The leaves have finally started to change, and that means Halloween is creeping up like a black cat in a haunted cemetery. Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. As a kid, it meant dressing up like a Disney character and enjoying a month-long sugar high. At Northwestern, I still love dressing up for Halloween (I still love candy too, but apparently Evanston has outlawed trick-or-treating). Since we’re now on student budgets, expensive Halloween costumes are a thing of the past; we’ve got to start getting more creative.
If you’re running out of time and need a few ideas, here are some costumes for guys and girls that use only things you already own. For each of these ideas, I only used items that I found in my closet (I found most of the male costume rummaging through NBN’s Michael Lanning’s closet).
Girls:
Little Black Dress = Flapper
All women know how versatile the little black dress can be, but did you know you can also use it to create a variety of Halloween costumes? The LBD works really well for costumes from older historical eras, particularly the 20s.
Accessories: Become a flapper by pairing your LBD with fishnets (with a garter!), Mary Janes, long necklaces (particularly pearls or vintage necklaces) or a boa. Flappers also often had fans, cigarettes with long holders and sometimes a feather in their hair. You know, if you have that lying around.
Make-up: Make-up really completes the flapper look. Put a lot of powder or foundation to make your skin look more matte and pale than usual. Then line your eyes with black eyeliner, and use a really dark eye shadow (black if you have it) to get the smoky eye. Use a lot of mascara (a few coats) or try fake eyelashes. Red lipstick was all the rage in the 20s, so definitely don’t be afraid to use it. If you’d like, try the cupid bow’s style, a la Clara Bow or Betty Boop. Flappers’ eyebrows tended to be very long and thin. Don’t go crazy with the tweezers though. Extending your eyebrows (like Nicole Kidman did in Moulin Rouge) with an eyeliner that matches your eyebrow will work very nicely.
Hair: Most flappers had a bob, but there is definitely no need to cut your hair. Create some finger waves around your face and put the rest of your hair in a bun. Flappers also sported pin curls quite often.
Leggings = 80s Babe
With 80s fashion making a comeback on the runways these days, most of you will probably own at least one item of clothing that you can turn into a costume reminiscent of that rockin’ decade. Most likely, you own a pair of leggings — a great way to make sure you stay warm on Halloween while still looking “bodacious.” Choose the brightest leggings you own to really send out that 80s vibe.
Accessories: To achieve a Flashdance look, wear an off-the-shoulder oversized sweatshirt with or without a colorful tank top underneath. Wear your most colorful gym shorts over your leggings. Jewelry should be big, colorful and really loud — colored hoop earrings and a lot of colorful bangles. To really go the extra distance, wear a sweatband like Jennifer Beals does in Flashdance.
Make-up: Like your accessories, your make-up should be loud. However, you don’t want to look like Mimi from The Drew Carey Show, so make it look presentable. Pink lipstick is always a great bet, and looks less clownish than lots of blue eye shadow. Try blue eyeliner with blue or purple mascara instead. It will really make your eyes pop. Pink blush is a must, but again, don’t go overboard.
Hair: BIG! Tease it, curl it, flip your head over and brush it upside down — do whatever you need to do to make it large. If your hair just won’t cooperate, the side-ponytail also dominated the 80s fad scene.
Blue Jeans = Flower Child
This is one of the easiest costumes to pull together. So if you’re stressing out on October 30th about what to wear for the big day, just pull your favorite jeans and a few other things out of your closet.
Accessories: You can wear a lot of different tops to pull off the hippie costume; whatever you have will work. You could try a large, flowy peasant top, or even a white tube top. If you have something with fringe stuffed at the back of your closet, now is the time to use it! Pull out any long necklaces you have, particularly the earthy, vintage-y ones — extra points if you have a necklace with a peace sign on it. You can go a lot of different ways with earrings: smaller earrings or bigger hoops. Bangles are great too, but again, earth tones will probably work better than loud colors.
Make-up: Very earthy. Using subtle gold is a good way to stand out when it’s dark outside without looking too dramatic. But again, keep it clean and light. To really let people know you’re going for the flower child look, draw a small flower with colored eyeliner (or marker) next to your eye. Far out!
Hair: Unlike the 80s babe, the flower child had extremely straight hair. Part your hair down the middle and straighten it as needed. You can also braid the small section of your hair that frames your face. Wear a headband or a scarf around your head to really get the point across.
Peasant Top = Gypsy
You can still tap into men’s fantasies without resorting to lingerie or nurses’ outfits. Tell me what guy wasn’t thinking about how hot Esmeralda looked in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” And she was a cartoon character!
