Graphic by Max Weinstein
It’s Halloweekend and Syracuse University students need to go all out to blend some niche with the right amount of hot. Coming up with the idea is one thing, but finding the pieces is another. We’ve curated the perfect list with the best places—both affordable and easy—to find them.
1. The COVID-conscious lesbian bar owner who left to go to clown school
Start with your best clown make up, complete with a red nose and blue accents. Top it off with an N-95 and always have a drink in hand. You may look like a sick clown drinking coffee, but a little theatrical flair never hurt anybody.
2. Aubrey Plaza in The Little Hours
Chanel your inner Aubrey Plaza nun with a deadpan expression, questionable morals and a general disregard for the sanctity of the church. Check a nearby store like Target or Three-Fifteen for a cream-colored maxi dress and pair it with a black trench coat or scarf to cover your head and shoulders. Stuff a pillow or a sweatshirt under the dress, just above your waist and keep a cigarette dangling between your fingers. Light it up and bam, you’re a pregnant, chain-smoking nun with a suspiciously Plaza-esque attitude.
3. Rupaul from But I’m a Cheerleader
“Straight is great,” and so is this costume.
Channel your inner conversion camp counselor with a few basic wardrobe pieces. Find a blue sweatshirt, blue jeans, a clipboard and a pen. If you really want to complete the look, print out one of the many iconic slogans from the cult classic and put it right on your shirt.
4. Tobias Funke from Arrested Development
This one might take a trip to HomeDepot, but all that’s needed are some ripped jean shorts and blue paint. Just “blue” yourself. Simple as that. But really, you can’t go wrong with any Arrested Development character. For Gob, pull out your best magician outfit; for Michael, channel your inner middle manager in your best corporate outfit; and for Buster, a military-inspired outfit from Destiny USA will do the trick. There’s an arrested-development look for everyone.
5. Ghost Cowboy
This might be the easiest costume on the list, requiring no more than a white sheet with cutouts for eyes, a cowboy hat and some boots. If you’re looking to give Casper a little country charm, throw on a white top underneath, add a belt, bandana, or belt buckle for an extra cowboy flair.