Halloween this year falls on a Thursday, presenting one of the biggest conundrums known to collegiettes: what days technically count as “Halloweekend”? Even when October 31st is on an actual weekend night, celebrating involves at least three nights of costumes. With Halloween on a Thursday, you could potentially dress up anywhere from three to five nights, and that adds up. It’s hard enough to think of creative costumes, but adding in how many outfits you might need, whether or not you’re dressing by yourself or in a group, and actually getting to places where you could buy a costume are not easy for us collegiettes. However, the key to pain-free dressing up is monopolizing one or two accessories, and using them in several different outfits. Here are a few key costume pieces to try and find when thinking about what to dress up as:
1. Glasses
Getting a pair of non-prescription glasses is a great way to make any regular outfit look like a costume. They’re generally pretty cheap (at PartyCity, they’re $6.99) and the best part: for a lot of costumes, you can use clothes you already have to complete the look. Some ideas:
- Nerd
- Hipster
- Librarian
- Harry Potter (BC colors make us look like we’re in Gryffindor already)
- Any TV show character that wears glasses (try Velma from Scooby-Doo, Jess from New Girl, or Mindy from The Mindy Project)
- Where’s Waldo/Wanda (throw on a red striped shirt)
2. Tutus
A tutu seems like an impractical purchase. When are you ever going to need a bright pink tutu for any occasion other than October 31st? Easy – all the nights in the week before or after Halloween! Depending on the color, you could try any one of these ideas:
- Ballerina (skip the leotard for leggings and a tank top or T-shirt, and it’s even warmer!)
- Bumble-bee (if yellow)
- Flower
- Toddler in Tiaras contestants
- Supergirl (red with a blue shirt), Batgirl (yellow with a black shirt), or any other superhero
- Fairy
- My favorite? A loofah (check it out here, but instead of tulle try using a couple tutus!)
3. Boas
Trust me on this one. Everyone likes an easy costume, but everyone loves an easy and really creative costume. Boas can come in literally any color, or even be multi-colored, and can be great inspiration for a lot of costumes. Think about it and you’ll see I’m not crazy:
- Movie star
- Flapper (The Great Gatsby inspired?)
- The rainbow (get a group of friends and each pick a color)
- Cruella de Vill from 101 Dalmatians
- Betty Boop
- Parrots
My friends from Loyola University Maryland did it and looked adorable!
4. Hats
Just like the glasses, a hat is the perfect way to take outfits you already have and make them into cute, simple Halloween costumes. You might already have a hat that would make an outfit into costume without even realizing it. Costume stores sell all types of hats at relatively low prices, so picking up a few different ones might mean saving a ton of money on store bought costumes. You could be a:
- Police officer
- Cowgirl
- Baseball player
- Referee
- Pirate
- Witch
Halloween is meant to be fun and creative, not expensive and stressful. Take some of the madness out of your costume ideas by trying out some of these. I promise that you’ll be comfortable, cute, and have more money to spend on cabs and cocktails, too!
Photo Sources:
Meghan Kearney
Brigid Wright