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Hillary Clinton Wants You To Dress Up Like Her

by Margaret Judson

Don't say Hillary Clinton never did anything for ya. If you didn't think she had your back before, now there's no question. Halloween is coming, and election years in particular call for political costumes. To that end, it turns out Clinton's camp is here to help with some ideas to give you a head start. On her campaign website, Clinton actually offers some costume suggestions, should you want to make your Halloween scream #ImWithHer. And beyond their suggestions, there are more Hillary Clinton Halloween costumes to be had.

Clinton's been the subject of Halloween costumes for decades now. After all, she's been so vividly in the public eye for much of her adult life. But now she's taking matters into her own hands and nudging the narrative to fit her favorite historic duds. Check out the options on her website to get you started.

The first one is dear to my heart. Clinton is from Park Ridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. And as I originally hail from Arlington Heights, Illinois, a suburb not too far away from her hometown, I'm a sucker for this homage to Clinton's high school years just outside of the Windy City.

1. "Park Ridge" Hillary

All you need is a plaid jumper or skirt, a collared shirt, and some bobby pins. If you're feeling more ambitious, you can enlist some friends to fill out the rest of the school photo.

2. "Life Magazine" Hillary

Clinton was the the first student commencement speaker at Wellesley College, and that honor landed her on the pages of Life magazine. You can recreate her groundbreaking (in more ways than one) look with a long-sleeved white shirt, striped pants, big '70s glasses, and Birkenstock (or best granola) sandals. Finish it off by pulling the top layer of your hair back and keeping the rest soft and flowing.

3. "Current Clinton"

If you're steering away from "vintage Clinton" and going for a more current look, you'll need to start with the staple blond wig, assuming you don't already have a sensible mom 'do. You can get one on Amazon:

Hillary Clinton Wig, $11, Amazon

4. "Texts From Hillary"

My favorite costume suggestion from the Clinton camp is based on the Texts From Hillary Tumblr account. By the way, remember when the image of her texting on a plane inspired a viral Tumblr account by that name? If you don't, go there first and then come back.

All you'll need to make this look happen is a blazer, turquoise jewelry, an enormous brooch (turquoise also if possible), sunglasses, and, most importantly, a blackberry (or something to text on).

5. "Women's Rights Are Human Rights" Hillary

This one also requires some backstory, and taking a look back at one of Clinton's best, in my opinion, speeches. You'll be so glad you put in the effort. In 1995, Clinton gave a speech at the U.N. 4th World Conference on Women, in which she famously declared, "Women's rights are human rights, and human rights are women's rights," a concept Bill Clinton said was novel at the time.

You can watch the full speech here:

To recreate the historic moment, all you'll need is a pink blazer, a gold brooch, and some layered pearls.

6. "Glamorous Red Carpet Selfie" Hillary

Pool/Getty Images News/Getty Images

All you'll need for this costume is a friend and a dress. Go to a thrift store and get decked out in costume jewelry and fancy dresses. One of you wears white, the other wears (turquoise/ eal/emerald... what color is that?) and it'll be a good excuse to selfie away on your phone all night with your bestest.

7. "Saturday Night Live" Hillary

Be meta and take on Clinton as depicted by Amy Poehler and/or Kate McKinnon on Saturday Night Live. There are two ways to pull this off, and they both require you to drag your friend into it.

The first is the Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Clinton delivering "a nonpartisan message from Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton" in the podium style of the iconic sketch from 2008. Your Palin will need glasses, a red skirt suit, and a beehive. Your Clinton will need the trusty wig and a blue pant suit.

The second option is to be a bunch of versions of SNL Hillary Clintons. All you need are pant suits in the same color family and lots of blond wigs.

8. "Instagram Pantsuit" Hillary

If you must do a pantsuit, copy Clinton's post from when she chose to join Instagram with a patriotic pantsuit triptych. What you'll need is to wear a red pantsuit and then get two friends to do blue and white pantsuits, respectively. Carry around an Instagram cutout to complete the ensemble.

For the Instagram cutout part you can get this one on Amazon, or you can make your own with this helpful DIY how-to.

In any event, if you're not into any of that, and/or if I were you, I'd grab a superwoman costume and pair it with that mom-ish blonde wig —

Because every time I think I'm in the middle of a difficult uphill battle in my own life, I remind myself that Hillary Rodham Clinton figured out how to get this far in the presidential race as a woman when institutional sexism is still a thing in this country.

Images: Hillaryclinton.com (4); Amazon.com (1, 2, 3).