Every Halloween, I run into the same dilemma: what do I dress up as? As I run into this problem, I begin to debate the vibe I want to attempt to go for. Do I want something bloody, disgusting and gruesome to get people into the Halloween mood? Or am I thinking something relatable and clever to get people talking about my costume? Or am I finally feeling myself and deciding to cave into the classic college sexy costumes? For each specific vibe you’re going for, I have the guide to follow to create the perfect Halloween costume this year.
Scary
The classic, scary costume is definitely an easy way to go. You can practically throw blood on anything and claim you’re a “dead” something such as a dead bride, dead cheerleader or dead cowgirl. The dollar store sells fake blood you can easily drench over some old, thrifted clothes to become whatever dead character you aspire to be. Thrifting these costumes is a must, as you’ll essentially never wear them again. There are also a ton of tutorials on how to create fake wounds on YouTube to really sell the look. If you choose not to be “dead,” you can always be a popular horror movie character like Annabelle from The Conjuring or the mom from Coraline. And when in doubt, rip your clothes, mess up your hair and throw on some fake blood to become a zombie.
Sexy
The basic costumes every college campus sees include people using the holiday to show some skin, and power to them! If you’ve got it, flaunt it. Similar to scary costumes, you can always make basic costumes into sexy versions. Smaller tops and bottoms can easily create the illusion of a sexy pirate or police officer. However, there are also the common easy costumes such as the classic playboy bunny consisting of tights and a bodysuit matched with a pair of bunny ears and a cotton tail. Or there is the sexy witch, which includes a witch hat found at any Halloween store and a little black dress you can get your hands on. Complete that costume with a killer pair of heels, and you’ve got yourself a 10-second costume for any Halloween party you want to go to. Just beware, the temperature during Halloween night may not be in your favour so go about your sexy costumes with caution.
Silly
There are always those costumes you still remember the next day because they’re relatable or “in” with today’s jokes. Starting off we have the puns such as “French Toast” completed with a slice of toast and a beret. Additionally, the plethora of name tags stuck to any outfit could pass for “identity theft” or a pair of cat ears and a fancy dress could contribute to a “party animal” costume. These costumes tend to require minimal effort but can get quite a few laughs despite being last-minute and purchased as dollar store accessories. There are also those costumes that fall under this category that are current pop-culture references. 2021 might see quite a few Squid Game character costumes, COVID-related jokes, Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala total body black suit and Megan fox’s MTV outfit. Tips for creating a memorable, silly costume would be to think outside the box. What events occurred this year that everyone would recognize? Popular shows, movies, artists and things that took place this year would make for a hilarious costume. A quick google search can help refresh your memory and ultimately lead you to the perfect relatable costume. Similar to scary costumes, much of these items can be found thrifted and any accessories can be easily accessed through Amazon or your local dollar store.
Halloween costumes can be stressful through deciding what to be and trying to access all the things for said costume. Halloween costume prices can be hefty for something you typically only wear once or twice and therefore picking your costume at least a month prior to Halloween can ensure you have time to scour the thrift stores and order off Amazon for cheap. This is a better alternative to finding an expensive, cheaply made costume at a Halloween store that a bunch of other people may have already purchased and replicated exactly. In the end, if you’re in doubt, you can never go wrong with a basic black cat costume from pre-existing wardrobe items and dollar store cat ears.