By Amanda Valentovic
Special to the Chronicle
Halloween is right around the corner, and there is one thing on everyone’s mind (other than midterms): what are we going to be! Although many students may be strapped for cash and do not want to buy a full costume, a do-it-yourself (DIY) costume can be an easy and cheap alternative and has the potential to be very creative.
A throwback to the 1920s can be created by making a flapper dress out of Post-it notes and tape, according to realsimple.com. The website suggests starting with a dress or tank top and a skirt, and then cutting slits into Post-it notes that are about three to four inches apart to create the flapper dress texture. Tape the Post-it notes into rows at the bottom of the dress or skirt, and tape the tops down to make sure they stick. Personalize the costume by decorating the paper, or staple cupcake wrappers to the dress in the center to create flower decorations.
Last year, freshman business major John Petlon put his own spin on a police officer costume. He cut jeans into shorts and wore a shirt that said “Police” on the back. “And I wore aviators,” Petlon said.
Erica Brosnan, a freshman journalism major, is making her own costume this Halloween using clothes she already has while adding some original touches.
“I’m going to be a sugar skull, which is a term for what they dress up as on Dia de los Muertos,” she said, referring to the November holiday in Mexico. Brosnan will wear a black dress and tights that she tore up herself, and has drawn skull designs onto black shoes. “I’m going to make a crown of dead flowers, and paint my face to look like a skull with some colorful designs around it,” she said.
To learn how to make the flower crown, Brosnan found a YouTube tutorial. YouTube can be a gold mine for creative or last-minute DIY ideas at this time of year.
YouTube video blogger DailyGrace has quirky and comical suggestions: Wear a nametag that says Matt, put scary makeup on and be “Matt Demon,” or write the word milk on a T-shirt and wear vampire fangs to be the “Vampire Diaries!”
Whatever you choose to wear, remember that if you are still costume hunting, you will not have to sacrifice your wallet while midterms are still eating your brain. The DIY community is alive and well on the internet to guide you through these difficult times.