Students share their stories of putting everyday items and clothing together to make a cheap, homemade Halloween costume.

Brittany Ankrom and Caitlin Sirse

Credit: DKS Editors

Name: Casey Owens

Year/Major: Senior organization communication major

Costume: Man dressed as a woman

Owens and her friends have spent the past couple years pooling clothes to dress their male friend as “Ta Ta Tanay Nay.”

“He was dressed up like a girl,” she said. “He was walking downtown, and all these guys actually thought he was a real girl, so they were like hitting on him and trying to talk to him, and then when he turned around they saw his face. They like started screaming, and they ran away.”

But Owens said one interesting experience wasn’t enough for one night.

“We were going to like Taco Bell or Burger King over there to get something to eat, and when he ordered, it was a man’s voice, and when he we pulled to the window, and he was dressed like a girl,” she said. “The girl in the window, she stared and she started busted out laughing. It was so funny.”

Name: Elizabeth Holton

Year: Freshman education interpreting major

Costume: Risky Business

Holton said one of her favorite costumes is a little ditty from 1983.

“I’m all for doing Risky Business,” she said, “and all you have to do for a girl, you can still make it sexy, like a sexy costume, is wear like a button-down shirt and short boxers and high socks.”

Holton said she also enjoyed seeing her friend’s outfits.

“My friend was a present, and she got a big box and wrapped it in paper,” Holton said. “The only downfall to that is you can’t see your feet and she tripped and fell, and there is no way of catching yourself. It could end tragically on Halloween, especially if you’re drunk.

“Then she was a Q-tip, and she dressed in all white and had cotton balls on her head.”

Name: Elyse Shaffer

Year/Major: Sophomore communications major

Costume: Dalmatian

Shaffer said she has experimented throughout the years by using and reusing costumes as well as making her own.

“Last year I was a lion,” she said laughing. “I was originally a dalmatian when I was about 4 years old – uh well, lets say about 6 or 7. I cut it up and recreated it.”

Name: Austin Schott

Year/Major: sophomore nursing major

Costume: Chazz from “Blades of Glory”

Schott said creating a costume is fun, but this year’s costume came from Goodwill.

“I found this full sequins suit at Goodwill,” Schott said.

Schott said he is dressing as Chazz from “Blades of Glory.” This is not the first year he went the easy way to get a costume.

“One year I wore a trench coat with cereal boxes all over it with knives sticking out,” Schott said. “I was a ‘cereal’ killer. I’ve also been a bingo card. I put paint on my face and wore two pieces of cardboard.”

Name: Justin Green

Year/Major: Sophomore business management major

Costume: Ghost

Green said when he was younger it made it easier if he kept things simple. Buying a costume was easier, but making one was more creative.

“Growing up in Brooklyn was tough,” Green said. “I would just throw something together like a sheet and be a ghost.”