Pumpkin spice isn’t the only reason to celebrate October: Halloween is right around the corner!
No offense to December and Swiftmas—er, Christmas—but whether you’re a diehard horror movie freak or have a major sweet tooth, there’s something for everyone during the spookiest holiday of the year. Between midterms and being broke college students, it can be hard to pull together a decent ensemble. To help you out, we compiled a list of the best places to get costumes for the big night.
UCD’s own theater department offers a great selection of period and modern clothing, as well as historical and character costumes—new arrivals for 2015 include costumes inspired by Frozen, Game of Thrones, and Greek mythology. Costumes are a little more expensive because of the stage production-level quality, but because they’re for rent rather than sale. In that respect, they’re actually quite affordable. They have a great selection for higher-quality vintage-inspired costumes that won’t break the bank. Stop by Wright Hall, Room 17 from October 19th-23rd and October 26th-30th from 9 am-5 pm (after hours appointments available until 8 pm) to look for costumes. It’s helpful to have an idea what you’re looking for or some choices, so you can ask the staff to help you locate appropriate pieces. The best part: because it’s run by the theater department, you get to try them on in legit stage dressing rooms, with vanity tables and mirrors surrounded by lights– the whole nine yards.
Thrift Stores
If you’re the kind of person who gets most of your Halloween costumes from whatever’s in your closet, thrift stores are fantastic. They’re a super cheap ways to get that one item you need to put the finishing touches on your whole look. Plus, you can get new accessories for your regular wardrobe! Check out Boheme for awesome options.
SFA October Thift Store
The Student Fashion Association is hosting an event in Everson 135 on October 28th, 6-9 pm. Items range from $15 to as low as $1 (yes, you read that right). Bring cash.
If you want classic Party City-type Halloween party costumes, you’d probably have to head to locations outside Davis or buy online. That has its drawbacks—you can’t try on costumes online—but if you buy from Spirit Halloween’s website or participating stores in the Sacramento region, you not only get a 10% discount, but 10% of the proceeds will go towards the UC Davis Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department at the UCD Children’s Hospital! Download this coupon to get a discount and support activities and therapy for hospitalized children.
*Bonus! Take Back Halloween
This isn’t a costume source so much as a costume guide, but Take Back Halloween is a wonderful, subversive, educational antidote to the endless stream of Sexy Nurse/Sexy Schoolgirl/Sexy Olaf from Frozen/Sexy Suffragette costumes. This website shows you how to put together costumes inspired by the great women of history and mythology, including multicultural and lesser-known heroines who haven’t quite gotten their due in the history books. In other words, it’s awesome for our Leslie-Knope-esque collegiettes.
Stem major? Dress up as Ada Lovelace or Hedy Lamarr. History geek? Pay homage to Queen Elizabeth I or Bessie Coleman, or even someone more obscure like Ching Shih or Sor Juana. Whether you’re into Classics or celebrities, TBH has costume inspiration for you—pull an Anastasia Steele and get in touch with your inner goddess with an Athena, Persephone, or Pele-inspired costume, or channel some vintage Old Hollywood glamour as Marlene Dietrich or Billie Holliday. There’s even Jane Austen and Queen Mab (of Romeo and Juliet fame) pages for English majors!
Whether you’re giving Queen Bey a run for her money with a gorgeous Renaissance Fair dress worthy of Westeros, or getting inspiration from pop culture and going as Kanye West’s 2020 presidential campaign, we hope you’ll find the resources you need. To close, I wish you…