Whether you’re participating in Halloweekend costume parties or looking to dress up for Halloween day, finding a good costume is essential to the holiday’s festivities. Halloween costumes can express one’s interests, sense of humor, creativity — allowing college students to dress differently from their everyday style. You can either opt for something simple and fun or creative and niche depending on what you’re looking for. Here are some Halloween costume ideas to help prepare you for Halloween festivities at Binghamton University.

Vampire

Vampires are easily recognizable and can be used as a base for a potentially unique costume. All you need is fake fangs and blood, giving you all the creative freedom you need to make the costume your own. You might choose to opt for a Victorian-esque vampire, a heartthrob 2010s teen vampire or maybe a specific vampire character from a popular TV show or film such as Lestat in “Interview with a Vampire” (1994) or Sarah in “My Babysitter’s a Vampire.”

Lifeguard 

Just because pool season is over doesn’t mean you can’t bring back classic summer looks. If you’re looking for something simple and easily identifiable, you might want to consider being a lifeguard. With a whistle, a bucket hat, a plain white shirt and red or orange shorts — you can easily transform into a staple of summer fun. Halloween night can be pretty chilly as well, so adding a lifeguard hoodie to your look is sure to keep you warm and stay on par with the costume.

Movie characters

Dressing up as your favorite movie character is a good way to display a little bit of you during Halloween. Of course, we have the classic Disney princesses which you could easily replicate by wearing the characters’ signature colors and props. But, you could also go as niche as Mathilda in “Leon: The Professional,” Tyler Durden in “Fight Club” or Patrick Bateman in “American Psycho.” The trick with movie characters is to go with a character that has a signature look. A potential downside with choosing to dress up as a niche character is a decrease in identifiability. Still, it’s a fun way to display your unique interests and can turn into a conversation starter for those who might not know your costume.

If you’re looking for group costumes you could specifically look at movies with a large variety of central characters. “Alice in Wonderland,” “Scooby-Doo” and the “Inside Out” franchise are perfect for large groups because each character has their own unique look. With “Alice in Wonderland” costumes you can be as creative or simple as you’d like — all you need is to nail each character’s special attributes. For “Inside Out” and “Scooby-Doo,” each character has their own signature color scheme making them an easy costume to recreate.

Animals 

Another easy costume to put together is becoming any animal of your choice. First, you would need ears and a tail which can be easily ordered from Amazon. Use face paint or makeup to draw on the face of your animal. You could dress up as a dog with an all brown outfit and accessorize with ears, a tail and paws. If you’re a cat person, opt for wearing all black and painting on your own whiskers. You could also be a cheetah or a cow if you have the right animal prints to wear and align your makeup with the respective animal prints.

Popstar 

This year has especially been prominent for pop music. With the rise of female artists like Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, this year’s Halloween would be a perfect time to channel your inner popstar. For Charli XCX, grab any white tank top from your closet, a pair of black leather shorts or pants and a pair of black sunglasses. For Carpenter, tight corsets, mini skirts, chunky boots and anything heart-shaped will be your best friend. Copy Roan’s iconic look with a curly red wig and a glittery pink cowboy hat, or try one of her elaborate drag-inspired stage costumes as the symbolic Statue of Liberty or a feathered white swan.