Break out of the box and while pinching pennies this Halloween by adopting some of these helpful ways to make this Saturday’s costume an original one. From boxed wine to ribbon dancing, students share some of their own methods for masquerade madness.
1. Gather the basic tools
Before anything else, gather some basic household tools to make homemade costumes last throughout the night. A glue gun, staple gun, duct tape, safety pins and spray paint will hold your costume together better and for longer than tape and bubblegum.
2. Closet costumes
Take another look at the daily closet—some of the best ideas can be found here. For example, go for a decade look. Try the 1980s and wear bright leggings, short boots and a simple T-shirt. Ladies, be sure to pair your outfit with bright blue eye shadow and a messy side ponytail. Other costume ideas include being a mime or a devil. By wearing all black or red, all it takes is some white face paint or devil ears to complete either of these looks.
3. The thrifty costume
Make a trip to the local thrift store and your costume should come together with only at only a small cost. Pick up a faux fur coat, an old 70s pantsuit and some gaudy gold jewelry to be the ever-pantomimed pimp. Be a zombie bride by pairing a battered vintage bridal gown with a matted wig or hair-sprayed hair and some face paint. Another option is an inspector or detective. Find a long trench coat and a magnifying glass to investigate the spooks of the night.
4. Card-board box costume
Think outside of the box, literally. Those leftover cardboard boxes in the hallway are just waiting to be turned into a winning costume creation. Gather multiple boxes and spray paint them silver to be a robot. Or take a tip from Jeff Gary, a senior Chinese major, and go with something even more creative.
“My costume is a box of wine that dispenses boxed wine,” Gary said. “You can’t buy that at a Halloween store.”
5. Household items
Look over the house for basic items that can be transformed into great costumes. Gather a light-colored bed sheet and wrap a gold yarn belt around the waist to be a Greek God. Cut a hole in the middle of a red-and-white checkered tablecloth to be a walking tablecloth. Use a glue-gun to attach plastic food, plates, cups and silverware to the tablecloth.
6. Recycled items
Take another look before the trash goes out; costumes can come from anything. Create a dress or suit out of newspaper comics. Or go for something creative and functional by taking an old pair of gloves and cutting a hole in one of the finger spots. Slide a bottle opener through the hole, being sure to tape it well with duct tape, and be an assistant to friends and strangers all night long.
7. A cliché saying
Take an old saying has been repeated time and time again and make it into a clever Halloween costume! For the phrase, “I’m all ears,” glue plastic ears all over an old T-shirt and accessorize with an ear necklace.
“Last year I saw the best costume some girl came up with,” said Reem Al Abdulhadi, a freshman open-option major. “She was all dressed in light pink and had a tiny chair on her head. She was gum under a chair.”
8. Food for thought
Help feed those Halloween munchies. Make a favorite snack that can feed the public throughout the night. Be a bag of popcorn by dressing from head to toe in white and cutting two small leg holes in a garbage bag, tying the top over one shoulder. Fill the bag with popcorn and dispense to hungry trick-or-treaters.
9. Reuse a friend’s costume
Halloween season can cause serious damage to pocketbooks. This problem can be avoided by trading costumes with a friend or roommate. There may an old costume hiding in the closet, just waiting to be used this year. Why let a hit go to waste?
“Like two years ago I was a ribbon dancer, and it was a smash it everywhere I went,” said Duncan Moore, a junior environmental studies major.
10. Find an artist to help with brainstorming
If these many of these ideas seem daunting, the next step would be to find a designer or artist to help. Trade dinner for their expertise in design, and work together to brainstorm a creative and affordable costume idea for this year’s Halloween.
“I don’t make my own but I can appreciate people who do, because it makes Halloween so much more fun,” said Stephanie Lee, a sophomore dance major.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Heidi Glauser at Heidi.glauser@colorado.edu.
