Halloween is the one day a year people can dress up as whatever or whoever they want and enjoy themselves. The costume options are endless. From couples costumes, to scary costumes, to sexy costumes and funny costumes, Halloween is sure to bring out everyone’s fun side.
Already assembled and accessorized costumes can be purchased at stores like Party City. For women, their costumes range in prices as low as $29.99 to as high as $139.99. The prices may be high but most costumes include all of the accessories so the buyer does not have to run around from store to store trying to find the proper accessories to complete the outfit. The top women’s costumes according to Party City this year feature themes such as cops, devils, witches, superheroes, animals and neon-colored monsters.
The top costumes for men according to Party City include cops, superheroes, animals and television and movie characters. The men’s costumes tend to be cheaper but can also reach as high as $199.99. This is because the men’s costumes do not include as many accessories as the women’s costumes do.
Couple and group costumes can be more fun than dressing up on your own. Common couple costumes that can be purchased at Party City are Batman and Batgirl, Superman and Superwoman, a football player and a referee, peanut butter and jelly, ketchup and mustard, ninjas and firefighters. The couple costumes sold at Party City range from $29.99 to $54.99.
Group costumes can be worn as a toddler or an adult. These are meant for big groups such as families or a group of friends. Popular group costumes are 1920s themed costumes, superheroes, Disney princesses and television, movie and game characters. All of these costumes vary in price.
Jennifer Shamrock, lecturer of communication, celebrates Halloween every year. She even dresses up her pug in a costume. “One year, I dressed in a Winnie the Pooh adult costume from the Disney store, and my pug dressed as Winnie the Pooh too in a child’s version,” she said.
Halloween can be an expensive holiday, especially for a college student. A solution to this problem is making a costume yourself. Various ideas can be found on websites like Pinterest, which shows a picture of the costumes and usually gives step-by-step instructions on how to make it. If Pinterest does not have a costume that appeals to you, marieclair.com features an article with 10 easy DIY celebrity and movie icon costume ideas. The story has a picture of the person you wish to dress up as and lists each item with its price and where to find it.
A simple DIY costume is a cop. According to ehow.com, all you need are a few things to create your own cop outfit. Most cops only wear navy so a navy button down shirt is essential. Then you need a pair of shorts, pants or a skirt in your choice of color. The shirt is worn and tucked into the shorts, pants or skirt. Accessories like handcuffs and sunglasses can be purchased at a dollar store but other items can be made, such as a police badge. It can be made out of cardboard, markers and a little creativity. All of these items can create a cheap and easy to put together cop costume.
When all else fails, face paint can be used to create a costume in minutes. A few examples are using black and white face paint to draw a skeleton face, and using pink and black face paint to draw a nose and whiskers for a cat or bunny. Face paint can be found at Party City and is fairly inexpensive with prices ranging from $0.99 to $9.99.
If you are still looking to save, borrowing an old Halloween costume from a friend is another way to go.
Elisabeth Medino, senior and social work major, has done this several times before. “I didn’t want to spend the money on a brand new costume so I borrowed my roommates cop costume for a Halloween party,” she said.
Even though the costume was worn before, no one had known. Plus, you can make the costume original by doing your hair and makeup differently than the person before you. You can even use different accessories to put a new twist on an old outfit.
According to the Wall Street Journal, this year’s most popular costumes will include Walter White from “Breaking Bad,” Miley Cyrus, and the minions from “Despicable Me 2.”
The key to creating a Halloween costume is creativity and thinking outside the box.
When asked if you are ever too old to celebrate Halloween, Shamrock responded, “Never too old!”
PHOTO TAKEN from tokyofashion.com
