All hat? Rep. Frederica Wilson is a new Halloween costume choice

And experts say dressing as the politician is not necessarily a bad idea.

“I can’t speak to individual motivations in this specific instance, but people have been dressing up as political figures since the days in which those figures were kings and queens instead of presidents and members of Congress,” said Susan Scafidi, director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law School.

Scafidi said that “free expression is our societal norm when it comes to politicians.”

Sociologist Anna Akbari, founder of Sociology of Style, however, said anyone considering dressing as Wilson, who is African-American, must follow one hard rule.

“There’s nothing inherently offensive about dressing up as present-day political figures, but if that or any other costume involves dressing in blackface, that is always a bad idea. There are no exceptions to this,” she said.

Akbari said people considering costume ideas should ask, “Am I mocking a racial or ethnic group that has been historically disenfranchised and discriminated against? If so, just don’t do it. It’s a pretty simple litmus test.”

Costumes do sometimes get their wearers into trouble, and Philadelphia radio host Chris Stigall cautioned would-be Wilson imitators on Twitter this week: “Don’t get caught on camera or your life will be ruined. That’s my advice!”

Wilson rocketed into the spotlight last week after saying Trump placed an insensitive call to the widow of a soldier killed in Niger. Trump denied it and called her “wacky,” but the family of Sgt. La David Johnson said it was true.

Wilson’s defining fashion accessory became part of the Trump administration’s attacks. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called her “all hat, no cattle” after a revelation that Chief of Staff John Kelly mischaracterized a speech Wilson gave as he rebuked her conduct.

The simplicity of the dressing as Wilson makes the popularity of doing so difficult to predict. Online, however, people are discussing how they might pull off her look.

A New Jersey man solicited input Tuesday, writing on Twitter that he was “looking for the FredericaWilson wig/hat combo for Halloween, any ideas?”

Another person asked: “Anyone know where I can get a Frederica Wilson Halloween costume? I’d like to add a gold tooth to the mask, a little extra bling.”

Yet another promised: “The first person at my door wearing a Frederica Wilson Halloween costume gets all the candy.”

On eBay, a white sequined hat is on sale, specifically marketed using Wilson’s name. “You know you want to be a Florida politician for Halloween,” the seller says.

So far, there is not mass-marketed Frederica Wilson gear on Amazon or Etsy, but large costume dealers such as Party City and Walmart have selections of fancy cowboy hats that rival Wilson’s own collection in variety and pizazz.

Wilson’s office did not comment on whether she views it as appropriate to replicate her look on Halloween.

“No speak English,” said a woman who answered a cellphone number previously associated with Wilson.

Joyce Jones, a spokeswoman for Wilson, told the Washington Examiner that the woman who claimed not to speak English was not the congresswoman.

“You did not speak with her and she would never pull such a ridiculous stunt,” Jones said, while not responding to a question about the appropriateness of costumes.

Wilson, first elected in 2010, says she has “hundreds” of hats and she’s rarely seen without one. She briefly attempted to change House of Representatives rules to allow hats on the floor.

One Twitter user hypothesized that despite all the talk, people would not follow through on dressing as Wilson, writing: “The Halloween costume that everyone wants to wear but few have the stones to do it? Frederica Wilson.”