Colgate Couture: Halloween Scene

 

 

After a couple of years at Colgate, I’ve seen enough cats, cowgirls and 80s workout dancers wandering Broad Street Halloween weekend to last an entire lifetime. No matter how excited we all get over Halloween, it’s always so hard to think of unique costumes. Since Halloween is only days away, here are some last-minute costume ideas that can work with pieces you already have in your closet but are fab enough to win you Best Dressed at any party.

The Marchesa Luisa Casati

This costume is for the history buffs. The Marchesa was an in­sanely decadent (and decadently insane) figure in the early twentieth century Italian social world, famous for wearing ropes of jewels out on the Venetian streets while walking her pet cheetahs on diamond-studded leashes. If you choose to be Luisa Casati, more is more! The Marchesa’s look includes decadent jewels (or rhinestones on a college budget), deep royal colors like violet, navy and wine, sables, minks, leopards and utter extravagance. Casati routinely dyed her hair deep henna red, so this costume is perfect especially for redheads. Think kohl-rimmed liner around the eyes with a lacy party dress and faux fur shrug and perhaps a cheetah stuffed animal with a rhinestone collar to complete the look.

Holly Golightly

Every year, a lot of girls try to pull off the signature Breakfast at Tif­fany’s look. If you want to go this route, you can’t do it half-heartedly. Pull out that little black dress from your closet that you’ve been saving for some potential formal and add thick tortoiseshell Wayfarer shades, white opera gloves, black heels and stick a jeweled tiara into your pineapple updo to look like you’re on your way to Tiffany’s.

Sixties bombshell

Channeling the early sixties will be a big costume inspiration source for this year. From the enduring popularity of Mad Men to the more recent releases of The Playboy Club and Pan Am, the early sixties is the era of the moment. Stick to a classic shift dress, low heels and a simple twist updo or swooping curls for that classic early sixties look, and add a simple string of pearls and some red lipstick for an added va-va-voom factor.

Black Swan

Tutus are must-have accessories for college students in general (what, you don’t own a tutu?), so a Black Swan costume would be relatively easy for girls who haven’t given up the ballerina dreams they had when they were little tykes. Wear a black tank top or leotard (depending on how intense you want to get about it) with black tights and tutu, or wear a dress with tons of tutu-like ruffles for a similar effect. Doing the intense eye makeup for the swan-like effect will be where you can have the most fun with your look – and it’s easy to do, just go crazy with your eyeliner pencil.

Katy Perry

Lady Gaga continues her reign for Halloween by offering fans a line of costumes inspired by her music video outfits, but Katy Perry is fast on the rise for favorite pop star status this weekend. The “California Gurl” look will be a favorite, complete with blue wig and candy-colored ensembles, but walking around with something as simple as cherry Chapstick could do the trick for your costume.

Contact Alexis Manrodt at [email protected].