By Christina Lépine – Staff Writer 

As my friends and I geared up for Halloween this year, we all agreed on one component to follow: to find an easy costume we could make ourselves at a cheap price. I must admit, I’ve always tried to make the best Halloween costumes out of as little as possible and using items I would wear again to limit waste and make as little a dent as possible in my student budget. Every year, I love seeing everyone’s costumes as some go all out and love to impress – which I am also guilty of – but I noticed a new trend of saving and reusing this year, which was a pleasant renewal of this fun tradition. 

Haunting Successes

Unlike the holiday we celebrated as kids or in high school, Bishop’s goes all out on Halloweekend with two to three nights of celebrations where students dress up. This offers a chance for everyone to be creative with their costume, but it becomes trickier when trying to reuse or make costumes. A great solution is to exchange costumes with friends. I love reusing old costumes as I find new ways to make even more realistic ensembles, but it is not for everyone, so exchanging costumes with friends is a sustainable way to impersonate many things in one weekend without spending more. I am also a fan of fun accessories, so I keep and store all of my past accessories to incorporate them in new costumes every year. 

Thrift shopping has also been very popular this past month as a majority of my friends found great pieces to create their costumes at one of the many thrift stores in Sherbrooke. Another great way to save money is to re-purpose thrifted pieces instead of buying new ones at a specialized shop. For instance, making a ribbon or scarf out of a bigger-sized shirt rather than buying a new ribbon at a higher price. 

I have also noticed initiatives to reuse decor or to ensure it is used to its full capacity. For instance, buying pumpkins for pumpkin painting activities and decorating, placing special attention on using all of the pumpkins bought to avoid waste, or reorienting painting activities to glasses or canvas to reuse as decoration next year. 

Next year’s tricks

Hit the thrift stores early to find exactly what you need to ensure you have enough time to repurpose it! We’re surrounded by many incredible options such as the Community Cupboard, right on campus, Estrie Aide, Value Village, and Renaissance in Sherbrooke. Dig in your closet to find clothes that can be transformed into a costume for a night and ask your friends if you can borrow an old costume. It is also a great time to start a costume bin to collect accessories to reuse in the future. I am very grateful for my friends’ costume bins as I benefited from many donations. It is never too early to start thinking of a costume you can make yourself and look fabulous in!