Thrift and treat this Halloween
Depending on how enthusiastic you are about celebrating what many believe to be Rutgers’ finest weekend of socializing for the year, you are going to need between one to four outfits, pronto. The solution lies in a little-known resource that rapper Macklemore so eloquently called to national attention last year: thrift shopping.
New Brunswick boasts three consignment shops within walking distance of the College Avenue campus, perfect for swinging by after class.
Holy Shirt Thrift Store is located adjacent to the Second Reformed Church right on College Avenue with all profits benefitting the church’s food ministry.
Somewhere in Time is a 13-minute walk from Scott Hall. The French Street shop offers a selection of nifty antique items that can easily be modernized.
Kru & Krahn on Hamilton Street is a hybrid of boutique and secondhand store. The shop’s atmosphere is akin to an Urban Outfitters, but at unbelievably reasonable prices.
Featured below are some ideas to stir your inner costume designer. Game time is now, because Halloweekend waits for no one.
Look: The Bohemian
Essentials: Headband, floral or tie-dye prints, oversized sunglasses
Halloween Hint: Comparable to the hippie or festivalgoer, the bohemian represents a more ubiquitous free spirit navigated by sense of adventure and total embrace of individuality. A good place to begin is considering what type of music you listen to and moving the look forward from there.
Look: The Celebrity
Essentials: Black on black, sunglasses, nonchalant attitude, hairspray
Halloween Hint: Recall what mid 20th-century media icon you had a poster of hanging in your freshman dorm room, shudder and carry on. Deep down, are you an Elvis and Audrey Hepburn fan, or maybe more of a Marilyn Monroe and James Dean loyalist? Walking the street as your favorite movie star is exciting, but keep in mind that your peers may not be as culturally informed as you are. Over the beat of the music, don’t be surprised if you have to explain who you are all night!
Look: The Scholar
Essentials: Varsity jacket, thick eyeglasses and plenty of seersucker or khaki
Halloween Hint: Who says that brains aren’t the new beautiful? Let your inner geek come out to play as you prep this simple look with a button down and enrich it with accessories you already have lying around, like red pens or a notebook. As you head out the door, only one golden rule will keep you in line: Don’t leave home without your glasses!
Look: The Patriot
Essentials: Camouflage shirt coupled with anything red, white and blue
Halloween Hint: Whether you find fashion resonance with the troops, the Statue of Liberty, Miss America, the President or a 4th of July enthusiast, wearing American garb is just as fun as it is simple. If you have access to a car on campus, hitting a local party supply store is a good place to scoop up any supplementary props. Yankee Doodle would be proud.
You’re not last minute. You are effortless, you Halloween procrastinator, you. Take a moment to congratulate yourself, because everyone knows that the most creative ideas are often born under pressure.
