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By Miranda Scott
The season is right and the haunting hour is near, as Halloween is almost here. The holiday is coming up and many Northern Arizona University (NAU) students are starting to stretch their creative wings with exciting costumes. The childhood tradition of dressing up reigns once again in college, where the true artistry of costuming shines. Make no mistake, Halloween takes a lot of preparation; while some people are content with old favorites like a black cat or a ghost, others use the holiday as a chance to stand out.
While many people strive for originality in a costume, there are a few outfits which seem to return every year.
Andres Adauto, the manager of Incahoots Vintage Clothing and Costumes, says, “A lot of people are still going for pirates; they are always steadfast. Monsters have been pretty big this year and animals in general have been strong for the last couple [years]. Flappers are always pretty heavy, as far as a female iconic figure [goes].”
The popularity of costumes often depends heavily on current pop culture. Pirates became a staple after Johnny Depp played the iconic character of Captain Jack Sparrow, and the steady success of horror movies make monsters a hot ticket costume.
Another trend that can be utterly adorable and creepy as heck at the same time are couple’s costumes. Classic couples like Mickey and Minnie Mouse make for great costumes, but some couples prefer dressing as a scary duo. NAU students Katy Harding and Jonathan Duncan plan to dress as zombies this year.
“Well, my favorite show is The Walking Dead, and we were like, ‘What should we go as for Halloween?’” Harding, a freshman English major, says. “Then my boyfriend decided we should go as a zombie couple because nothing’s more romantic than some zombies being in love and eating brains.” The amount of coordination needed to make couples costumes successful is huge, but nothing says commitment like two people wearing clothes that match.
Dressing up as intricate movie or TV characters is also common, but doing so often requires a bit more time and work. Ranging from a well put together Bane, the central villain from the latest Batman movie, to a femme Doctor from the British television show Doctor Who, the options are countless.
Haley Huzzy, a freshman English major, decided her costume was going to be Emily from the 2005 movie, Corpse Bride. Drawn to the challenge, Huzzy says, “I really like the movie, and she’s freaking brilliant, so I was just like ‘I’ll do it!’”
In creating a difficult costume such as the Corpse Bride, Huzzy’s favorite part is the attention to detail she must pay in order to make her costume nearly perfect. To her, being able to map out every feature of the costume is a thrill, and should definitely win her points when others see the accuracy in her work.
Time is another factor that serious costume makers have to worry about. Adauto says, “You can start early if you want to make it something really involved . . . some of the really good pieces are the ones that go out the earliest.” Everyone has the same deadline, so as Adauto suggests, an extra day or month spent on costume making will make all the difference.
Apart from the freedom to eat a million candy bars, dressing up is a fun tradition that comes with Halloween. This year at NAU, the costume bar is set fairly high, and there is no doubt the talented students here will surpass expectation with truly cool beans costumes.
