The days of ghosts and witches are long gone. A Halloween costume for the average college student requires a balanced combination of creativity and frugality.
Figures from popular culture serve as the best costume ideas among students this Halloween. Inspiration is taken from figures ranging from live-action movie figures like Austin Powers and Gladiator to popular cartoon characters.
Hideyuki Morito, an undeclared freshman, is planning to spend his Halloween night dressed up as Japanese cartoon character Lupin the Third. The character, who is very popular in Japan, wears a red jacket and a yellow tie.
“I think it would be funny,” Morito said. “The funnier the better. But I have to get a red jacket at Goodwill or somewhere.”
A key aspect of any costume is low price. Many students rummage through the aisles of thrift stores to come up with ideas for costumes.
“I want to be something that most people don’t think of,” junior Aaron Morris said. “I want to go to Goodwill and buy a bunch of weird clothes for my costume.”
Students also must take into consideration the time it takes to make a costume. The busy schedule that college dictates makes it hard for students to spend hours on costume ideas.
“I want to be something that involves as little work as possible,” sophomore Ben Blanding said.
Dressing like television and movie characters meets the criteria for a good costume because it is fast and inexpensive. To replicate the appearance of a popular cartoon character, all one needs to do is wear the same colors as the character, and mimic the most defining of that character’s traits.
“I thought about being Milhouse from ‘The Simpsons’ because all I needed was big glasses, but I’m too tall,” said Morris.
For students who are still on the search for costumes, the answers may lie on the shelves of the video store or the aisles of the thrift store.