Despite their age, many college students plan to roam the streets tonight as seasonal ghouls and goblins. Whether pleading for candy or bobbing for apples at Halloween parties, students will be dressed to scare - in everything from elaborate hand-crafted costumes to the last-minute sheet with eyes for holes.
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| DANIEL CASTLE/Daily Stephanie Armstrong, a first-year student and member of the Michigan swimming team, chooses Tinker Bell as her new identity for Halloween. Armstong made her selection at Fantasy Attic on Main Street. |
"One of my options is to put on three masks and be a totem pole, or I can take one kernel of corn and stick it to my forehead and be a unicorn," said RC senior Zuzanna Ziomecka.
Last year, Ziomecka dressed as Irish Spring soap, although few people understood her costume, Ziomecka said.
"I dressed in green ... had a pony tail and bounced around talking with an Irish accent," Ziomecka said.
Ziomecka said students stop wearing costumes when they realize their candy-begging days are over.
"Once people no longer get candy, they realize their costume doesn't have to be that good - the motivation is gone," Ziomecka said.
But some students still roam from door to door, in search of free chocolate and popcorn balls.
"I'm going to attempt a werewolf costume," said LSA junior Allison Fong.
Fong, who plans on going trick-or-treating, said she will wear brown make-up and use a piece of white lambs' wool in her hair to look like fur.
"Last year I dressed up as a grim reaper-type character and went to classes. I scared a lot of people," Fong said.
Fong said she enjoys dressing up because "I don't want to grow up, and there's free candy.
"Costumes are really last-minute at the college level. (Students) are so busy otherwise," Fong said. "When you're little, you know months ahead of time what your costume will be."
A number of students also attend Halloween parties and dress for the occasion.
Engineering junior Brian Pine said he'll be dressing up Hawaiian style - as "a good lei" for Halloween parties tonight.
"The more daring will be wearing hula skirts," said Pine, who will be dressing up with two friends. The costumes will include "hula skirts, Hawaii 5-0 shirts, with flower patterns, and leis."
"The whole point is to have someone ask you what you are," Pine said. "You tell them you're a good lei."
A friend of Pine's came up with the idea "randomly." Pine said he's going along with the idea "because I'm a friend."
"People that spend hours getting ready for anything ... will for Halloween, too," Pine said. "People are creatures of habit."
Monica Ladd, owner of Fantasy Attic costume shop on Main Street, said "it's a mixed bag" about this year's most popular Halloween costumes.
"We do a lot of gangsters and we always do a lot of medieval costumes such as Prince Charming and kings," Ladd said. "Among kids, M&M's are popular - especially green."
Ladd said that in past years, she has seen many college students wait to pick a costume until the last few days before Halloween. But this year, things have changed.
"I think college students are getting more creative than in years past," Ladd said.
Ladd said costumes traditionally popular among students include "devils and witches - characters on the saucy side."
The trend this year is to imitate characters from the cartoon Scooby Doo, Ladd said, adding that she has sold many character wigs.
For students who don't have time to make a costume from scratch, Fantasy Attic has a variety of "costume bags."
"We do a great costume bag," Ladd said. "You wear your own clothes and add pieces. The cost is less than $10."
Butterflies and cats are two such costume choices, Ladd said.
"The strangest requests we get are the ones where if you used two minutes of imagination, you could probably (create) on your own," Ladd said.
Many students create costumes by throwing together things they already own.
"Last year I went as Aladdin - my girlfriend wanted me to," said LSA sophomore Atif Haque. "I kind of had the outfit. I have these huge pajama-, M.C. Hammer-type pants, and I used a white T-shirt."
Haque's costume for this year remains undetermined.
"My immortal laziness still lives. I'll figure it out Friday," Haque said. "I'll use something I have around the house, something cheap."
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| KELLY MCKINNELL/Daily A spooky ticket usher at Lorch Hall stands outside the theater where 'Gremlins' played last night. Costumes are a popular sign of the season at Ann Arbor. Many students wait until today to assemble their outfits of choice. |
"My roommate and I are dressing up as genies," Sliwka said. "It's for our own amusement."
Sliwka said her roommate came to her with the idea on Wednesday.
"She has these sheer pants, and we'll probably just grab stuff from our apartment and friends," Sliwka said. "I always go out on Halloween. It seems a lot of people I've talked to have gotten costumes."
Sliwka said costumes she'd heard of included fairies, Austin Powers, Elvis, Superman, Spice Girls and M&Ms.
Kimberly Bourdeaux, general manager of Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts in Ann Arbor, said pre-made costumes and patterns are selling at the same speed this year.
"We have quite a few pre-made costumes selling at the same rate as our patterns," Bourdeaux said.
Despite the fact that the store sells a variety of Halloween paraphernalia, Bourdeaux said customers are more likely to pick up a pattern and material instead.
