Pumpkins fill their patches, candy corn lines the walls of the grocery stores and skeleton bones hang from the ceilings. October means the coming of Halloween, and Halloween means costumes, candy and a good time.
A Passion for Costumes
Traditionally, Christians did not celebrate Halloween because they thought of it as a pagan holiday. However, according to a few students with a passion for costumes, Halloween presents an opportunity to use creativity and gain confidence.
“If you’re doing it for confidence and you’re trying to show, like, ‘I love myself, and I’m proud of what I am and what I look like,’ it’s a whole different reasoning than doing it for [sexual] tension,” said Emily Delgado, junior theatre major.
Delgado has always enjoyed dressing up, explaining why she prefers Halloween to any other holiday. She began doing theatre when she was in first grade, and slowly it bloomed into a love of costuming.
“I like to make my own costumes, but I like them to always be funny,” Delgado said. “I love funny costumes.”
According to Delgado, finding cheap costumes is not all that difficult. If someone searches a costume, normally a large amount of links will pop up and bring one to cheaper options of the original costume.
On a Budget
Junior film major Alena Northrop also favors Halloween because of the opportunity to make and wear costumes. She encourages students on a low budget to make their own costumes.
“It’s not hard. You don’t have to know how to sew. Go ahead make it yourself. You go to thrift shops, find pieces, be original — that kind of thing,” Northrop said.
Northrop worked in theatre and costuming growing up, and continues to do so at Biola, since only a small number of students do costuming. She does a large amount of costumes for Biola films, and last summer, she worked as a wardrobe intern for an upcoming Netflix movie called Clinical.
“Costumes are really fun. People don’t understand how important it is, like how important costumes are in movies and that kind of thing. Everything is there for a reason,” Northrop said. “And even in real life, it’s how you look that is your first impression.”
An Embrace of Creativity
Junior film major Ash Popiwchak encourages students to use dressing up for Halloween as a time to let go of embarrassment and embrace one’s creativity.
“Be proud of it, whatever it is, because even if it doesn’t seem great, be proud because when you wear it proudly, that makes it great,” Popiwchak said.
During Halloween, girls often feel pressure from peers and media to dress in a more revealing way, according to Popiwchak. They get the message they need to look sexy in order to fit in on Halloween. However, Ash believes that message holds little value in the meaning of Halloween.
“It’s like in ‘Mean Girls’ when they say it’s like an excuse to dress immodestly, but actually I feel like that’s silly,” Popiwchak said. “That’s not what Halloween is about. For other people, it’s this time when they can just go crazy and be very creative and show artwork on their bodies.”
