Though finding costumes can be as simple as a one-click purchase on Amazon, for some, Halloween is an outlet for creativity. Whether they mix and match pieces or sew from scratch, these are the students who let their artistic sides shine by crafting their own Halloween costumes.
Audrey Do (11)
Influenced by her parents’ strong sewing background, junior Audrey Do has been making Halloween costumes since she was 3 years old.
This year, she’s going as the Cookie Monster, her costume formed from a blue skirt and a dark blue T-shirt with felt eyes, along with a cookie prop made from felt. When creating a costume, Do first traces the outline onto a newspaper to avoid mistakes. After a grueling yet enjoyable crafting process, voilà—a fun, niche costume is born!
“It definitely makes it more fun and meaningful,” Do said. “Especially when you’re creating it with your family or people that you really bond with, it just makes it special, and then wearing around when you’re trick-or-treating or going to parties, it’s like, ‘Oh, I made this,’ [and] it’s a lot more meaningful.”
Michelle Yoon (10)
This Halloween, sophomore Michelle Yoon is bringing Power from “Chainsaw Man” to life, inspired by the devil’s impulsiveness and chaotic attitude.
“I decided to do Power because the movie arc is coming up,” Yoon said. “The outfit’s stuff I found in my family’s closet, so it was pretty easy to put together.”
Yoon began working on her costume in August, gathering old clothes from home and purchasing small accessories like a horned headband and wig.
“The animation is so fluid and beautiful. It inspires me,” Yoon said. “Cosplay can express a lot of different ways of creativity, including sewing, makeup skills, wig styling skills and others.”
Despite her struggles—including getting the horns to stay in place–she found joy in the creative process, especially while styling the wig with her friend. It also gave her a sense of independence and pride in her work.
“Something I made for myself fits perfectly and feels more secure,” Yoon said. “It’s nice knowing it’s something I built completely on my own.”
Dustin Truong (12)
Senior Dustin Truong plans to dress up as the male version of Nina Iseri, the lead vocalist and guitarist from the anime “Girls Band Cry.”
Truong added his own creative spin to design a masculine counterpart. Instead of a cropped denim jacket, he opted for an oversized denim jacket decked in caution tape, paired with white shorts and a yellow belt with plastic buckles. To make the look more specific to the character, he stitched patchwork onto the jacket and shorts, including a bunny design on the back and a blue rose on the shoulder.
“I decided to make her costume this year because I really enjoyed watching ‘Girls Band Cry,’ as I actually just recently re-watched it,” Truong said. “It took me around two to three weeks to finish. I started cosplaying her about a month or two back. I wore it to previous [anime] conventions for the past month or two, so I’m gonna wear it for Halloween too.”
This was only Truong’s second time doing stitch work, and he appreciated the level of challenge that this simple outfit presented.
He hopes to experiment with makeup and wig styling to take his future creations to the next level.
“I think it’s more fun if you do cosplay instead of a generic Halloween costume, as you get to express what characters you really like,” Truong said. “It’s something more unique than your traditional ghost or pirate costume.”
