The Her Campus Conncoll staff decided to give you creative and inexpensive ways to absolutely rock Halloween this year! Each member dug into their Halloween past and explored their costume future to bring you the best of the best. Check out these awesome costumes and take your pick!
Juno
It’s been a couple of years since this movie hit the big screens, however, you still hear everyone refer to actress Ellen Page as ‘Juno’. This movie is not only funny and has a catchy theme song (“You’re a part time lover and a full time friend”), but it’s also a great idea for a Halloween costume.
As a single gal, you can dress up as the pregnant main character by wearing a striped tee(stuff a pillow or towels underneath), a hoodie, and jeans. To make the look more realistic you can wear a mini skirt over your jeans like the character does for the movie poster. If you want to dress up with a partner, make your boyfriend or boy-friend dress up as a track star like Paulie Bleeker. Alheli Garza’ 16
Bag of Jellybeans
This costume is colorful, big, and memorable! You can wear whatever you’d like, but I recommend a bright pair of leggings and a bright colored shirt. All you need is a pack of small balloons and a plastic bag! You will need to blow up the balloons, and cut 2 holes for your legs, and probably ask for some assistance to get in the bag and fill it with the jelly beans! You can be JellyBelly brand and print out the logo for the front, or even tape it to a headband. In the picture, the girls have the nutritional value of the beans. This costume can be changed to be any kind of candy if you wish and will definitely be the sweetest costume of your friends. Bettina Weiss ’15, Campus Correspondent
Rosie the Riveter
Ladies, not sure what to be for this Halloween? Why not spark women empowerment and embrace your inner “Rosie the Riveter?” I don’t know about you, but this college year has been quite stressful. Don’t worry though – Rosie’s motto states, “WE CAN DO IT!”
As in, we will pass all our mid-terms (Let’s hope). Simply dig around in your closet (or a friend’s, that’s what they are for!) and find a basic denim shirt in which you can roll up the sleeves to show your strong, toned arms. Yes, that’s right. Next, find a colorful bandana or scarf to wrap around your head – remember, it doesn’t have to be red like the original Rosie – you can spice it up however you’d like. Lastly, pair it off with some dark denim jeans or black pants and smother on the bright red lipstick. Now you’re good to go. Hopefully this costume won’t scare off the boys too badly! Danielle Cyr ’15, Campus Correspondent
Bridesmaids
Have some fun and choose the cast of Bridesmaids! Even though it debuted a couple years ago everyone still knows and loves the characters. Added bonus: this works as a single costume or as a group!
Option 1: dress up in disheveled pink dresses with one person in white, as the bride. Or Option 2: (which could be far more entertaining): choose a character. There’s Annie (a striped shirt and sunglasses from her airplane scene, plus a baking apron and you’re ready to go); Lillian (heels, messy white dress and a veil is her most memorable outfit); Megan (loose trousers with a tucked in collared shirt, pageboy hat and, of course, a stuffed puppy or two) and, lastly, Annie’s ghastly but hilarious roommate, Brynn (flip-flops, skinny jeans and an oversized white t-shirt with that oh-so-terrible Mexican drinking worm drawn on the back). Have a bigger group? There are even more characters to choose from, but no matter whom you pick it’ll be memorable. Caeli Smith ’15
The Tampon – A Buddy Costume
My parents, who wished to remain nameless, created this elegant costume in 1980 during the toxic shock scare caused by the “Rely” tampon brand: “We wore it to a halloween party and because we had a long drive, we had to get into our costumes after we arrived. So, it was in the dark and I had to glue daddy into his costume. Once he got into his costume, he had to stay in it the whole night. People actually taped two straws together so he could drink through the hole in his costume. I just remember how funny people kept saying it was to see him bopping around in his posterboard drinking through that long straw.”
How to recreate this vintage masterpiece:
1. Muslin/cheese cloth sewn together and stuffed with pillow stuffing for the actual tampon.
2. White posterboard rolled up with pillow stuffing glued to the top for the inserter. (don’t forget holes for the eyes and mouth so your buddy can see and drink!)
3. Each person’s costume should have a rope hanging down for the string.
*white tights may be worn for extra effect.
Chloe Sovinee-Dyroff ’14
The College Classic: Animal House Toga Party
Want to have the classic college dressing up experience, but don’t want to wait for an invite to a toga party? Do it for Halloween! One of the easiest DIY costume ideas, all you need is a sheet! But since this is 2012, don’t be afraid to jazz it up a little bit and choose an unconventional color instead of traditional white.
Here’s the how-to: Simply fold the sheet in half, grab one corner and twist it around itself. Place this section over your shoulder and then wrap the sheet around your body like you would a towel.Then just use safety pins to secure. You can also go for a more modern, two shoulder look, or go strapless.
