How to DIY a clever (and low-budget) Halloween costume

Halloween is nigh! Do you have your costume ready? Sophie Strauss, "stylist for regular people" and Halloween enthusiast, shares tips to DIY a costume without spending big bucks or a lot of time. This episode originally aired on Oct 17, 2023. Follow us on Instagram: @nprlifekit https://www.instagram.com/nprlifekit/?hl=en Sign up for our newsletter here. https://www.npr.org/newsletter/life-kit Have an episode idea or feedback you want to share? Email us at [email protected] mailto:[email protected] Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening and convenient playlists of popular help topics like personal finance, getting healthy, and more. Learn more at plus.npr.org http://plus.npr.org/. See pcm.adswizz.com https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy

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• 0:00Speaker 00

  This message comes from Charles Schwab with their original podcast, Choiceology. Choiceology is a show about the psychology and economics behind people's decisions. Download the latest episode and subscribe at schwab.com/podcast.

• 0:15Marielle Segarra?

  You're listening to Life Kit from NPR. Hey, everybody. It's Mary Al.

• 0:23Marielle Segarra?

  October is hands down my favorite month because I love spooky season. It just feels like there's a little sparkle floating through the air. My one neighbor put out this giant, dancing, animatronic pumpkin. Another neighbor always does a theme. This year seems to be creepy dolls. Picture a lot of dolls and then double that. We're talking porcelain dolls, Barbies, Cabbage Patch Kids, sitting on the stoop, keeping watch over a glowing cauldron and staring, always staring. October is a time for mischief and make believe, and not just for kids. We adults also get the chance to dress up in character as anyone or anything.

• 1:04Speaker 02

  It's really fun and being an adult isn't that fun.

• 1:09Marielle Segarra?

  Don't I know it. That said, it is totally normal to get to this part of October and not have a costume idea. Because yeah, the options are limitless, but that's kind of overwhelming, right? If you can be anything, how do you narrow it down? Also, maybe you're busy. You haven't had the time to think about it. Well, today is your chance, ghouls or pumpkins. I don't know, I'm still workshopping some things. On this episode of Life Kit, we are going to help you find and put together a costume. And by we, I mean me and Sophie Strauss, who you just heard.

• 1:40Speaker 02

  I am a stylist for regular people. I help normal people from all walks of life get dressed. And I try to do that with a focus on inclusivity and sustainability and make it feel accessible.

• 1:59Marielle Segarra?

  Sophie also happens to be a Halloween enthusiast. And we are going to talk about how to choose a character, or maybe an object or a concept, how to make your costume recognizable, and how to do all of this sustainably and without spending a lot of money. Let's fly, witches.

• 2:18Speaker 00

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  This message comes from Charles Schwab with their original podcast, Choiceology. Hosted by Katie Milkman, an award-winning behavioral scientist and author of the bestselling book, How to Change. Choiceology is a show about the psychology and economics behind people's decisions. Hear true stories from Nobel laureates, historians, authors, athletes, and more about how to make better decisions to help avoid costly mistakes. Download the latest episode and subscribe at schwab.com/podcast or wherever you listen.

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• 3:50Marielle Segarra?

  Okay, so do you know what you're going to be this year?

• 3:53Speaker 02

  So I am going to be Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights.

• 3:56Marielle Segarra?

  Okay, I have not seen Friday Night Lights. Can you explain this character to me?

• 3:59Speaker 02

  Yes, yes. Tim Riggins is like America's number one heartthrob. Just big himbo energy, starts off kind of dark and brooding, and then becomes sort of lovable, is the bad boy with a heart of gold. And I think his way of dressing is so specific and kind of like takes on its own. It's subtle, but kind of a consistent, like, southern, you know, guy who can fix your car, but his guns are always out, like his arms, I mean, not actual guns. And so I'm really excited to be able to embody that.

• 4:39Marielle Segarra?

  Okay, so how are you going to do it? What are the elements of the costume that you're putting together?

• 4:44Speaker 02

  Well, I was really thinking a lot about what's a costume I could do that would feel really fun for me, that would feel, give me that sort of thing that I love about a costume, which is permission to like lose yourself a little bit into a character, but also is something I could put together with clothes that I already own. And if I do need to purchase something, is it A, something I can purchase used? And B, is it something that I could see myself getting wear out of, even if it wasn't Halloween? And so I have some like bootcut jeans. I'll wear those with cowboy boots, like a brown leather belt. I'm going to carry a football.

