"HALLOWEEN IS THE one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut, and no other girls can say anything about it."

These words were uttered by the immortal Cady Heron in the 2004 movie "Mean Girls." While Cady may not be entirely real, her message most definitely is.

Going to a store to find a Halloween costume this year was like walking into the closet of a burlesque dancer. Pocohottie, Touchdown Tease, Sassy Sailor, Flirty Firefighter, and Cottontail Cutie dominated the shelves. Their package covers featured photos of probable Playboy models giving the camera a seductive smile.

The Flirty Firefighter costume package. Gargoyle photo by Jenny Cooke (click for product description at target.com)

And the actual costumes? Let’s look at the Flirty Firefighter cover picture for an example.

A few immediate problems come to mind here. The hat looks right, but I don’t think fishnets would offer much protection against flames. And did fire burn a hole in the front of her costume?

These days, female costumes don't seem to come in any size other than SMALL. Nothing extends past the knees, nothing covers the bust. Costumes for conservatives? If you're looking for a premade, you would be hard pressed to find one.

Few people have the time to sew their own costumes, and costumes have become expensive. At many specialty shops, full costume sets often cost between $25 and $75.

Accessories generally must be purchased separately. The Flirty Firefighter outfit was being sold for $30. To make matters worse, the cheapskate manufacturers didn't even include the hat, fishnets, and boots.

Costumes used to be original not expensive. The coolest costumes were the homemade ones, created around an original concept and painstakingly built for accuracy.

However, they seem to be dying out. On Friday, I attended the Student Council-sponsored costume contest during lunch. While I appreciated the free candy that almost knocked me unconscious, I was a little disappointed with the results of the actual competition.

Freshman Petra Rantanen wears her homemade spoon outfit during Friday's costume contest at Uni Gym. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

My favorite costume was a giant spoon outfit made out of silver duct tape. It was created and modeled by freshman Petra Rantanen. However, my favorite spoon was beaten by costumes that were merely rented or included a few store-bought accessories.

When going costume shopping this year, I encountered three types of basic, unoriginal Halloween outfits for sale, though they all seemed to feature a miniskirt and top with provocative holes.

First came the racist costumes with labels like Greek Goddess, Cleopatra, Bollywood Babe, and Geisha.

Second were the job costumes: Dirty Cop, Racy Referee, Sassy Sailor, and our aforementioned Firefighter.

Then we had the animal costumes. These must be the easiest type to manufacture, because the only identifying feature they need is a pair of ears. Plus animals don't need clothes, so it makes sense when girls cover up as little as possible to become sexy bunnies, mice, or felines. I have always thought of bunnies as cute and maybe even cuddly, but sexy? That is a new one for me.

The push toward more revealing costumes is not an isolated incident. The whole world is doing it. One of the most noted recent examples was Noah Cyrus, half-sister of the famous Miley Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana.

Noah is 9 years old. Her Halloween costume was best identified as a cross between a dominatrix and sexy vampire, complete with red lipstick and heavy black eye makeup. After photos of Noah wearing the outfit were uploaded, concerned parents flooded the Internet. But those concerns have not gotten in the way of the trend continuing to grow.

Kids are feeling the peer pressure. They see their Hollywood role models dressing up like Noah. All their friends are being cutie cats or sexy witches. They do not want to be the one kid stuck in a sheet with holes.

When I was younger and went trick-or-treating, I was usually a witch. The reason for this is because my mom insisted that I wear my winter coat under whatever costume I choose. I hated this, but I will admit it does make sense. Halloween is at the end of October. It is almost winter.

The temperature this Halloween was about 40 degrees. Those temperatures did not warrant the "rock star" miniskirt and tube top I saw one 12-year-old buying. I wonder if her mom made her wear a ski jacket over that.

I am not saying that every girl should be wearing granny slacks and turtlenecks, but at the end of the night, it is nice to have your original skin coloring still intact.