Halloween brings no shortage of couples in coordinated costumes, proudly displaying pumpkins they carved together on social media channels. Sure, that’s fun and cute, but Halloween offers an interesting twist, somewhat of a social experiment for the single YP on the dating scene. Halloween isn’t your typical night out, when we are all so automatically categorized by our party of choice, what we wear and the company we keep. Not only does the presence of a costume magically (fine, along with the alcohol) increase one’s levels of confidence and make social interaction with strangers more welcomed and acceptable, it brings a few other things to consider for the single young professional.
There is no superficial judging from appearances
On Halloween, with everyone in costume, you can’t glance over at someone and make quick appearance-based judgments; what they wear, how clean their shoes are or how they style their hair. And yes, we all do it, whether we choose to admit it or not. This is one of the rare situations where you can experience sparks with a stranger based on personality (especially if heavy face makeup or a mask disguises their face) and how well the two of you so freely interact. One the flip side, you may confuse your affection for this new fellow single with the fantasy of the hot nurse or vampire costume in which they look so inviting (not that you’ve seen them in anything else).
It provides an opportunity to discover that people outside your circle do exist
We admit, albeit somewhat snobby, that one of our grievances with Halloween is that it brings everyone and their costumed mother out of the woodwork, meaning traffic, cab shortages, lineups and general debauchery. The good news is that YPs who are not regulars on the party circuit (not in a weird way, simply because they have other things to do) make an exception for Halloween. This means you are going to meet people outside of your typical, somewhat stale circle of potential love interests (LOs) on the scene. Unlike designated “banker bars” or “hipster hangouts,” Halloween brings diverse Halloween parties that draw guests of all types – you know, the kind of party where you could easily bump into an old high school classmate you haven’t seen in years, your little cousin, and a client all within an hour. In short, it expands the breadth of options for the single YP.
Shamelessly show off your assets
Let’s face it, we can’t go as scantily clad as we once did as we get older, no matter how well preserved we may be. Exceptions may be made on vacation and on Halloween. We are by no means suggesting this is done in a cheesy, overgrown sorority sister or frat boy way. By this point, we all know our best assets and Halloween provides a chance to shamelessly and unapologetically show them off, whether its those mile-long legs and toned butt in Daisy Dukes, or those pipes you’ve been working on in a rock and roll tee.
Makes for some funny stories
We have always relished in “morning after” tales that come with Halloween. For one, it can make for some awkward hookup moments when the removal of costumes, face paint and wigs are involved. There is a famous tale among our YP set involving a normally suave YP male shamelessly asking a fellow female YP to “please unzip me” as he turned around in his full spandex bodysuit. For another, it makes for some hilarious costumed walk-of-shame stories. Furthermore, when referencing the new potential LOs to friends, he or she will forever be known and remembered by what they were wearing…as in “I am going on a date with that hot cowboy dude from the party,” or “that ballerina with the banging body called.”
Whether trick or treat, costume or not, be safe and Happy Halloween.
Photo courtesy The Chive