AMY CRELLIN, JESSICA DUNN & KERRYN MUSSON

Halloween is fast approaching  this weekend and for many women this means searching through endless costumes online or in shops trying to find the perfect outfit.

However, for many women this is a tedious task with a preponderance of inappropriate or provocative costumes on offer.

Ms Lockett

Although there is a broad range of costumes for women, often there is not much to vary around the theme of the outfit. There’s a skimpy nurse outfit, a skimpy sailor outfit, skimpy playboy bunny outfit, skimpy army girl outfit and other even skimpier outfits.

Claremont based costume and party suplly shop, Party Town, stocks a broad range of different costumes.

Party Town employee Ann-Maree Lockett said there needs to be a broader range of costumes for Halloween.

“Eighteen to 25-year-old girls usually go as some kind of dark witchy ghoul, usually their dresses are short and they want boobs,” she said

“Either that or some sort of nurse.”

Although in the shop there are different types of outfits, the costumes that are more provocative tend to be more popular.

“The most provocative costume is for sure Playboy bunny, for fancy dress,” Ms Lockett said.

“When we put them on the shelves I’m amazed at how many people put on a playboy bunny costume.”

Ms Lockett said often mothers come into the shop with their teenage daughters and pick out some of the more provocative outfits.

“If it’s a teenager coming in here looking for something a bit more revealing we tend to try to steer them towards something not so raunchy,” she said.

High school psychologist Alida Warman said the media had a part to play in expecations about costumes.

“The media is impacting in boys’ expecations of girls with factors such as pornography,” Mrs Warman said.

“They are bombarded and surrounded with these sexualised images.”

She said social media also plays a huge part with boys and girls being able to communicate more freely.

In Leederville today, Alessandra Solar, 20, said the Halloween holiday had now become a time for girls to wear whatever they wanted and not get judged for it.

“I feel as though that this does in fact take away the meaning of Halloween as let’s face it it’s not called ‘slutaween’ it’s a day where kids and everyone can get rid of the bad spirits,” she said.