My Politically Charged Halloweens

In 1981, a lot of nine-year-olds didn’t have much input on their Halloween costumes. We just wore whatever our mothers made for us. My mom, a creative force with a sewing machine and strong opinions, hand-made every costume my sister and I wore. I’ve always known my parents to be lifelong democrats, but that year, my mother must have been temporarily enchanted by Ronald Reagan or maybe just hungry, because she literally dressed me up as his favorite candy: jelly beans.

She used a clear garbage bag as the candy jar, filled it with brightly colored balloons, handed me an American flag, and sent me off to school. The costume was smart, thrifty, and a little bit political (though completely lost on my friends). “What are you?” said the cheerleaders and princesses back to me. When I told my teachers, “I’m Reagan’s jelly beans,” they smiled, knowing that was pretty clever. When I was given the award for best costume at the parade that year, it felt like a win for me and my mom.

The following Halloween, she doubled down on current events. The original Tylenol scare had gripped the country after cyanide-laced capsules killed seven people, sparking the invention of tamper-proof seals. My mother turned that national panic into another creative triumph: she dressed my sister up as an actual Tylenol pill. She won the parade that year.

Those photos are still framed in my parents’ family room, and they always make me smile. They remind me how Halloween is all about imagination, not Amazon Prime. I have endless admiration for every parent who still handmakes their kids’ costumes, admitting here that I never did. It’s a level of creativity and care that feels rare and precious now.

And since this is a beauty Substack, I’ve been thinking about what makes a costume stand out. For me, it’s the concept and the way it makes people smile. That’s the same magic that makes beauty so personal and powerful.

So, in the spirit of nostalgia and play, I’m sharing three of my all-time favorite beauty-inspired costumes below, one news-inspired, one a little political, and one full of imagination (PhD-level make-up application).

Happy Halloween,

xx

Bina