Trendy Halloween costumes often drain the bank for high school students who fall victim to the mainstream costume market. Influencers constantly push over-consumerism for Halloween, saying that cheap websites like Amazon and SHEIN are better options because they are cheap.
A fun and creative alternative to buying from these fast-fashion websites is for teenagers to make their costumes themselves.
“I feel like now when you go to Spirit Halloween or Target these costumes are going more and more up in price,” said junior Taylor Yackley. “For one night, do you really want to spend 40-50 dollars when you can just use things you have a home to make a simple, fun costume?”
In addition to costumes at stores being so expensive now, they are often made out of cheap-quality fabric that cannot be reused for other costumes in future years. Even worse, the fast fashion costume market produces tons of waste every year, as many people throw away their costumes due to their lack of quality. People can combat this issue by making their costumes from clothes they already have and choosing to reuse those pieces year after year.
“Party City [got] more expensive,” said OH fashion teacher Susan Knowles. “I don’t like those cheap, synthetic-type costumes there.”
Teenagers can make their own costumes by being creative and stepping outside of the typical trendy costumes for that year. Halloween is truly a time for people to express themselves and dress however they want, and their savings shouldn’t have to suffer because of it.
The first step for any creative project is inspiration: this is where ideas can be turned into something both functional and stylish. Yackley has been creating costumes for years, and she explained that most of her inspiration came from online media such as Pinterest or other websites.
“Pinterest is a really good site just to look up any reference pictures you want and also any inspiration,” said Yackley.
If digital media sources don’t have enough ideas, simply looking at the clothes already in a closet might help spark inspiration.
“Dig into your closet, look at what you’ve got, think about your passion, maybe your favorite movies,” said Knowles. “Why not take it off of a movie theme, like Barbie? You’ve got pink in your closet already.”
Next comes the fun part: making the costumes themselves. Although there are some amazing handmade ones out there, creating costumes is something that can be as simple or complex as the creator wants.
“You can always just use clothing from your closet and look for shirts that just kind of resemble [your inspiration],” Yackley explained. “If you want to go more serious you could always make something out of cardboard, or if you have accessible machinery you can [sew].”
The extent of the detail of the costume is up to the person who makes it. The costume does not need to necessarily be “made” at all. Many do not have the time or money to carefully craft their costumes, so a simple yet recognizable look is their best option.
“You can go to Goodwill, get a shirt for like 10 dollars, and you have a great Halloween costume,” said Yackley.
Homemade Halloween costumes won’t be perfect, but they are personal to the creator and show off their skills and talents. Additionally, the school and library have many resources available for students who want to make their costumes, including sewing rooms and extra materials.
Additionally, the simple act of creating these costumes can be turned into a fun experience for a whole group of people. Having group gatherings where coordinating costumes are made can strengthen the bonds of friends and demonstrate creativity.
“I usually did a theme, that is a nice thing for you and your friends to work together on,” said Knowles.
Teenagers should not be afraid to step outside of their comfort zones this Halloween season and create something truly unique to themselves. Creating handmade costumes allows people to express their personalities, creativity, and humor.
So ditch the cheap witch costume and pick up some paint: it’s time to create the best look Oswego has seen yet!
My name is Sasha Pankuch and I am a junior here at OHS. This is my first year with 42Fifty too. I am very involved here at OHS; I am on the board of Student Council, I play the saxophone in the Panther Marching Band, and am a member of multiple honors societies!
So creative and fun! Good work as always!