"We are a store with fabric and patterns. We cater to people who make their own costumes," Bourdeaux said.
Bourdeaux said most college students choose not to make their own costumes because studies and jobs take first priority.
"I don't think they have the time to invest in it," Bourdeaux said. "I didn't expect to see a lot of college students - money's tight and time is tight."
Bourdeaux said there are several 10-minute projects students can make with a fair amount of ease.
"(Julius) Caesar is really simple," Bourdeaux said. "Drop a three-yard piece of white fabric across your shoulder and tie the waist with a rope or cord.
"A mummy is easy, too. Take strips of fabric and tie them together. It's a costume that can be made without having to use a sewing technique," Bourdeaux said.
Bourdeaux said an M&M costume can also be easily made by fusing two round pieces of fabric together with special tape and an iron, then drawing an M in the center.
"I think you look out of place if you don't dress up," said LSA sophomore David Karp.
Karp said that like many other students, he probably won't have a costume until the day of Halloween.
"I won't put much thought in the process," Karp. "I think some people put the same costume together year after year."
Jerry Vibber, Toy Department Team Leader for the Ann Arbor Meijer, said M&M costumes appear to be the most popular item for kids this year, but even adults are trying to get into the candy costumes.
Vibber said he would suggest those short on ideas go as "the most popular Halloween characters of all time: Freddy Kruger or Jason" because the costumes are easy to put together.
Vickie Sadler, adjunct lecturer and costume draper for University Productions and the School of Music, said make-up effects can be easily achieved at home.
Blood, Sadler said, can be make by using a combination of corn syrup and food coloring, and scars can be achieved by adding creamy peanut butter to the face.
"Scars can be done more with drawing," Sadler said. "You can use nose putty or scar wax for a 3-D effect."
Sadler warned against the dangers of heat, however.
"Wax can be used on the skin and can be removed ... but if you get really warm, it will melt with you," she said.
For make-up, Sadler suggests students try the easiest route first.
"It's easy to get kits at drugstores, quick little make-up kits for one kind of design," Sadler said. "They're fast and inexpensive."
But if you're going to wear make-up, beware of the downside.
"Glitter around the eyes can be a problem because it's made with so much metal," Sadler said. "Gel (containing glitter) is safer because it puts a protective layer around the glitter."
The closer to the eye you put make-up, the more careful you need to be, especially people with sensitive eyes.
"(People with sensitive eyes) may try to think of something else," Sadler said. "Bronzing powders can give the same shimmery look."
If you're going to buy items like spirit gum for attaching props such as hair, be sure the person you're buying it from knows how to use it, Sadler said.
"Make sure if you're going to buy a product, you know how it is to be used and how to properly take it off," she said.
One of the more prolonged problems can be the staining of skin, Sadler said. "The biggest problem I've seen people have is where they use really intense colors and stain their face."
This can happen when traveling from the cold outside to a warm party, Sadler said. The pores of your skin will react and colors will set into the skin or soak in to the point that they stain. "The dye in the make-up will dye the your skin," Sadler said.
"It's a good idea several hours before to have a good moisturizer on your face because it will soak that in instead of the dye," said Sadler, who added that wearing a skin-colored foundation underneath intense colored make-up can also help cut down on the dye that is soaked up.
It's also a good idea to avoid using lipstick anywhere but the lips, Sadler said.
"When people want a really bright red, they'll often grab the lipstick," Sadler said. "It was originally made to stain the lips and it still has so much dye in it, that it will stain the skin."
It's also safer to use new products, rather than something sitting in the back of a drawer, Sadler added.
To keep a costume price down, be original said Rob Mardegian, assistant manager for Spencer's Halloween store in Briarwood Mall.
"Go cheap, be original," Mardegian said. "Go with something bland. If you go as something from a movie, expect to pay a lot."
Mardegian said students looking for inexpensive Halloween costumes should remember during Halloween "prices get jacked up".
Masks from the movie "Scream" have been one of the most popular items this year, Mardegian said.
"At Fairlane (Town Center) there were something like 50 people in line," Mardegian said.
Freddy Kruger and Jason are also big selling items, despite their high price, Mardegian said.
Business School students Katy Fiske and Sabrina Martinez are attending the Business School's Halloween Dance as Dr. Seuss's "Thing One" and "Thing Two."
"We saw it and said, 'That would be great,' so we bought the costume," said Fiske, who was shopping for blue face paint with Martinez. "We've spent more money than time on the costumes."
LSA first-year student Catherine Haynes said she is dressing up with her Kappa Alpha Theta pledge class.
"We're dressing up as a pledge class as Playboy bunnies," Haynes said. "It's fun. I haven't dressed up since I was a little kid."
Haynes said the costume involves ears and a tail and she will wear a skirt. "I think people dress up, but they don't make it a big deal," she said.
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