life ana Styie Last Minute Costume Cheat Sheet Five ideas for the lazy and uninspired By Jacey Gibb alloween is quickly ap- proaching and before you can say the words ‘slutty nurse costume’ the night will be upon us. There are typi- cally two types of costume en- thusiasts: those who have known what they’re being since before last Halloween and those who ‘still aren’t sure yet’, even though it’s already the day before. For the latter I offer you several alter- natives for those who don’t want to be that guy* but are still too lazy to actually care. *By “that guy” I of course am referring to the person who shows up without a costume. “What are you supposed to be?”- “A guy who couldn’t come up with a costume” followed by an unimpressed silence. The chanc- es are also pretty high that there will be at least one or two other people at the party who have the same costume as you. Lady Gaga- Over the past year this one has been milked to death, but it’s so simple to do you can’t go wrong. Simply utilize various objects around the house and dress yourself in them (lamp- shade over the head, a bathmat as an impromptu skirt) Hey, it can’t be any weirder than dress- ing up like a giant tampon for the VMAs. White trash- A pretty easy, one piece costume. Simply take a 10 HELLO white garbage bag and cut holes for your head and arms. It can get warm pretty fast though (go fig- ure, you’re wearing a bag made of polypropylene) so if you’re going dancing or foresee your evening being full of excessive activity, it’s best to go with some- thing else. If you want to make your costume even more self- explanatory, also writing TRASH on the bag isn’t a bad idea. Ghost- It’s been so overdone that it’s almost passable again (bare- ly). Seriously though, how much more basic can you get than tak- ing a white bed sheet and cutting two eye holes in it? You’ll get docked major points on original- ity but you don’t care; you’re a f*cking ghost! Invisible man- What’s that? An invitation to a less than desirable social gathering found its way to you? Never fear. The invisible man is here! Simply inform the host in a casual manner of your costume plans and when they question why you weren’t in at- tendance, you’ ll have the humor- ous argument of ‘Oh, I was there. I guess you just didn’t see me!’ Or you can just bail. ‘Hello my name is...’- Second in laziness only to the invisible man approach, this costume is com- prised of a nametag you’ ve pur- chased and then simply written on. Personas can range anywhere from ‘God’ to ‘Samuel Jackson’. Go crazy. Halloween Haute Couture; Poison Ivy By Stephanie Trembath, Life and Style Editor Ithough it seems impossible to A= up with an original Halloween costume idea, it is not hard to create a Halloween costume that stands out as an original at your October 31 soirée. This year, Alice in Wonderland and Avatar costumes will take the center stage thanks to the release of the blockbuster movies, but rather than doing the same thing as everyone else, choose a costume that’s simple, straightforward, and easy to understand. Costumes that require too much explaining, or that you cannot recognize immediately do not work out as well when you are making a costume yourself, so choose a costume that is widely known so that even if your craftsmanship isn’t the best, your friends will get the general idea of what you are dressed up as. You still have one week left to design a costume and pick out a face to paint. Sarah Houlihan, a former Douglas College student, avoids looking like everyone else and spending needless money on Halloween costumes by creating her own outfit each year. Her poison ivy outfit was a smash last Halloween and was super cheap and easy to make to look sexy, stylish, and most importantly, not as you stepped out of cheap porno. To make your own Poison Ivy outfit you will need; ¢ Ageneral idea of how to sew ¢ Green thread and green fabric, and about three feet of thick white elastic ¢ Agreen negligee or bodysuit ¢ A green or black bra ¢ Green rubber leaves ¢ Eyelash or nail glue ° Red Lipstick * $20-$50 What to do; 1) First, go to any second hand or cheap retail store and look for a lacy green negligee. Sew the bottom of the negligee together in the middle to create leg holes for your bodysuit. 2) Goto Michaels (or any fabric store) and buy neon green material to make your pants and gloves. Try to get material that stretches so it fits snug to your body and stays on tight. You can buy a pattern to make the pants and tights, or freestyle it. To make the tights without a pattern: get a pair of pants you already own and trace them onto the material with a black sharpie on the INSIDE of the fabric. Do this twice and then sew the pieces together inside out so the seam of the thread is on the inside. Leave about two inches extra at the top of the tights by the waist, and the bottom of the tights by the ankles, so that you can sew the material over the elastic so your tights stay on securely. To make the gloves: trace each hand twice and sew together inside out. Again, leave an inch at the bottom of the glove to add elastic so the gloves stay up to your elbow. 3) Use the nail/eyelash glue to stick tiny rubber leaves beside your eyes, or above your eyebrows. 4) If you can find a pair of boots or heels at a thrift store, or if you have a pair you don’t wear anymore, use green spray paint to cover them green to match your outfit. Once you have your pants, bodysuit, and boots taken care of, you can wear a black or green bra to match the rest of your outfit. For your makeup use browns, greens and blacks to smoke out your eyes before you glue the leaves onto your face. Back comb your hair and spray it back before fastening it behind either ear, or if you want you can make a headband and glue rubber leaves onto it for a hair piece. To complete your costume, paint on ruby red lipstick to give a kiss of death to any cute boys you meet throughout your night.