy, but teens probably don't want to dress like an eight year-old, either. Teenagers want to stress their independence and autonomy. Teen costumes should be original (teens don't want to be caught wearing the same thing as a friend), creative, stylish, fashionable, hip, and timely. Above all, teen costumes should be cool. Here are popular themes for teen halloween costumes:

Going Back in Time

Costumes with time period themes can be a lot of fun. There are many options for each generation and teens can have a ball going to a thrift store and picking out an old, gaudy outfit. The 80s is a popular theme. Think legwarmers, spandex workout clothes, acid-washed denim, and French cuffed jeans. The 70s and 60s are also popular decades and the 90s is increasingly becoming a hot theme. Teens can have fun wearing bell-bottoms, dressing like hippies, or being ensconced in the flannel days of grunge. 1920s flappers and mobster styles are always popular as well.

Keeping Up With Trends

Teenagers are trendy. Most of them keep up with the latest popular music, celebrities, movies, and TV shows. Even though older adults may miss the reference of a teenager dressed as a current rap star, chances are that other teens will know exactly who is being portrayed. Beyonce, Lindsey Lohan, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Miley Cyrus, and Justin Timberlake are popular teen celebrities. Popular fictional characters to portray include Captain Jack Sparrow, Napoleon Dynamite, superheroes, Indiana Jones, Star Wars characters, Harry Potter, and Austin Powers.

Up-and-Coming Themes

Newer themes for teen parties include dressing as rednecks, video game characters, or wearing the most ugly Christmas sweater. Redneck parties allow teens to dress in stained white tank tops, ripped-up jeans, and cut-off shirts. Many teens dress as their favorite video game character, like Pac-Man or Pac-Woman, Mario, Luigi, or Sonic the Hedgehog.

The Horrors

Horror-themed costumes are always in style-the scarier the better. Teenagers may want to emulate characters in recent horror films or opt for classic horror villains like Michael Myers from Halloween, Freddie Kruger from Nightmare on Elm Street, or hockey mask wearing Jason from Friday the 13th. If those characters are too over-done, teens can dress as zombie prom dates, undead cheerleaders or football players, or accident victims - any idea can be turned into a teen halloween costume zombie with a little special-effects makeup.

The Classics... With a Twist

Classic costume themes-witches, fairies, superheroes, and princesses-never go out of style. Teens can alter these themes to make them trendier. Instead of dressing as a regular white fairy, dress as a black Goth fairy. Instead of being a regular witch with a cape, don a ripped up dress and steel-toed boots and go as a punk witch.

With a little creativity and an eye towards trends, teens can come up with an original halloween costume that fits right in (but doesn't copy) their friends' costumes.