Mikestaxidermy listed this Collegeville Halloween Hobo costume on eBay. I see a lot of political correctness and social sensitivity statements and didactics on the Internet regarding the use of a "homeless" person personification for holiday dress up to panhandle candy and party with, but that's part of today's sensibilities and how we perceive things. I tried to find information on the historical background to understand why the Hobo costume has been around for generations. So far I have only found a lot of opinion and repetition of opinion.
From old photographs, one can see it was in the repertoire of self-made costumers at the very beginning of Halloween's celebration. Perhaps panhandling has something to do with it: hobos would ride the train rails and go from town to town, living a life unfettered by convenient conventions and questionable propriety, and maybe ask for a hand-out now and then. But what do you think? Are hobo costumes still relevant today and acceptable?
me & my little brudder were hobos once..
http://friendlyghost.typepad.com/photos/toxic_was_here/hobos-trick-or-treating…html
i think the hobo costume stems from a time in the past when we just didn’t have enough cool monsters yet to dress up as for halloween? so people being as they are, they made caricatures of anyone different.. 🙁
Making caricatures of anyone different is worth exploring further. I know today we dress up as the superhero or monster we love, but way back when, without the marketing and popular culture influences, playing someone different would have been limited to what you could whip up yourself for Halloween (at least until the commercial costume manufacturers came into play). And a hobo costume would be pretty simple.