Halloween used to be cute. Homemade ghosts and ghouls would dart around neighborhood streets in a never-ending hunt for the house with the biggest candy bars. But as soon as adolescence hits, many girls decide Halloween is a chance to put on their underwear and classiest pair of stripper heels and declare the skimpy outfit a costume.

Now, I completely understand why ladies might see the appeal of having one night a year when they can dress up. It’s fun to prance around in costume. It is, however, completely unnecessary to dress with no self-respect. I always thought Halloween was an opportunity to dress as a dream job, but judging by the costumes I’ve seen these past few years, our generation will be full of scantily clad doctors, police officers and bumblebees.

Half the time, these flimsy outfits make no sense. Marie Antoinette wore more than a wig and booty shorts. Referees seldom wear nine-inch heels and skirts.  If you want to be a pirate, go ahead, be a pirate. Just wear what pirates would wear – long pants and a poofy shirt. Those plunging v-necks and butt-length skirts are demeaning and historically inaccurate.

The worst part is costume stores are encouraging teenagers to clothe themselves in skin-tight shorts and shirts. The online costume store www.zoogstercostumes.com has a section specifically dedicated to “Sexy Teen Costumes,” containing outfits such as Sexy Oktoberfest Beer Girl, Sexy Snow White, and Go-Go Girl (an outfit that literally is nothing more than a bikini top and a neon yellow ultra-miniskirt).

They even have the audacity to ruin a character very dear to me – Harry Potter. Taking the classy Hogwarts uniform and transforming it into a tiny, gray dress that a Chihuahua wouldn’t fit into is horrifying and borderline depressing. Thank goodness they had the decency to remember the glasses and wand. Otherwise, I would probably start a riot.

Everyone likes to look good. I get that. But here’s a secret: less is not always more. Girls can look good without dressing like they are at a Playboy Bunny audition. Have fun with Halloween, but have some self-respect.

And whatever you do, don’t make Harry Potter look trashy.