With warm candles and fall leaves, Halloween is quickly approaching, captivating the attention of many students at Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School.
Oct. 31 falls right at the end of first quarter for IBW, leaving many students a four-day Hallo-weekend to come up with a last-minute costume. If you find yourself without any ideas or just 24 hours away from Halloween, here are some quick and easy, DIY Halloween costumes.
#1 – Hello Kitty
Starting off with a fan favorite: Hello Kitty. A cute callback to childhood lunch boxes and cartoons on TV is a great look that requires only a red or pink ribbon and anything else you can find around your house.
Use an eyeliner pencil or face paint to draw whiskers and a nose onto your face. Then either find a pair of cat ears or put hair into two high buns.
The piece that ties the whole costume together would be her red bow, make sure you have a ribbon and simply tie it into a bow, and use a hair clip
to attach it to your hair. As for clothing, there are lots of options. You can go classic with a yellow shirt and blue overalls; Hello Kitty has also worn plenty of pink, so an all pink outfit would work well.
Hello Kitty is an international icon who has been depicted in a multitude of outfits, so this costume is easy to personalize. You can also make the costume more unique by adding accessories and props. For example, you can throw on a tiara and be a princess Hello Kitty, or add a sailor hat to be a sailor Hello Kitty. Some prop ideas include holding a Hello Kitty stuffed animal, heart or a flower.
#2 – The performative male
While some might think the trend has gotten a littletoo out of hand, the Performative Male has become a hit with Gen Z, and would make a great costume this Halloween. The trend revolves around men dressing more to the female gaze, trying to attract women through idealistic values and being more in touch with female artists, books and interests.
This costume works well regardless of your gender identity. Find your wired earbuds, some feminist literature (any book by Jane Austen or bell hooks will do), a cardigan, a tote bag (if you have one) and a matcha if you’re feeling fancy.
The real point of being a Performative Male is to play it up- if you go for this costume, make sure to talk about Clairo and your Labubu collection.
#3 – Clark Kent
Superman is here to save the day. While you can dress up in blue spandex, his alter ego, Clark Kent is a much more achievable and quick costume. Some key elements you will need is your dad’s old faded superman T-shirt, a white button down and glasses.
Put the superman shirt on underneath the button up, but be sure to keep the top couple buttons undone. Throw on those glasses and practice pretending to rip apart the white shirt, and you’ll be good to go fight some crime.
With the recent remake hitting theaters this summer, there has been a resurgence of interest in Superman and everything that follows him. This costume will be perfect for a Halloween party or impressing your family at home. You can also make it a partner costume by inviting a friend to be Lois Lane, or dressing your dog as Krypto.
#4 – Fancy Nancy
If you’re seriously in a pinch, this costume might be the easiest to achieve. Fancy Nancy is a chapter book character known for her extravagant getups and outfits, and would be a very recognizable costume.
Find your puffiest and most colorful skirt or tutu, a scarf or boa and a crown to recreate this character. Feel free to wear colorful leggings and any pattern shirt, because the more chaotic this costume is, the better.
#5 – Rodrick from “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”
Another childhood favorite character is Rodrick from the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series. This edgy teen is an easy, yet original idea that requires only a few key parts.
A black T–shirt is a must. Then, use tape, paint or bleach to write the name of Rodirck’s band, Löded Diper onto it. Some grey or dark wash jeans would complement the look nicely. Add some drum sticks as props and smudge black eyeliner around your eyes for a heavy metal-worthy look.
If you want to take it a step further, Rodrick is known for his spikey hair and classic cartoon eyebrows, which can be achieved with hair gel and thickly drawn on eyebrows with an eyebrow pencil, eyeliner or eyeshadow.
#6 – “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie”
No one will deny the cuteness of the next costume. Drawing inspiration from children’s books is nostalgic, and this series about animals and their guilty pleasures is an endearing one.
Using a plain white shirt, some blue overalls and some mouse ears, either found around the house, easy to DIY with construction paper, or braided hair to mimic ears. Draw on some whiskers and a nose with eyeliner to add mouse features. Use a cookie as your prop and you will be just like this children’s book mouse. Make sure to have a couple extra cookies hanging in the pockets of your overalls to fully fulfill your character’s cookie addiction.
This costume is adaptable to any of the series characters. From a moose to a dog, any animal in the series eating almost any dessert would be a safe Halloween pick.
#7 – Carmy from “The Bear”
While this costume won’t ensure you getting any Emmy Awards, it might get some recognition for its ingenuity, being a top pick in the TV character department. “The Bear” has a very recognizable protagonist, Carmy Berzatto (played by Jeremy Allen White), who would make a simple costume for this Halloween.
Simply grab an apron from your kitchen (preferably a blue one) and a white T-shirt. For some extra props, you could grab a pan, fancy plating or a dish towel to really convey the intense kitchen aspect. An optional part could be to use semi-permanent tattoos or draw on ones similar to Carmy’s.
#8 – Mia from “The Princess Diaries”
For those who want to live out their romantic comedy dreams, this “The Princess Diaries” costume might be for you. Mia Thermopolis is not your typical princess, which means this is a fun look that requires only a couple key elements.
Wear a simple white dress with a tiara (get as cheap or fancy with it as you like). Gather your hair at the top of your head, securing the ponytail with a hair tie before twisting your hair into a sleek bun, and adding a second hair tie. Use your parents’ old Walkman headphones as a prop and wear black sunglasses to complete the look.
#9 – Sally sells sea shells by the seashore
This costume requires a bit more DIY, but the laughs you’ll get, it will be worth it. The classic tongue twister, Sally sells sea shells by the seashore, can be turned into a fun and easy look.
Find an old suit jacket and attach some sea shells with hot glue, regular white glue or fabric glue to the inside panel of the jacket. Use a name tag, paper or write directly on the jacket to add the name “Sally” to the front of the jacket.
The desired effect should be you, opening the suit jacket to show the sea shells up for sale. Fake paper money can be used as a prop to elevate the look.
Dressing up and wearing costumes is a big aspect of the spooky season, but it can be difficult to decide what to wear. Hopefully these nine costumes can offer inspiration and ideas for your next look this Halloween.