Need a little more help with directions? Watch this great video for some visual aid! Finally, use tie a cute belt around your waist and you’re all set to chant “Toga! Toga! Toga!” to your heart’s content. Leah Swinson ’15
Children’s Stories
Halloween is always more fun when your costume involves your friends! Taking an idea anywhere from movies to children’s stories is a great way to get a group together for a funny and unique costume idea. Get a group together and use what you already have to inspire a great costume like this Little Red Riding hood group costume. Other ideas include The Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Rings and the Step Brothers. Animal costumes are always relatively easy to construct and can be conservative or more revealing, depending on what you prefer. Get a group together and be a pack of wolves or a maybe a group of little piglets. Andrea Hoisington ’14
Gnome
Who doesn’t love the fall uniform of leggings, boots, and an oversized button down shirt? Dressing as a gnome for Halloween is a great way to transition this outfit from a cute daytime look to creative Halloween costume extraordinaire! Just add a waist belt and a vest, roll up a red poster to make a hat and a DIY beard to complete this look! The only tricky part of this costume is the beard, but plenty of things you have lying around your room (for example cotton balls or a white towel) can serve as a great impromptu white beard with a little bit of creativity. Hannah Feeney ’16
Honey Boo Boo
Admit it: you take a twisted delight in watching “Toddlers & Tiaras” just like the rest of us. Why not take that guilty pleasure public this Halloween by dressing up as the show’s most memorable pint-sized diva, Honey Boo Boo? Remember that frilly homecoming or prom dress collecting dust in your closet back home? Top it with a sash, a plastic tiara, Shirley Temple-like hair (loaded with hairspray and glitter, of course), and a pacifier fastened around your neck.
Throw some Pageant Crack and Go-Go Juice (aka Pixie Sticks and a concoction of Red Bull and Mountain Dew) in your childhood or little sibling’s Barbie backpack and you’re good to go. Bedazzling and glitter optional but encouraged. Strongly encouraged. Kaitlin McDonagh ’15
Bra
Let’s be real, everyone wants their costume to be the one the whole school remembers. Fact: this costume will never be forgotten. If you want attention, go BIG and put together this shockingly hilarious number. How do you make this? Easy. First, you have to convince a friend to do this with you. This may be the hardest part…. After that, all you need is matching outfits (jeans and white t-shirts in this case), two jumbo-sized balloons, and two pieces of cloth (cut out in the shape of cups) to wrap around your body and the balloon. Yes, this might not be the easiest costume to bust moves in at a Halloween Dance but you will certainly get more than enough attention. Remember, bigger is always better! Laura Sanderson ’14
Pop Artists
Grab two Sasha Fierce friends and be the trio of Single Ladies! If you don’t have black leotards in your closet, which is probably the case for most of us, wear a black tank-top and black spandex shorts. Put on a pair of pumps and gather your hair into a poof- the bigger the better! And whoever chooses to be Beyoncé should wear a huge stack of bangles on their left wrist.
Don’t have quite the sass-factor to be Beyoncé? Go with the country route of Taylor Swift! Wear a short but sweet flowery dress, cowboy boots, and watch this video to help create big, flowing waves. Put a sparkly headband in your hair and use liquid eyeliner for T-Swift’s classic cat eyes. Throw on a denim jacket if it’s cold, and you’re ready to go! Lulu Pajolek ’15
Laundry Basket
Looking for something creative, but don’t want to go too over the top? Why not wear your laundry basket! A few girls from my high school were “laundry” for Halloween a few years ago, and I thought it was the cutest idea. For this costume you will need a laundry basket (pop up laundry baskets work best), safety pins, and some of your own clothes. You will need to cut a hole in the bottom of the laundry basket, so you can wear it as a dress. Cut off the single strap, and cut it into two separate pieces, or separate straps. Then safety pin the straps to the basket. The last step is to drape some of your clothes off of the side of the basket, and you’re all set! Marisa Barnard ’14
The Olympics
This past August was filled with chatter of the games and I for one cannot ever get enough of some good ole patriotic spirit. The Olympics is great inspiration for Halloween and can work for a group of friends or can be an easy individual costume as well! No matter what sport you chose to represent, be sure to pile on gold medal replicas (found at dollar stores and party favor stores) and drape yourself in an American flag! Rachel Jerome ’14
The Hangover
Looking for a fun and easy halloween costume? Get together with a group of friends and form a three-man wolf pack! Everyone remembers the hilarious characters from the classic comedy The Hangover. For Allan, simply wear white pants and a graphic t-shirt. Assuming most of you don’t have a baby doll in your dorm rooms, head downtown to either Wal-Mart or Target and find one for a good price. To finish this costume you could wear a satchel or your favorite pair of sunglasses. Stew is the preppy one in the pack, so wear khakis, a polo, and glasses if you have them. Also carry a thing of ice for your missing tooth. Caution: Do not pull your tooth out for this costume. And lastly, for Phil, just look good. In the words of Allan, are you ready to let the dogs out? Wren Manly ’15
Butterfly
Be a butterfly for Halloween! Just cut out wings using your mesh laundry bag and spray paint them or leave them the original color and tie them to the straps of a leotard! The wings will keep shape from the metal of the bag and the spray paint and they can be as large or small as you want! This material is great for wings because it is light weight. The best part of this costume is how many options you have! You could wear a princess dress and be a fairy princess, a leotard and be the butterfly, or anything else that flies! Annie Rusk ’15