Every Halloween brings brand new experiences but one thing is always consistent: There are always a significant amount of girls dressed in provocative costumes.

Americans spend around 2.11 billion dollars on Halloween costumes each year, according to IBIS World. Contributing to this large amount of money are teenage girls and women looking for an excuse to dress in clothes that are way more revealing than what they would usually wear. This phenomenon has become so popular that Party City’s website has a whole category dedicated to only “sexy costumes.” The costumes under this category are exactly what would be expected – all skin tight, with short skirts and extremely low necklines.

More and more women and teen girls are choosing to follow this trend each year. The question on everyone’s mind is, of course, why?

“Part of me thinks girls do this because they just want attention,” said sophomore Ilisha Strassler. “The other part of me believes it’s because the majority of Halloween costumes sold are revealing. Girls want to look cute and there aren’t many cute, conservative costumes.”

This appears to be true. Things don’t get any better in the regular womens costumes category; the costume selections are designed in almost the exact same way as in the sexy costumes category. It’s almost impossible to find a good, modest costumes at any costume store.

Halloween should not be about showing as much skin as you can. There is no need for that. Halloween should be about getting creative and being able to be someone or something you’ve always wanted to be for a night. Even though it can be difficult, it is absolutely possible to look cute and decent at the same time. I have a piece of advice for you when you go costume shopping this year: Always think before you buy.