I've learned to appreciate the fun of dress-up. Not just in fancy clothes (although that can be nice on occasion), but in costumes. Costume play - or as the Japanese like to abbreviate it, "cosplay" - allows one to dress up in extravagant ways that regular daily life rarely calls for, and for the imaginatively inclined, allows one to don an alternate, sometimes even fantasy, persona. Personally, I don't go in for the role play much, but I like the aesthetics of costume dress, and, for me personally, I enjoy the opportunity to become the fantasy I dream about being - that is, to become a sexy girl, who can put on skimpy, feminine costumes and be admired, instead of ridiculed.
In any case, costume play serves a variety of interests, and above all, is just plain fun. So last Halloween, I was thinking about the complaints some people make about turning the holiday into an excuse to dress like sluts, instead of the spooky, imaginative holiday it's "supposed" to be, and that eventually drew me to the conclusion that we could stand to use more costumed holidays than just Halloween. And just now I was thinking more about the different kinds of costume holidays we could have (which I only briefly considered before). Here's what I've come up with - there could be at least four without significant overlap (provided people follow each day's main theme).
1. Career Day
This one doesn't sound like much fun, I know. But better than "bring-your-kid-to-work day", and better than "bring-your-parent-to-class day", this could be a day where kids dress up in the outfit associated with whatever it is they want to be when they grow up (fireman, astronaut, doctor, policeman, etc.), and could be a great catalyst for some excellent recess imagination play! Adults, meanwhile, could either attend parties in their work clothes (I know, that doesn't sound very exciting) - or better yet, dress up as something they'd like to be but never had a chance to try, (like, "I always wanted to be a rock star"), or as the hobby they either engage in on the side, or have always wanted to start up (photography, stamp collecting, racecar driving, etc.). Not only would this holiday encourage kids to think about their futures, it could also encourage adults to think about pursuing whatever it is that will make them happy, whether that includes switching careers or finally taking up that hobby.
2. Imagination Day
You could also call this one Fantasy Day or Make-Believe Day. This one's all about the imagination. If there's something you've always wanted to be - something unrealistic, that maybe doesn't even exist in the real world, this is your day to pretend. Be it fantasy-related (knights, princesses, dragons) or sci-fi (aliens, robots, Jedis), realistic (pirates, ninjas, dinosaurs) or make-believe (unicorns, faeries, bigfoot). Or any animal you can think of that you've always wanted to be! I imagine this holiday would be geared more toward the kiddies (and no harm in that), but there's no reason adults who haven't given up their imagination can't join in, too. [On the other hand, I could see the adults turning this one into a sexual holiday too - call it Roleplay Day ("oh, my knight in shining armor, save me from this beastly dragon!"). Maybe we should make that another holiday, just for the adults, to preempt their hijacking of this one, or, in the spirit of sharing, we could just let it be both at once - imagination for the kids, and roleplay for the adults. I don't see why not.]
3. Spirit Day
This one is basically Halloween. The idea is to dress up like things that are scary - ghosts, zombies, witches, skeletons, mummies, werewolves, and the list goes on. Traditional Halloween stuff. This one can be fun for kids and adults alike. Since much has been said about Halloween already - being that it's a real holiday - I don't have much to add. This one's 'true spirit' is preserved by the creation of the other costume holidays.
4. Slut Day
And this is the one that attempts to siphon the unintended sluttiness from the others. People love to dress like sluts - let's be honest. If they had a dedicated day for it, maybe they'd be less inclined to hijack other holidays. Maybe. In any case, I think Slut Day sounds like a totally fun holiday. It would be held on the first Saturday in August, so the temperature is warm enough for skimpy outfits, and so people can't complain about not dressing sluttily because of work or school. Plus Saturday night is a great night for parties. So on Slut Day, you could dress up in the sluttiest outfit you own, or, alternatively, you could get a slutty costume, which would basically consist of ultra-slutty versions of the costumes you might wear on any other costume holiday - slutty fireman, slutty nurse, slutty princess, slutty pirate, slutty zombie, slutty witch, or your perennial classic, slutty slut. Whatever the case may be, it's a formula for lots of good, sexy fun times. :-D
