Ainsley Harris ’26
Staff Writer
As Halloween weekend rapidly approaches, it is not spooky decorations, haunted houses, or horror movies that send shivers up our spines, but the task of executing a Halloween costume.
For many students, due to COVID-19 protocols and concerns or because they are first years, this is their first real Halloween weekend at The Claremont Colleges. But not to worry! Whether you wanted a sneak peak at the costumes you will see this weekend, some last minute costume inspiration, or just to get hyped for Halloweekend, you came to the right place. Some very prepared Scrippsies already completed their costumes, and shared their spooky, sexy, and stylish Halloween weekend fits.
Coming up with a Halloween costume is different for everyone, and for Miriam Akhmetshin ’26 it looks like coming up with three Halloween costumes, one for each night.
“Due to the length of Halloweekend I really needed to go all out, so I started ordering stuff at the beginning of October,” Akhmetshin said. Staying sustainable and ethical with all her purchases was a major focus of her costume process.
“I tried to mostly get second hand stuff, because I only consume second hand or ethically produced things … I don’t shop at Amazon,” Akhmetshin said. Halloween costumes without Amazon? She has my respect.
For her first costume, Akhmetshin dazzled me with a Miss Piggy costume, complete with an adorable little black dress paired with white evening gloves, a homemade pearl necklace, and a pig ear headband from Etsy. The costume is completed by her on-theme pick-up line: “Looking for my Kermit.”
“I feel that I am a lot like her. My personality is very Miss Piggy-esque.” Akhmetshin said when asked about her inspiration for this costume.
For her second costume, Akhmetshin dressed as Mary Antoinette in a fabulous corset, skirt, and eBay wig with rings and jewelry galore. But her costume did not end there; Akhmetshin plans to bake homemade cupcakes to hand out à la ‘Let them eat cake.’
“I wanted to combine my love of baking and also my love for attention,” Akhmetshin said.
Her grand finale was a sexy Karl Marx costume. “It’s honestly very anti-Marx … it’s probably making him turn in his grave right now,” Akhmetshin said. The costume consisted of red lingerie, another eBay wig and beard, a blazer donated by one of her suitemates, and was completed with a strategically placed Communist Manifesto to keep it TSV appropriate.
“It’s an homage to my Russian identity … I was thinking how can I have a sexy costume, but also make it funny. Karl Marx seemed like the most perfect combination of those two,” Akhmetshin said.
Don’t feel overwhelmed! A costume for every night is an impressive feat, but not everyone goes all out for each night. Focusing all your attention into creating one costume also produces incredible results.
For Halloween, Nina Howe-Goldstein ’25 will be donning a Dr. Fauci costume she created herself at the Mudd Makerspace.
“Being in the public eye as a health official is neither an easy or safe endeavor, so I wanted to play lighthearted homage with my fit,” Howe-Gollstein said. Well, I for one think Fauci would be honored by her fabulous costume — jeans and a T-shirt paired with a lab coat embroidered with ‘THE FAUCH’. The final piece of the costume, a stuffed dog, is a reference to the relationship between Fauci, who lives near Howe-Goldstein, and her dog.
“My dog Jordan basically thinks that he’s his best friend, hence the stuffed dog,” Howe-Goldstein said.
The last costume profile features Audrey Weeks ’26 as Princess Leia in a mini-dress version of Princess Leia’s classic white dress with the iconic high neckline, bell sleeves, and silver-decaled belt.
“I love Star Wars, and I have since I was young, like I was into the TV shows, comics, everything. I wanted to be something I really liked and would be excited to wear, so being Princess Leia was an easy way to do that,” Weeks said.
I’m certainly excited for the costumes I’ll be seeing this Halloweekend! If you’re itching to see more costumes, want to compete in a costume competition, or just want to continue the Halloween festivities past the weekend, make sure to attend the Mudd Makerspace’s costume competition on Oct. 31 at 7 p.m.
Image Source: Ainsley Harris ’26
