● To be or not to be for Halloween?

Anna Noumtinis Bilingual Journalist

Every October I have the same two dilemmas; one, what do I get my sister for her birthday and two, should I dress up for Halloween? Number two gets me every time. I contemplate dressing up, and if I were to dress up, what would I be? To buy a Halloween costume from the store can be quite pricey, especially if you get a full cosplay-type costume, and while the idea of it seems kind of fun, there is no way my wallet will allow that. I blame gas prices honestly, that seventy dollars I used to fill the tank could have financed a Catwoman costume; oh well. Thrifting a costume is definitely a cheaper alternative, and creating your own costume from thrift store items is even better, because you could pick a really simple costume like an 80s actor—there are tons of 80s clothes at thrift stores! Some people get really creative with creating a thrift store costume, and I’ve seen so many DIY Bride of Frankenstein or Corpse Bride costumes that were so cool and intricate! I was very impressed, it was absolutely amazing what these people were able to do with some fake blood and a thrifted wedding dress! I could tell those people put a lot of work into their costumes, and I was amazed by the work they did. I don’t think I have the time or the creativity to whip up a Bride of Frankenstein costume, which is why buying a costume is appealing because all you have to do is put it on, then fix your hair and make-up accordingly. When it comes to buying a costume, another thing I dislike about these costumes is the accessories. You can buy a pirate costume and it will come with three items, but the model in the picture has seven different items to complete the costume! Then, you have to find similar pieces to complete the costume. The worst is when you don’t open the costume package until the day of Halloween, and then you realize half the things you need to complete the costume are missing. This is what makes some of these store-bought costumes so expensive; it’s not just the costume you are buying, but all the accessory sets too. This leads us back to thrifting. Thrifting a costume is nice as well, since if you shop right, you can find some nice pieces to reuse next Halloween, or during the off-season. Another simple and reusable way to get into the Halloween spirit is to just wear the accessories. Get a pumpkin bead necklace, or bat earrings, or even a pin that says ‘Happy Halloween’, which commemorates the spirit of Halloween without you having to go out, and spend a lot of money or time on a costume. Headbands are also very simple and relatively cheap; just find a unicorn headband and wear a plain pink shirt. Boom, instant Pinky Pie costume! I can see how some people might find that a bit too boring. This is my dilemma every year with Halloween costumes; do I spend money and buy a costume, do I save money and make my own, or do I just put on some cute pumpkin earrings and get on with my day? With all that being said, Glendon, the question remains: to be or not to be this Halloween? If you want to share your costume ideas or tell us why you like or dislike dressing up for Halloween, slide into our DMs on Instagram at https://instagram.com/ protemglendon?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=.