Spooked in Style

Many college students are on a tight budget, but that doesn’t mean they can’t stand out this Halloween with their costumes.

Delta Smith, assistant professor of costume design and stage makeup at East Carolina University, said people should consider the little details that make their costume recognizable.

“If they really, really want to be someone specific, they should really think about what it is that makes that character a whole,” Smith said.

For a costume such as Wednesday Addams, her fashion pulls from the 60’s and 70’s era. Wednesday Addams’ hair is straight (although it is braided) and she is wearing a babydoll dress with a collar, Smith said.

Smith said if someone really loves a character, it is perfectly fine if they make their own take on the character. She recommends pushing characters into the 21st century. The Netflix adaptation of Sabrina the Teenage Witch where Sabrina is dressed in modern clothing is an example of this concept, Smith explained.

To make the character more modern, you can get clothing from cheap clothing stores such as Forever 21 and pay a little extra to add accessories to the costume, Smith said. The pieces of the costume do not need to last for a long time, it’s only for when you are dressed as a specific character, she shared.

Smith recommends going to Goodwill, Loft and T.J Maxx to find cheap items for costumes. When searching for items at Goodwill, the assistant professor recommends people go to bigger cities for quality finds. Due to the amount of people that donate to these stores, it’s best for shoppers to go to the Goodwill near the hospital in Greenville or a Goodwill closer to Raleigh, according to Smith.

“If you’re willing to explore the idea of different avenues and different ways of making this character happen, then I think you’ll have more fun with it, especially if you’re trying to create a character on a budget but enjoy yourself while you’re doing it as well,” Smith said.

Annagrace Saufley, a sales floor associate and makeup artist at Halloween Express in Greenville, recommends using body suits to create multiple costumes out of one item.

“For example, you can take one red bodysuit and be a devil, you can add a fire hat and be a fireman, you can add a stethoscope and be a nurse, like theres so many ways you can play up just one simple piece,” Saufley, a junior health fitness specialist and psychology double major, said. “So if you’re on a budget, I’d definitely think that’d be your best option because you can get more out of one central piece.”

Makeup can change an entire outfit for those who would like to incorporate items from their closets, according to Saufley. For instance, Saufley said items such as a black dress, curly eyeliner and a broom can turn an ordinary outfit into a witch costume.

The most common costumes among those on a budget are usually animals such as cats, bunnies and deer because the makeup is easy to do, Saufley said. Another effective Halloween costume to have on a budget would be zombies because they are another easy costume and zombie makeup can be done at home, according to Saufley.

Last year, mermaids were a popular costume among Halloween Express’ customers, Saufley said. Halloween Express sold a bodysuit with scales, which many people paired with a skater skirt and glitter makeup for a quick and easy costume.

Men typically opted for “funny” or “scary” Halloween costumes, according to Saufley. Saufley said masks can be paired with a flannel and jeans for an easy costume such as a wolf.

Another option for men would be to pair a black t-shirt with black jeans and add a hat, handcuffs and mustache to dress up as a cop, Saufley shared.

“I would say that if you’re looking specifically on a budget, then I would do like a mask with clothes from your closet,” Saufley said.

Saufley recommends that those who are thinking about dressing up for Halloween should start thinking about their costume two weeks in advance, even if they’re not ready to buy their costume at that very moment. This time period allows customers to order clothing weeks in advance and gives them time to find items in their size.