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For most, Halloween in college is a national holiday. You spend money you don’t have on costumes, accessories and make-up. You coordinate weekend-long drinking plans…You make sacrifices. Last year, a couple of days before Halloween I decided I was going to be the Joker. My bank account had other plans, but the compliments I received from the costume were well worth having to ask my 18-year-old brother to spot me for red eyeliner, green hair dye and black lingerie. Once again, sacrifices! Cady Heron from Mean Girls quotes it best, “In Girl World, Halloween is the one day a year when a girl can dress up like a total slut and no other girls can say anything else about it.”
This year, I was surprisingly prepared. I decided it would only be right and fair (and hopefully good karma for my own Halloweekend activities) if I share some of the best Halloween costume ideas I have come across yet with the lovely readers of HerCampus. Enjoy!
Pam and tommy
I came up with this couple’s costume while I was watching the new Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee Hulu series in the spring. I knew my boyfriend would agree because of how simple his part is. I also knew that by the time I ordered his black vest and temporary tattoo sleeves, we’d be in too deep for him to veto the strappy black leather catsuit I got for myself! In this case, he will be making the sacrifice—he just doesn’t need to know it yet.
hot Thing one & thing two
I know what you’re thinking: basic and not hot at all. You need to think outside of the box to create a memorable costume, and you can do that by taking the concept of a character and throwing a sexy wig on it! I’ve attached some Amazon links to help the thought process. Throw some big black booties on your you’re going to be turning heads, girl!
Betty boop
I am not kidding when I say this came to me in a dream over the summer. If you already own a red mini dress, all you would need is the garter and some huge red lips!
Joker
As I mentioned earlier, I stooped low for this costume to come to fruition. Unfortunately, this was a very last-minute costume and everything I used came from multiple different stores or my friends, so a description will have to suffice. From top to bottom: I slicked back my hair with gel and mixed in a green hair spray, but left my roots blonde and straightened them. I used green eyeshadow and setting spray to color my eyebrows green. My eyeshadow was a messy mix of purple and black, and I used black eyeliner to imitate a scar going down my face, HAHA written above my eyebrow and a J on my cheekbone. Then, I used black lip liner and dark purple/magenta lipstick to draw my smile. I stacked as many gold necklaces as I could and wore black lingerie under a purple oversized button-up I left open down to my waist, which was tied with a chunky belt. I finished the outfit with a HAHA on my upper boob and thigh-high black velvet boots. It was incredible and I highly recommend this costume if you want to go all out.
fairy
This could be a group costume or on your own! The Amazon page I found for this costume has practically any color you could think of, so finding one you like shouldn’t be a problem. I would pair this one with some white wings and nude spandex underneath.
Elphaba (the wicked witch of the west)
When wearing this costume last year, it came to my attention that the Wicked Witch of the West has been robbed of her identity! Every person knew I was a witch, the one of the west, but no one knew her real name. I couldn’t believe this! Justice for Elphaba. For this costume, I wore leather pants, a leather corset top, a black crown and a silver necklace that had a green glowing pendant. I also contoured and bronzed my face with a green powder.
Glinda the good witch
This costume could be done alone or paired with Elphaba. I would pair this with a pink crown, pink accessories and a pink wand (she does get around in a pink bubble after all).
All of these costumes are either ones I have put together before or someone I know has, so they’re all guaranteed hits. I hope you’re able to get some inspiration from this and get into the Halloween mood, it can be hard with the changing of the seasons and school getting into its groove. You have to remember to take time to do the fun things as well as the responsibilities you have. Sacrifices!!