It’s official– the spooky October winds are here, serving as harbingers for perhaps one of the most exciting holidays of the year: Halloween! But as college students with back-to-back classes, club meetings, and more, it can be easy to let the oh-so-exciting holiday creep up on you without sparing you any time to prepare your costume. If you’re looking to avoid unwanted Halloween-planning frights this year, take a look at some of these tips to plan the perfect costume before it’s too late.
Brainstorm in Advance
To avoid the madness of putting together a half-baked costume at the last minute, try spending just a few minutes a day brainstorming! It’s often good to avoid planning any later than 2 weeks before Halloween, as materials can take a while to mail if you’re ordering online. One great tactic is to browse Pinterest, which has a much wider range of ideas than anything you might find by searching generic keywords on Google Images. However, the best place I like to start brainstorming is from scratch based on my own interests. I typically like to file through those “favorite movies” lists I’ve been keeping all year for possible character inspiration, though you can do this same thing with TV shows, books, comics, and more.
Consider Your Event Environment
One major thing to take into consideration when planning your costume is what kind of setting you’ll find yourself in during your festivities. Will you be spending most of your time outside? Considering how cold (or how hot) you might get is very important, so you know to dress appropriately. There also may be other environmental factors that play a role in how you choose to dress. Will you be spending your Halloween in a spacious, well-organized apartment or home, or will you be bar hopping or partying in closer-knit spaces? Considering how crowded or how messy things will get during your celebrations can help you avoid any unwanted rips, tears, or stains on nicer clothing.
Think Thrifty!
Although it can be tempting to order costume materials straight from Amazon or SHEIN, planning a costume in advance, as per tip #1, allows you the time to be more environmentally friendly with your costume. To begin: start hunting for clothes that are already out there! This can mean browsing through your closet for things that are costume-able, whether it be clothing you wear regularly or those items shoved in storage that disappear into the clutter of your home. A second strategy is to hit thrift stores! If you don’t have the means to thrift in person, sites like thredUP can also be a great place to browse for sustainable pieces.
Be A Smart Spender
If you’re looking at cheap fast fashion sites because you want to save your money- I’ve been there. As a student on a college budget, it can be hard to find ways to cut costs on things you may not want to carve out a chunk of money for in the first place. Other than looking to thrift, it might be a good idea to run cost comparisons. What this means is not buying supplies off the first site you see but instead comparing similar or exact item matches across sites. This might even mean searching Etsy or eBay, where you can encounter some rare finds and steals. If you’re even more Type A, you could consider creating a spreadsheet to compare and tally total costs, so you know just how much you’re spending on your Halloween festivities.
Give it a Test-Run
Once your costume begins to come together, and you have all the supplies you will need, this might be a good time to try your hand at a test run! Yes, this might sound a bit ridiculous and positively over-the-top, but it can go a long way to have at least tried everything on once to make sure you feel comfortable, and no alterations or tweaks need to be made before the big day. One key part of this, if you’re trying a unique makeup look, is to test-run the makeup you’ll be wearing. Because you might be experimenting with a more extravagant and unfamiliar makeup look for Halloween, it is always beneficial to take some time to practice that look beforehand.
With all the fervent planning you’ve now done, it’s important to remember the primary purpose of all that prep- to have a fun, stress-free night of tricks and treats! Even though these tips are here to help keep you organized and well-braced for what can be a hectic search for the perfect costume, don’t forget to soak in the pleasures of the Halloween season for all that they are. So, from the campus of Her Campus Rutgers to yours, have a fun and safe Halloween!