Costumes and the Internet

We have the internet to thank for a lot of things: instant communication around the world, access to basically all of human knowledge, cat pictures and inside jokes. Frankly, I have no idea how people survived before pictures of weirdos in Wal Mart and David Hasselhoff eating a cheeseburger. True to internet fashion, we've taken a really very apt word from Richard Dawkins and applied it to the weird social norms and inside jokes that are spawned by internet users. These memes, as they have come to be called, fit perfectly with Sir Dawkins' descriptions of how certain pieces of information are shared between members of a society (internet users), but change and evolve as they move from one person to the next. Needless to say, people do just about anything to be famous, and riding the waves of a popular meme is always a good way to get a few YouTube views. Some people will even humiliate themselves to the point of dressing up like their favorite meme just to make people in the know laugh. There is a sense of importance you get when you see somebody dressed up in a meme costume and know instantly who they're supposed to be. It gives a feeling of inclusion and exclusivity all whilst making you laugh. So, without further ado, these are the best meme costumes out there. We're figuring that come Halloween, there will be quite a few more meme Halloween costumes to come so use this as inspirations and show us what you got!

The Old Spice Guy

Isaiah Mustafa is the Old Spice guy. He was launched into internet stardom with the release of an admittedly game changing ad that agencies the world around have since tried to replicate. The internet made this ad a success, but it truly was one of the greatest in recent history.

Sad Keanu

There was a papparazzi photo of Keanu Reeves sitting on a park bench enjoying a sandwich alone. There was also the internet. The internet took the sad Keanu image and photoshopped it into many hilarious scenes. In the end, the people who owned the rights to the image thought they could stop it by taking down a famous sad Keanu blog. The DMCA protected their image but everyone in the world is still posting sad Keanus. Basically all you need for this costume is a sandwich and to be sad.

Nyan Cat

Nyan cat. Not much to it, but undeniably awesome. I think the first time I watched for five minutes before I realized what was going on and changed it. Nyan cat manages to put you in a trance like state somehow. This costume, utilizing a giant pop-tart, is probably the best and creepiest one made yet.

Flying Spaghetti Monster

The FSM was introduced in a letter from Bobby Henderson to the Kansas State Board of Education. In it, he posited that if creative design was going to be taught in schools and would continually reference a designer, that designer could even be a flying spaghetti monster. Since then, the argument has caught serious wind and been adopted by mainstream television shows like South Park allowing for a complete viral explosion of the flying spaghetti monster. People the world over have converted to Pastafarianism to take the piss out of other religions and hopefully get other religious people to question their Gods.

Tiger Woods Cigar Guy

There was a shot of a dude watching Tiger Woods do his thing at the Ryder Cup in 2010. He wears a ginger wig and has a cigar in his mouth at all times. He is admittedly hilarious. You can see his picture everywhere. The outfit was supposed to be an homage to Spanish golfer Miguel Angel Jimenez but ended up being shopped onto famous pictures such as Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston and even the Sgt. Pepper's cover.

Forever Alone

The Forever Alone face is a mutation of rage faces but it's still sort of uncertain where the meme originated. I'm gonna do with 4chan because, frankly, they've started everything that has ever been funny online. This is the creepiest costume in the list. I hate (see: love) the forever alone guy simply because of how disgusting it looks. Gah.

The Most Interesting Man in the World

The most interesting man in the world is from a Dos Equis ad campaign and has received internet love comparable to that of Isaiah Mustafa. Although I wasn't a huge fan of the ads themselves (except this one), there have been some incredible contributions from the community that have made me laugh. Anyways, as a costume, it shouldn't be too hard to pull off if you can grow a beard.

Tron Guy

Man, Tron guy. Tron guy is Jay Maynard, a computer programmer and system admin who built himself an electroluminescent costume influenced by the great Tron. Needless to say, he has the physique of a computer programmer and didn't do the suit justice. It was equal parts embarrassing, pathetic and hilarious. He takes it all with a grain of salt and really seems like a good guy. This costume might take you some time, depending on how much you want to look like tron guy. Hopefully not all that much.

Keyboard Cat

It's a cat playing the demo on a keyboard that brings me back to the early 90's. The internet loves cats, probably because so many of us can't find girlfriends, and keyboard cat plays a keyboard and the two combine to make a radical internet phenomenon. Dressing up as keyboard cat will require the same demo song that keyboard cat plays so as to appear legit.

Trollface

Trolling on the internet is the act of baiting somebody into eliciting a response from somebody for the sheer enjoyment of that response. The person in this trollface outfit may look like a woman because of those long, sensuous, soft legs, but I bet once you get under the trollface, you find something else. This costume is smart and funny. Something you should strive for.

Double Rainbow

Paul Vasques was unwittingly thrust into internet fame when he uploaded a YouTube video chronicling the emergence of two rainbows simultaneously over Yosemite National Park. He seems to be the type to ingest hallucinogens as is detailed in his most famous video. He is struck by the sheer brilliance of the "double-rainbow" and is moved to tears. Again, the perfect mix of pathetic and funny make for a radical viewing. This is probably the best costume in the list for couples seeing as you can't have a double rainbow with just one rainbow.

Step Your Game Up

Halloween is coming up and I guarantee that you're going to see some meme costumes if you do finally make it out of your mom's basement (forever aloners I'm looking at you). Your task is to take your favorite meme and make sure that you do it justice. Costumes that work on multiple levels, like the trollface, are always encouraged, but quality will get you noticed as well. I guess there will probably be another post sometime in November detailing the finer points of ten or so scumbag Steve costumes...