• 5:24Speaker 02

  And then my one purchase for this was a used Dylan Panthers, like gray t-shirt that has the sleeves cut off, so that, which is like a classic Tim Riggins t-shirt to wear.

• 5:40Marielle Segarra?

  Well, okay, so this gets me too. Like, I feel like for a Halloween costume, really, it's the accessories. Like, a few accessories go a long way when it comes to signaling who you are.

• 5:51Speaker 02

  Oh, absolutely. Because this comes up not just for Halloween in my work, but also, like, I don't know if anybody's been invited to like a themed party, or there's a sort of an uptick in like really specific themed weddings, like dress codes that are like space cowboy, or, you know, ranch chic or something like that. And I think it's really tempting to like try to run out and buy something like that's like a full outfit head to toe. And accessories do a lot of heavy lifting and are more versatile, cheaper, tend to be like easy to find secondhand, or maybe are something you can borrow. So same thing with Halloween costumes is like, I'm just wearing jeans,

• 6:37Speaker 02

  but if I bring in like a football and a belt with like a Western buckle, I think that's going to do a lot to make me go from just a lady in jeans to America's heartthrob, Tim Riggins.

• 6:51Marielle Segarra?

  Okay, well, let's say you don't know where to start. You don't already have, you know, Tim Riggins in mind. How do you even begin to decide what you might want to be for Halloween?

• 7:01Speaker 02

  Sure. I think the first question to like ask yourself is to be honest about the type of Halloween person you are. Like, are you an all-out, like, hair, makeup, accessories? I can't wait to just like dress up and be, like, lose myself to this costume. I'm so thrilled by the idea of that. Like, are you that kind of person? Or are you somebody who's really like, are you, you know, Jim from the Office, three hold paper? Like, are you, listen, this is not really for me, but I don't want to be the biggest party pooper ever, so I'm going to wear somewhat of a costume. I think you have to be honest with yourself because there's no right or wrong. And if you're one and you're trying to do the other, I think you're going to be sad. So that's where I would start.

• 7:46Speaker 02

  And then, once you identify that, I tend to gravitate towards thinking about recent pop culture, thinking about shows, movies, celebrities, you know, trending news stories or topics or phrases or memes. Like, that can always be a fun place to start. Or I love like a random household object. I think that's always unexpected and sort of a fun craft is like, I'm a bottle of Windex. You know, who, there's no wrong answer.

• 8:17Marielle Segarra?

  The classic baked potato.

• 8:19Speaker 02

  Baked potato. It's so great. So I think Instagram has definitely lent itself to the era of like the pop culture reference. You know, the, I'm this really niche outfit from a really niche episode of a television show. This one character wore one time, and I'm going to like take one photo and then use the screen. Like, that's tempting. But also, like, you can be an apple. Like, who cares? You know, but I think I would sort of start by throwing out like directional, like, does being a fruit excite you, or does being like somebody from a tabloid excite you? See what makes your heart sing a little bit and follow that down the rabbit hole.

• 8:59Marielle Segarra?

  I think that for me, getting to wear a costume is an opportunity to embrace some part of yourself that's like deep within, or that maybe people don't normally see, or embrace a character that you really admire for some reason. Sometimes you admire someone just because they're really good at, you know, throwing a football, or they're really good at parallel parking, or they just have a lot of swagger and you kind of like that and you want to bring a little bit of that into your life. Or it sounds like there's like a gender bendy thing, too, which I think can be really fun.

• 9:35Speaker 02

  Oh, for sure. I think that's like a huge part of the Tim Riggins thing for me is like as somebody who, like I identify, I guess, as bisexual, so like there's something really fun being in like an otherwise straight relationship in my life and like moving through the world as a cis woman, that like getting to be that sort of like embody that like super bro-y energy feels like affirming for a part of myself that I think doesn't get as much airtime. And not that I feel like I'm pushing it down, like I think I dress however I want to dress on any given day, but I think being able to go and turn that up to 11 feels like it excites a part of me.

• 10:19Marielle Segarra?

  Yeah.

• 10:20Speaker 02

  There is definitely something I think that people are really drawn to. I think about this with somebody like Cruella De Vil a lot, which is like a really common Halloween costume. And I don't necessarily know until like the recent reboot that she's somebody that anybody really admired, but there's also a sort of delicious wickedness that the spooky season gives us the right to like tap into without actually needing to be like a bad person. And also Cruella De Vil, I think, is a great example of a good Halloween costume because it doesn't take very much effort to nail that costume. Like if you get a little bit of black and white hairspray and a fake fur jacket, you're more than halfway there.

