Can you picture yourself winning this year’s costume contest? With a ‘do it yourself’ attitude, the costume competition will be in the bag.

With Halloween coming up, not everyone has the time or money to buy a fancy costume from the web. Websites like Amazon don’t guarantee a rapid delivery, especially as Halloween draws near and it is crunch time. The costume stores and online sites have raised prices of costumes over the years. But, there’s always the option to do it yourself and stay on a budget. Smartphone apps like Pinterest offer an inspiration to those who lack their own creative motivation.

In the spirit of Halloween, get out your scissors, tape and anything pumpkin-themed to help get you started. There is always the option to either gather friends for a group costume, or rock out in solo attire. It’s possible to get your creative juices flowing simply by taking a glance in your closet.

If you’re a boy with a black blazer, think James Bond. If you’re a girl with a red dress, go for Minnie Mouse.  Places down the road from Buffalo State like Party City have little knick-knacks to help top-off the perfect DIY costume. Brandon, an employee at Party City, said, “Young adults are often buying items like maracas and sombreros for a Mexican-themed costume”.

“When people began to create their own costumes by doing it themselves it gave everyone a new and less expensive way to create the costume they wanted,” said sophomore Amanda Bruno of Grand Island, a product development major at Buffalo State. DIY adds convenience to a student lifestyle. There are also thrift stores along Elmwood and Delaware that are accessible through Buffalo’s bus routes.

The choices in costume stores are often limited and are almost always hard to alter. There may be certain parts of the costume you may not want included or something that the costume is lacking. Creating it yourself gives you the opportunity to create your own image of the costume. It becomes an original look. Sizes and quality of costumes online and in stores are limited and are not always made for all body types. By creating your own costume, you have the capability to gear it towards your specific body type and measurements. Sometimes those premade costumes are just not made for you if you happen to be a tall girl.

Sarah Cosentino, a sophomore from Clarence, loves to create her favorite DIY Halloween costumes. “I had the shoes, socks, sunglasses and spandex to create most of my Risky Business look. The only thing left was an oversized shirt I borrowed from a friend to complete the outfit.”

DIY costumes are unique. This uniqueness enables you to stand out and avoid sharing a look with a fellow Halloween partygoer. By creating the costume yourself, you can create a distinctive and one-of-a-kind costume, geared to your desires, and that no one else would have.