Holiday Costumes

There’s something uniquely disorienting about a Christmas party where everyone’s in costume. You’re supposed to be festive and present, but you’re also performing a version of yourself that feels both more true and more false than usual. I went to one years ago where half the room showed up as sexy versions of things that shouldn’t be sexy—animals, professions, whatever. It was ridiculous and kind of perfect. The effort people put into looking good while pretending not to care, the way a costume gives you permission to be weirder or more forward than you normally would—that’s always gotten to me. There’s a whole language of disguise and desire wrapped up in it. Now I mostly stay home and look at other people’s photos, which feels more honest somehow.