Collier’s Weekly: 10 More Prohibited Pittsburgh Halloween Costumes

We can’t tell you what you should wear, but we absolutely can tell you what you shouldn’t.
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PHOTO: EDGAR SNYDER & ASSOCIATES INSTAGRAM PAGE

Ah, the dangerous mid-week Halloween night. Sure, you went to a party and a haunted house last weekend; you probably even thought that your spooky revels were thus ended.

Now, however, the day itself has arrived — and you’ve decided you need a little more uncanny fun before the holidays show up and make everything merry. Great! Bad news: You threw most of your costume in the garbage after drinking too much Vampire Blood on Saturday.

You may be looking around the closet for an acceptable last-minute costume; you may even be reading local headlines for inspiration. We wish you well. But we also wish to inform you that the following costumes are unacceptable. Some are difficult to execute; some are simply too obvious. And yes — all the prohibited costumes from our original list are still in effect. You still can’t be a racing pierogie; you still can’t be zombie Romero.

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PHOTO: EBAY

I.C. Light Can

I speak from experience on this one. In college, I was determined to dress as a pint of Guinness for Halloween. I found a black, plastic tub — like what you’d use to hold ice and drinks at a picnic — and cut the bottom off. Then I painted the top white, added a thick layer of cardboard for the foam and put the whole contraption over my head. I thought I looked convincingly like a pint glass; everyone I met thought I had dressed as a toilet. Absent the ability to commission this from a real costume artist, don’t even try.


Sinkhole Bus

You are not this good at making costumes, I promise you.


Spotted Lanternfly

Under the best of circumstances, you’re going to actually pull this off in convincing fashion. Under the worst of circumstances, you’re going to look like a ladybug/domino hybrid. It’s probably going to be a lot closer to the worst of circumstances, but let’s say you manage to whip up a convincing lanternfly costume. What will you get for your troubles? You’ll get squashed and swatted by everyone you meet. Congratulations, Captain Bug, now your costume is “punching bag.”


Squished Spotted Lanternfly

What? No. Gross. This is even worse.


Matt Canada

First of all, Matt Canada does not have a distinct enough appearance to make a convincing costume. What are you going to do? Put on a bald cap and a Steelers hoodie and draw on a goatee? Congratulations, you look like every single person in line at the DMV. Inevitably, though, you’re going to take this outfit one step further and somehow attach some foam flames so you can tell everyone your costume is “Fire Matt Canada.” Now you’re just making a sports-talk radio argument with your clothing. Move on.


Vampire Edgar Snyder

We know, we know: Edgar Snyder has been doing TV commercials since the Sophie Masloff administration and hasn’t visibly aged. We all have joked that he is a vampire. First, see the Matt Canada entry above; it’s going to be hard to get this right, so you’re just going to look like a vampire substitute teacher. Second, I know that you think it’s very clever to point at everyone you meet and say, “And remember, there’s no fee unless we get BLOOD from you!” It’s not that clever. No one will laugh.


Some Kind of Traffic Joke

Covering yourself with Hot Wheels all in a row and saying you’re 28 North? Wearing an unadorned gray tracksuit and saying you’re the unused Southern Beltway? Not that funny — and you’re going to end up stepping on those Hot Wheels. Didn’t you see “Home Alone?”


Yinzer Jason Voorhees

We’ve all been there. We don’t like the costume we bought, or we forgot to buy one altogether — and we’re leaving for the party in 10 minutes. Suddenly, it occurs to us: “There’s a hockey mask in the garage. I’ll put that on over a well-worn Jerome Bettis hoodie, a pair of black sweatpants and snow boots. I’ll stop at Spirit Halloween for a plastic machete, wrap the Terrible Towel around it and bam — JasoN’at Voorhees!” In an absolute last-minute Halloween emergency, yes, this is identifiably a costume. But your laziness will shine through. (This also applies to Yinzer Michael Myers and Yinzer Ghostface. Yinzer Freddy Krueger and Yinzer Pennywise are much more labor intensive and thus acceptable.)


Taylor Swift If She Were Dating T.J. Watt Instead of Travis Kelce

Too high concept. What, you wanna be explaining it all night? I know you spent a lot of money on your Eras Tour fit, but this is not the time to reuse it.


Gobblerito

PHOTO COURTESY OF MAD MEX

GobbleritoOh, so you think you’re just gonna wrap yourself in a beige blanket and carry around a plush turkey and call it a costume? Maybe craft a line of small potatoes and use it as a necklace? Accent it with some kind of cranberry-colored lipstick? Well … you know what, I actually like this one. May the best Gobblerito win Halloween.

Categories: Collier’s Weekly