• 11:05Marielle Segarra?

  Yeah, I think it sounds like when people are thinking about a costume and a character that they want to be, it's an opportunity possibly to say, who would I really be excited to play pretend as? It could be someone you admire, but it could also be someone who's just kind of bad and you just want to feel kind of bad today and let yourself, or maybe you go, you know, maybe you go with that person, just someone who has an element that you're seeking.

• 11:34Speaker 02

  I love that. I love that.

• 11:38Marielle Segarra?

  We'll have more Life Kit after the break.

• 11:41Speaker 00

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  This message comes from Charles Schwab with their original podcast, Choiceology. Hosted by Katie Milkman, an award-winning behavioral scientist and author of the bestselling book, How to Change. Choiceology is a show about the psychology and economics behind people's decisions. Hear true stories from Nobel laureates, historians, authors, athletes, and more about how to make better decisions to help avoid costly mistakes. Download the latest episode and subscribe at schwab.com/podcast or wherever you listen. This message comes from Bombas. Making shoes as cozy as slippers and slippers as comfy as clouds. Smooth suede, plush sherpa, cloud-like cushioning.

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• 12:32Marielle Segarra?

  So, okay, if you don't have a character in mind, or like somebody's not, it's just not happening for you.

• 12:40Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 12:41Marielle Segarra?

  I mean, it sounds like you could consider an apple or a baked potato, food objects, household items, but then there are also like classic costumes, you know, ghost, witch, vampire, pumpkin. And I imagine there are some fun little variations on that, too, that you could do.

• 13:01Speaker 02

  Totally. Like, I mean, you know, there's lots of good pun costumes. You know, you can be a witch, but you can cover yourself in sandwich bags and you can be like a sand witch.

• 13:11Marielle Segarra?

  Mm-hmm.

• 13:12Speaker 02

  I do think if you're like really at a loss, look at what you already have. And remember, you don't need to be like a character from a thing. Like you can be a teacher, you can be, I don't know, like a

• 13:27Marielle Segarra?

  Cowgirl.

• 13:28Speaker 02

  Cowgirl, like, you know, everybody's closet has different things that lend themselves to certain costumes, but like each item of clothing says a little something. It arose in a cultural context, right? Is it something that's masculine or feminine on that sort of spectrum? Is it something that's fancy or casual? Is it, is it part of a uniform? Is it, is it, you know, professional? Is it athletic? Like, we instinctively recognize all of these traits in our clothes, whether or not we like articulate that to ourselves. And I think Halloween is a really good opportunity to go, oh, well, if I have a bunch of workout clothes, then maybe I make a little headset out of tinfoil and I'm, I don't know, like a SoulCycle instructor.

• 14:12Speaker 02

  If that's what you have, that's fine.

• 14:14Marielle Segarra?

  I actually was thinking this year in terms of like something you already have. I was walking past my closet. I had this lavender jumpsuit that's really flowy and I was like, what if I was a one-eyed, one-horned, flying, purple people eater?

• 14:28Speaker 02

  Yes, yes.

• 14:30Marielle Segarra?

  Nobody's ever that.

• 14:32Speaker 02

  No, and yet everybody knows what that is.

• 14:35Marielle Segarra?

  But the only thing is with the one eye, like, do I just cover one of my eyes or like, because I still need to be able to see when I'm walking around? Like, I gotta think about that. Maybe I could just put like another eye in the middle of my forehead.

• 14:49Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's what I was going to say. I think makeup is always overlooked as a huge and relatively like non-wasteful way to access, you know, a character. And you could even take like little Barbie dolls or something and like tie them around you like you're, and cover them in like red paint or something, like you're eating them.

• 15:14Marielle Segarra?

  Mm-hmm, yeah. The way we're talking about doing this is very sustainable because it's using stuff you have in your closet and then maybe some makeup and some construction paper. What about if you want to buy a costume or buy elements of a costume?

• 15:31Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 15:32Marielle Segarra?

  Where can you start? I mean thrift stores?

