Halloween is around the corner and there are plenty of racist, sexist and grotesque costumes to pick from. While traditional Halloween imagery revolves around death and monstrosity, there’s often also a suspension of ordinary morality.
Articles by Mel Campbell 
About Mel Campbell
Melbourne journalist and editor of The Enthusiast, an Australian online magazine of culture and entertainment.
Pink bits: the absurd world of gendered consumer products
Marketers have never abandoned the idea that men and women require their own ‘special’ products. Women’s products are often tinted pink and advertised with cuddly names and breathy female voiceovers. Insulting much?
Will Godwin’s Law finally bring down Kyle Sandilands?
Sorry Kyle, it’s Godwin’s Law. The minute you invoke the Nazis, your salad days as a shock jock are over.
Newsreader fashion: a Crikey field guide
Have you ever sent forlorn tweets about Ali Moore’s cravat into the ether? Well, feel alone no longer. Mel Campbellprovides a semi-definitive guide to the sartorial language of news and current affairs.
Will we really love Coles? Thoughts on a female-friendly publicity stunt
Is there much beyond Coles’ special no-tax tampon offer than clever marketing? Mel Campbell suspects not.
Political Fashion Semiotics 101: the implications of politicians’ clothes
This week, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev thrilled and horrified the blogosphere by wearing jeans and a designer blazer to a dinner with Barack Obama. Mel Campbell does some further political fashion analysis.
Fashions on the Hill: politics gets gussied up
The Midwinter Press Gallery Ball is Canberra’s night of nights. And as with all red-carpet events worth their salt, it’s now time for us to brutally judge the attendees on their fashion sense.
JD Salinger speaks!
People say JD Salinger is some kind of recluse, but I don’t know what they’re on about, writes Mel Campbell.
Fashion turns derelicte: brown bags are the new black
Like aristocrats in the French Revolution, the fashion industry knew it would be first against the wall in the global economic downturn. Mel Campbell looks at dressing for recession.
