As soon as you got the invite to that awesome Halloween party, you may or may not have thought about your empty wallet.

“What am I going to wear?” you asked.

Before you make a date with Netflix and Wes Craven’s “Nightmare on Elm Street,” remember that these are the best days of your life. I will not sit by and watch you pass up this opportunity alone in your dorm, apartment or house.

Dressing up is cheaper than you think. There are so many options— especially for women—that will cost little to nothing.

I know for a fact that every girl has a pair of ripped up tights in her wardrobe. In October, those tights can be redeemed. Rip the knees up a little bit more and add a black skirt, plaid button up shirt and boots. You are instantly the most stylish 90’s grunge icon at the party. You and your date can easily match with this theme. All he needs to do is roll up his jeans ¾ length, get his own matching plaid buttonup and tie a sweatshirt around his waist. Perfect couple. But maybe you don’t dig the ‘90s—that’s understandable.

Using your own eyeliner, sketch stitches across your mouth and arms. Pair with a frilly dress (preferably in black or dark grey) and be mysterious for the night as a living doll. Convince your man this one time to put eyeliner on his face, call him Chucky and have a great night.
If you have enough in your bank account to spend a few bucks at the thrift store, you can also find a long flowery (outdated) dress and sandals to pull off the hippie look. Use an elastic headband. Dollar Tree sells fake flowers for $1 that you can put behind your ear. Just hold up the peace sign wherever you go. If you want to up your ante, visit Beautiful Day across the street from Wilbur Hall. John Lennon-style glasses sell for cheap there. It won’t be hard for you and your date to coordinate.

This next one is a little more work, but well worth it: the hunter and the deer. Your guy can deck out in camouflage from head to toe. For this one, I suggest you utilize the wealth of makeup tutorials on YouTube for a good deer look that you can create with makeup you already own. Once again, pull out the elastic headband. Tuck your hair in on both sides like ears and stick short twigs in the back to create the effect of antlers.

If none of these ideas stick out to you, there are a million ways to utilize what you already have to avoid spending money on an outfit that you will only wear once a year. Use a red sweater to be a modern Red Riding Hood, or pull your jeans up past your belly button and be the cutest geek out on the town. I don’t care what you do, as long as you get out of the house. Netflix will still be there when you get home.

If you are new to Hattiesburg, there are several thrift stores that can help you put together a great costume. Goodwill, Salvation Army, Jacobs Well and Treasure Tails are close to campus and they are putting Halloween-themed apparel on display in spirit of this spooky season. Finding something at these locations should be easy, but if you are still not satisfied there is nothing more convenient than your own closet.

It’s Halloween: let your freak flag fly.