• 15:35Speaker 02

  So, yeah, I feel like I have an order of operations for like, if you're going to buy stuff, what's the order that you try to buy stuff in? So it's like the first and best option is like just using what you have and getting a little crafty. The second step that I think a lot of people forget about is borrowing stuff from friends, whether that's whole items of clothing or accessories that, we all have friends who have slightly different style than we do. We always have that friend. I'm this friend as a stylist where people always come to me to borrow stuff because I have a little bit of everything.

• 16:08Marielle Segarra?

  Yeah, I bet.

• 16:09Speaker 02

  And going to a friend and saying, hey, do you have a cowboy hat I can borrow? Do you have a bolo tie I can borrow? Do you have like silver disco earrings? Do you have a, you know, sparkly top? Then I would say buying secondhand accessories, buying secondhand clothes. So like regular clothes that you could see yourself wearing and integrating into your wardrobe outside of Halloween, then I would say, this is maybe controversial, but I would honestly say buy new, real clothes before you buy a secondhand costume, which is like

• 16:51Speaker 02

  those costumes you get at like Spirit Halloween or on Amazon or whatever that are like, come in a little plastic bag and it's like you put it on and it's like a Snow White dress or whatever. That's like, if you're going to buy those, that all those are very low on my list, you really like, there are so many of those secondhand. I cannot tell you how many are available secondhand because nobody keeps them, because nobody wears them more than once. And the absolute last, last, last thing you should do is buy a new packaged costume.

• 17:18Marielle Segarra?

  Okay, do you have any other thoughts, anything I forgot to ask you?

• 17:23Speaker 02

  A lot of times sustainability and having fun are sort of positioned as diametrically opposed. I think that's sort of a myth and that if you can give yourself permission to not necessarily do everything perfectly, any of it, the sustainability perfectly, the costume perfectly, and like let it really be about the spirit of the thing, which is like having fun, getting outside of yourself, connecting with your family, connecting with like your inner child, that doing things sustainably actually facilitates that fun because it gives you a little bit of space to be creative, to be thrifty, to connect with the people around you when you're asking to borrow something or you're making something.

• 18:06Speaker 02

  And that doing things in that way is part of the spirit. It's not antithetical to the spirit of Halloween.

• 18:13Marielle Segarra?

  Okay, last question.

• 18:15Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 18:16Marielle Segarra?

  What is your favorite Halloween candy?

• 18:18Speaker 02

  Ooh, probably Hundred Grand, which is like, is that a weird one?

• 18:25Marielle Segarra?

  Yeah, that's a, that one, I wasn't expecting it.

• 18:28Speaker 02

  They're so good.

• 18:29Marielle Segarra?

  Sophie, thank you so much. This has been lovely.

• 18:33Speaker 02

  Thanks for having me. This was so much fun.

• 18:35Marielle Segarra?

  My favorite, by the way, is Twix. And then just behind that, Mounds and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in a Dead Heat. With that, it's time for a recap. When you're choosing a Halloween costume, think about what kind of Halloween person you are and be honest with yourself. Are you really going to go all out with your costume or are you on the opposite extreme where you just want to wear a pair of cat ears and call it a day? To spark ideas, you could think about recent pop culture trends, right? Shows, movies, trending topics. If none of that appeals, think about a character who you admire or just think is kind of dangerous, someone whose energy you'd like to embrace for an evening. You can also look through your closet. Do you have any items of clothing that might lend themselves to a costume?

• 19:20Marielle Segarra?

  I have a denim jumpsuit and one year I wore that with a red bandana and red lipstick and I was Rosie the Riveter. Consider being a random household object. I saw a video on Instagram of this really cute girl dressed up as a washing machine. If you're going to buy a costume, try going to a thrift store first instead of buying something new, or see if your friends have any old costumes or accessories that they can lend you. Lastly, remember to have fun and make a little mischief. This episode of Life Kit was produced by Sylvie Douglas. Our visuals editor is CJ Riekealan and our digital editor is Malika Gribb. Megan Kane is our senior supervising editor and Lauren Gonzalez is our executive producer.

• 20:03Marielle Segarra?

  Our production team also includes Andy Tagel, Margaret Serino, and Claire Marie Schneider. Engineering support comes from Sina Lefredo and Jimmy Keely. I'm Marielle Sagara. Thanks for listening.

• 20:14Speaker 00

  Stay tuned for the following announcements and messages from our sponsors. This message comes from Charles Schwab with their original podcast, Choiceology. Choiceology is a show about the psychology and economics behind people's decisions. Download the latest episode and subscribe at schwab.com/podcast.

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