It’s that time of year again. You always say that next year you will be the best dressed at that Halloween party, so you plan an elaborate costume that will probably take the whole year to create. But suddenly, life happens and the year goes by and then it’s October 30 and you have nothing! And the costume stores have nothing!
And you will once again be forced to allow that one kid to dominate the costume arena. Because there is always that one kid who went all out. And I mean all out. Full on zombie make-up, fake blood, fangs made out of porcelain, and even dyed their hair an obscene color of green.
If you are struggling to find a good costume that won’t take hours to make, then here are a few ideas to get you started. I thrive on the costumes I can make from my own closet and still look cute and fabulous.
1. Celebrity Costumes
Now, these costumes can be tricky because you must make it clear who you are. I would stick with someone who is easily recognizable like Audrey Hepburn or Marilyn Monroe. All you need for this type of look is a little black dress (and what girl doesn’t have a LBD?!) or a white party dress (for the classic Marilyn look). A tiara and long chunky necklace for Audrey and bright red lipstick for Marilyn. You might want to invest in a blond wig for the Marilyn idea, but even just curling your hair and placing that distinct beauty mark will make it clear.
2. Movie Characters
Being a movie character can be fun and exciting, but you need to be careful. You don’t want to pick an obscure movie character and you don’t want to have to build a whole costume (if you’re like me). I suggest a character from either Mean Girls or Legally Blonde. Both are classics and easily done. I mean, what girl doesn’t have something in pink? For either costume idea, you should dress up in pink, heels, and full out hair and makeup. If you’re going for Mean Girls, maybe get a whole group of your friends together to make it even more authentic. As for Elle Woods, bring a stuff dog in a pink bag or even a real dog if you have one. Everyone will know who you are!
3. Era Costumes
Era costumes are one of my favorites. You can pick any era you love: the 20s, 50s, 70s, 80s, or even (yes, we’re an era now) the 90s! You can either dig through your own closet or go through your Mom’s and find something that will work! The main idea here is to make your hair and makeup stand out. For the 80s, bright blue eye shadow, lots of blush, and bright colored lips. For the 20s, you might want it a bit more minimal like a black liner cat eye and red lipstick.
Whatever you decide to wear for your party, rock it, own it, and love it. Don’t be insecure just because you didn’t spend 8 hours making your skin look like it’s literally rotting (bless that one kid). You will be confident and have a lot more fun knowing you didn’t spend forever on your costume or spend a lot of money. After all, we are all broke college kids.