Every October, college students anxiously await the last weekend of the month. Giving students an opportunity to express themselves in the most wild ways, Halloweekend is a college classic.
It does, however, come with an inevitable struggle: What to be?
There are the basic, time tested Halloween costumes that can be relied upon year after year (black cat, hot fireman, prisoner and cop), but what if you wanted to try something new?
Elena Ramirez’s costume highlights an area of inspiration that some students may have overlooked. This Halloween, Ramirez plans to dress as Lady Gaga.
“I’ve always really liked Lady Gaga,” Ramirez, a junior English major, said. “And I think, given her past wardrobe, she seems like a really fun person to dress up as.”
Nathan Wickizer took inspiration from a work of fiction rather than real life.
“I’m being a rabbit from ‘Inland Empire’ with my girlfriend,” Wickizer, a social studies education major graduating this year, said. “We were brainstorming costumes and both really liked the movie.”
The next great challenge is sourcing pieces for a costume on a limited budget.
The two aimed to spend under $20 on a budget meaning what they bought and where they bought it from really mattered. Most UB students, especially those like Ramirez who’s not just dressing up in one costume, are not able or willing to spend loads of money that could be used for books, food or other necessities on Halloween costumes.
A major way they both saved money was by “diy-ing” pieces of their costumes.
“I kept within my budget by diy-ing a lot of my pieces,” Ramirez said. “I’m making my costume by gluing caution tape to shorts and a top while I’m wearing them.”
Ramirez’s method also ensures her costume is closer to the original. Finding such specific pieces, such as a matching caution tape two-piece set, would be difficult and expensive.
Pieces they don’t make, they source from cheap options. Ramirez bought the base of her costume from Amazon, and Wickizer is thrifting his.
“We want to avoid outsourcing to Party City and anything too expensive or poorly made,” Wickizer said.
But before anything, look in the closet first.
“My last minute costumes end up being conceived of pieces I already have in my closet,” she explains. “For example, one costume I’m doing this Halloween is Fred and that’s mostly because Halloweekend was closing in fast and I had everything but suspenders in my closet.”
Wickizer doesn’t even make it there, and suggests students use makeup to transform themselves instead.
“Boys should be in drag,” he suggests. “It’s easy, and may awaken something in them.”
Though buying a ready-to-wear costume may be easier, sourcing pieces and making your own is cheaper and more fun.
“I think my favorite costumes always end up being the ones I get to make or creatively engage with by using tons of face paint or makeup,” she says. “I haven’t really bought a fully pre-packaged costume in a long time.”
The process of making your costumes adds another level of excitement and engagement to Halloween. Being able to get very close to the source material without spending hundreds of dollars is every students’ dream.
So go to the thrift stores, dig through the closets and bust out the hot-glue guns, Halloweekend is fast approaching.
Agnes Keough is the assistant features editor and can be reached at agnes.keough@ubspectrum.com.
Photo: Courtesy of Aryan Vali Baharvandi