Accessories: Pair your peasant top with a longer, flowy skirt and gold or brown sandals. What gypsy wouldn’t wear a ton of jewelry? Pull out your gold hoops and stack bangles on your arms. Gold bangles are great, but other colors will do just fine. If you can, pile some gold bangles on your ankles.
Make-up: Gold eye shadow will look great with this costume. You can either go nude or go with a berry for your lips; use whatever you’re comfortable with. Overall, the makeup should be natural with a bit of sparkle to stand out.
Hair: Try to make your hair big and wild. Use a large barrel curling iron, then comb out the curls a bit to get natural curls that don’t look too perfect. If you have thinner hair, blow dry your hair upside down to get some volume, and try to tease it out a bit. If all else fails, put your hair in a messy bun (make sure to leave some flyaways).
Black Shirt = Cat
Cats and Halloween go together like Republicans and sex scandals. Create this traditional Halloween costume by using anything black you have in your wardrobe (or leopard print, for that matter). To create the illusion of a cat, wear clothes that are more skin-tight. Dancers that have a black leotard and black leggings are set. If you’re not a gymnast (or an interpretative dancer), go for the black tube top, tank-top or even long-sleeve shirt.
Accessories: Wear black leggings or pants to create this look. You could probably even do a black skirt with black tights or leggings. Though it’s really cheap to buy a pair of cat ears, we’re trying to create costumes with what you already have. Cut out some black paper or find some black material to create ears and you can tape/staple/glue them to a headband that you own. If you’re really creative, you can use this material to create a tail, too.
Make-up: Think “mysterious” when choosing your make-up. Go dark on your eyes. If you’ve never had the chance to do cat eyes with your eyeliner, now’s the time! Line your upper lashes with the eyeliner (both liquid and pencil will do fine) and extend the line past your eye. You can either go with a red lip or go for a more natural color, depending on the level of drama you can handle. Don’t forget to draw on a nose and whiskers with black eyeliner!
Hair: Again, you can be really versatile with this. You can either sleek your hair back into a bun or simple updo, or you can go wild with your hair (check out the gypsy’s hair for tips).
Guys:
Towel = Locked Out!
A friend of mine wore this costume last year and got a ton of laughs, despite the fact that it’s a “costume” worn every day. He dressed up in a towel, and carried a shower caddy and a sign that said “Locked Out!”
What else you’ll need: Besides the towel (with or without underwear beneath), you’ll want to bring along a shower caddy (with stuff in it of course), a sign explaining your predicament and a frustrated expression. A shower cap would also be a hilarious addition to this costume
Button Down Shirt = Tom Cruise from “Risky Business”
Though overused, this costume will always get looks and laughs from partygoers. Another ridiculously easy costume to create, it doesn’t involve a lot of preparation before going to a Halloween party. It would probably be a good thing if you watch the movie before choosing this for your costume.
What else you’ll need: White underwear/boxers to go underneath your white button-down shirt (no commando please). Tom Cruise wore Ray-Ban wayfarers in the movie so it’s time to pull out your Rays! If you don’t have them, any other dark-lensed sunglasses will do fine. Finally, pull your tube socks on and practice sliding in them.
Silk Robe = Hugh Hefner
What guy wouldn’t want to be in Hef’s shoes right now? His Robed Glory-ness has three girlfriends, whose ages added together are about the same age as him. To really pull off this costume, try to convince a few blonde girls to play your girlfriends. It will probably help if you are friends.
What else you’ll need: Besides the silk robe, you’ll need slippers, a pajama shirt and pants, a rolled-up newspaper under your arm and a copy of Playboy. Extra points if you have a pipe.
Two polo shirts = Douche Bag
This costume’s funny because you are spoofing people who actually walk around campus. A bunch of my guy friends did this costume last year and I couldn’t stop laughing. To really pull this costume off, you have to take everything to the extreme and stay in character for the whole night.
What else you need: Put one polo shirt inside of another and pop both collars. Put the more colorful shirt on top (extra points if it’s pink). Wear aviators and a baseball hat that’s tilted up on your head and to the side. You’ll also need a stereotypical plastic, red beer cup and a sneer/stupid grin.
Your girlfriend’s dress = Drag Queen
As long as it’s in good taste, this costume can be absolutely side-splitting. Raid your girlfriend’s closet for this one and find anything that you can fit into. Dresses and skirts with elastic are probably your best bet.
What else you’ll need: Let your girlfriend do your make-up and hair for you; it will be fun for both of you! If you can find shoes of hers that you can fit into, wear them, but flip-flops might be the only thing that works. Borrow her jewelry and other accessories — really deck yourself out. The only other thing you need is a high falsetto voice and you’re set!
Hopefully you can find something to wear this All Hallow’s Eve by rummaging through your closet a little. Nothing makes a Halloween party better than a great costume (and a little alcohol).