With Halloween here, students are ready to show off their crafty and spooky sides. While store-bought costumes are always an option, some students choose to embrace their creativity and make their own costumes. Jump into the world of do-it-yourself (DIY) costumes, where imagination knows no bounds, and the possibilities are as limitless as your creativity. Discover how DIY costumes not only save money but also offer a one of a kind way to express personality and stand out from the crowd.

Ruth Norton ’25 created her own costume last year. She had decided to be Nancy Morgan Hart, a historical figure who was a spy and pioneer. Norton created her costume using materials found in her house and craft stores. 

“I looked at the clothes I already had and picked out an outfit from that, but it was missing the skirt I had in mind,” said Norton. “I decided to create one from scratch so I went to Joann’s where I found a plain brown fabric.” 

Every year Norton picks out a math themed costume and now it has become a tradition. She always finds a way to let her costume express herself.

“I’ve been doing DIY since I was very little, it’s always been a hobby of mine. I enjoy learning how to sew and use new crafting skills,” said Norton. “Halloween is sort of the only time of year I get to do it, and it’s nice. I feel like it’s a chance to incorporate my own interests such as math, and the idea of zero waste.”

Though Norton has been making costumes for years, her favorite costume was when she was around four years old.

  “I wanted to be a lizard,” said Norton. “I ended up with an all green lizard outfit with glow and dark hot glue on the front that said ‘mean green lizard but not scary’.”  

This year, however, Norton will be taking her imagination to a new level by combining some of her interests.

“This year I’m gonna be a mathematician Barbie,” said Norton. “There has not been a mathematician Barbie made, so by incorporating my interest in math I will be able to create a new version of Barbie as my costume.

Vic Cunningham ‘24  recently started creating DIY costumes, this year she added a twist to her individual costume.

“Last year I made my own Dracula costume and the year before that I was Orange Blossom, a Strawberry Shortcake character,” said Cunningham. “This year, however, it all depends on what my sixth-grade buddy wants to do since we are going to make costumes together.”

Each year Cunningham likes to alter the costume from a traditional style to make it more unique.

“All my costumes have my own style to them,” said Cunningham. “With Draculaura I wore really big pink boots since pink is my favorite color and with Blossom’s I wore a really cute skirt with Mary Janes to show my style.”

While designing your own costume can be fun, there are challenges that come along with this process.

“When I started DIY costumes, I faced some challenges,” said Cunningham. “Since I had never done DIY costumes before, I would have an idea but wasn’t sure if  I was capable of bringing it to life”.

Students don’t only use their DIY costumes for Halloween. Amanee Singh ‘24 does DIY costumes not only for her personal experience but also for her business. 

“During Halloween I get a lot of sales by making things like fruit hats that people can use for costumes. I crochet all my costumes, and it only takes a couple of hours to learn,” said Singh. “Using DIY I can cater the costume to my interests and save money. This can be really fun to learn on days where you have nothing to do and it is quite easy to learn.”

Deeksha Sriram ‘26 created costumes in the past and plans to return to DIY when she has the time. 

“I enjoyed creating my costumes, after seeing DIY costumes last year I feel like it would be fun to create one again because of my interests,” said Sriram. “I’ve always loved arts and crafts and when I was younger I really wanted to be an architeque. Even though that’s not my goal anymore, I still really enjoy graphic design, fashion and other forms of visual art. I think the best idea is to just go for it and to be yourself because costumes are a form of self expression by making something that represents you and your personality.