Pumpkin carving, scary movies, trick or treating, and the best part: costumes! The time of year has come to begin the laborious journey of finding the perfect Halloween costume — or five of them. What once was as simple as going to the Spirit Halloween store with your mom has now become finding numerous costumes for the multiple nights we now dress up to celebrate. Hopefully, these tips and costume ideas will help create the perfect, most affordable and cutest Halloween costumes for you and your friends this fall!
LET’s Talk Duos
The most iconic types of Halloween costumes are the two-person costumes with your friends or significant other. You can never go wrong with the classics; angel and devil, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, Blair and Serena, Sharkboy and Lava Girl, Glinda and Elphaba, and so many more! For a lot of these simple costumes, the key to limiting the amount of money spent is to utilize things you already have (or even items in your friends’ closets) to create these simple costumes. For example, any of these could be done with a simple mini skirt and top, changing the colors to match the character. Especially if you have the benefit of a blonde and brunette duo, the options expand even more to pairs such as Barbie and Raquel, or Cher and Dionne from Clueless. Similar to the other options, these can be created out of items you already have!
Quick and Affordable
AKA, two words all college students love! Chances are, one of the reasons you’re reading this is because Halloween is creeping up and you have yet to find a costume. UCSB students have the advantage of Sweet Jane, a costume shop located right in Isla Vista for any props and funky costumes you could think of. Witch hats, Greek goddess accessories, wigs, costume jewelry, and much more! Located at 6549 Pardall Rd and here to help, stop by Sweet Jane to not only elevate your costume, but also to support small businesses. Avoiding fast fashion and supporting local companies are important to keep in mind, especially around this time of year and the plethora of costume shopping.
Group Costumes
There’s so much potential and flexibility when it comes to group costumes. An all time favorite is different Disney princesses: Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and more. The convenience of this classic group is that chances are you have some sort of combination of clothes already in your closet to achieve these looks. Amazon is a great place to find some of these basics for affordable prices and deliver in a quick amount of time. Mini skirts, crowns, or any costume accessory you need should be able to be found on Amazon!
World Of Magic Halloween Store
Located right on State street is a one-stop-shop if you just want all the pieces to the costume all in one place. However if you’re going to venture downtown, try and go soon, as the costume selection left is typically cleared out a few days before Halloween. You may have to dig through the inflatable suits and clown wigs, but there are some hidden gems if you look hard enough! Even if the all-out costumes aren’t for you, they have small props to help elevate your costume.
Thrifting
One of the amazing things about Santa Barabra is the world of thrifting that comes with it. There are often thrifting pop-ups located around Isla Vista and sometimes even on campus. Other thrifting opportunities consist of Alpha Thrift or Goodwill to find a simple button-down or tie to complete a “school girl” look, or a t-shirt to cut and DIY to fit anything you need. Thrifting is always an affordable option that has so much potential if you want to keep it simple, classic and cheap.
Hopefully, after reading this, you feel a little less lost on your costume search and land with the perfect one. Halloween is arguably one of the best holidays of the year and shouldn’t be ruined by the crazy chaos of finding the best outfit. Have fun this Halloween, and make it the best one yet!