When it comes time to dress up for Halloween, you have a couple of tried and true options. You can, of course, go with (ugh) sexy; you can go high concept, explaining your costume over and over all night; you can be the most elaborate person around, throwing tons of time and money at the problem; you can try to be really disgusting. Better, however, are those that invert these tropes: low-effort, immediately recognizable, and specific to the person wearing the costume. Rare is the Halloween costume that somehow combines all of these, which Gwyneth Paltrow recently executed:
Yes, Gwyneth Paltrow went as her own decapitated head in a box, as seen in the climactic scene of 1995's Seven. (Though perhaps unfortunately timed, in light of recent allegations against Kevin Spacey.) Say what you will about the actress: This is an extremely good Halloween costume that literally nobody could pull off like she did, because she is the only person that also happens to be the person whose severed head was in the box. She probably spent all night speaking in a weird, fake British accent, too, but that’s just how she talks these days.