With Halloween just around the corner, many students are still looking for last-minute costumes to join in with the festive season. And let’s face it: college students do not have a lot of money to spend on one-night costumes. Besides a Wal-Mart run to Sioux Center or venturing to the temporary Halloween stores in the Sioux City mall, there are plenty of cheap places to buy costumes online, such as www.zoogstercostumes.com or www. buycostumes.com.
When asked about their Halloween costumes from last year, students across campus found inexpensive and easy ways to dress up as some of their favorite characters and people. Sophomore Skylar Tiahrt, who dressed up as Beast Boy from Teen Titans, bought his whole costume and it only cost him about fifteen dollars. Sophomore Sarah Kugler dressed up as Poison Ivy, one of the villains from Batman. “My costume was an amalgamation of items I already had and things I bought at Goodwill,” Kugler said. “Overall, probably 10 dollars max!”
But what if spending money just isn’t an option? Halloween costumes on a college budget are easy – as long as you’re creative.
Junior Holly Lawrence got her costume for free by compiling some of her own items and some of her friends’ to dress up as “Where’s Waldo” complete with a red and white striped dress and big glasses. Sophomore Amber Amundson praises the idea of coming up with your own costumes. “Honestly, I think store-bought costumes look really cheap anyway. There is always that fear that someone will have bought the same thing, and they are 20 to 40 bucks. Coming up with your own costume and assembling it out of far less pricey pieces is a lot more fun.”
Look around the media today; there are plenty of celebrities and TV characters that would be a blast to match – the possibilities are nearly endless.
Try dressing up as Lady Gaga or a character from Glee or Mad Men. The look of “Flo” from the Progressive commercials is easy to imitate. Just grab a brown wig, a headband, white pants, a polo shirt, some red lipstick and a name tag and you’ll look ready to sell insurance!
A quick and easy costume is to dress up like the guy from the Old Spice commercials. Look at him, look at yourself. Then grab a towel and some deodorant and you’re ready to rock the look.
If you’re looking for a typical Halloween costume, a plastic bag and a cardboard box will provide what you need to turn yourself into a sassy-looking witch for a night. Cut three holes in the bag for your arms and head, snip away at the box until you’ve got yourself a pointed hat. The last piece is a broom and that should be easy to find.
Dressing up as an old lady is a great and clever costume for both women and men. Visit the Fern dress-up bin or spend a few dollars at Bibles for Missions to find an old dress and some costume jewelry. An umbrella can work as a cane and don’t forget some bright makeup and a lot of powder.
The SAC is hosting a Costume Contest this year for Halloween. All you need is a group of five friends and some pretty stellar costumes; what better place to start than a roll of toilet paper and a white t-shirt? Find that, and it’s easy as 1-2-3 before you’ve got yourself a straight-from-the-dead mummy. Costumes will be judged at half-time of Saturday’s football game on Oct. 30. The countdown to Halloween is ticking quickly but don’t let the worry of choosing the right costume get you down.
