Nobody wants you to show up dressed as something boring this Halloweekend. Another year of the black cat? Yawn. I know midterms are mind-numbing, but that doesn’t mean you can just give up. Instead, exert that last bit of brainpower left to craft a creative costume. You deserve better than a black cat. Even more, your Instagram feed deserves better.

To spark some inspiration, I have brainstormed a list of costumes to use at your discretion. Your night is only as successful as the amount of times you hear “omg wait are you ___, that is SO smart.” Yearn to be a crowd favorite, not forgettable.

IOP Kid x Ed Sheeran

What’s a more timely duo? Ed Sheeran costume is self-explanatory and pretty easy so long as you have a guitar or are a ginger, but IOP kid warrants some outside-the-box thinking. Pull out the navy blue IOP shirt from Freshman year IOPalooza, or, if you are going for a more JFK Forum look, a nice blazer will do. One can hold a shot of water, and the other…

University of Oklahoma Girl

But please, Mr. Pinker, this essay deserved an A!!! This is a much more creative approach to announcing that you’re declaring psychology (sorry, Declaration Day). All you need is a University of Oklahoma shirt (which I’m sure you will probably get some use out of later as a PJ shirt) and jeans. So simple yet so perfect.

Robert Pattinson 2026 Rewind

Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson was genuinely in every movie I watched in theaters this year, and I’m not mad about it. What better way to honor the man’s hard work than with a flashback group costume featuring some iconic looks from the year? Examples include, but are not limited to:

“The Drama” Robert, bonus points for photos in Tatte

Antinous Robert

Chris Hansen Robert

Green Dior shirt Robert (not a character but wow, what a great photo we were blessed with this year)

“Dune: Part Three” Robert

Batman Robert, since we WERE supposed to get Part II in 2026

The Grade Cap

This one requires a group: you, +4 to be exact. How exactly you want to distribute this is, unlike professors, up to your discretion. I envision an Easy A, Scarlett Letter type costume with a bright red ‘A’ plastered on the front. Dress up as the 20 percent with four ‘A’s or maybe only hand out one ‘A’ amidst the group. Quite a good example of using art as a coping mechanism.

Jason Furman and David²

Jason and his Davids, aka Laibson and Martin. A quaint but culturally significant trio. I felt an Ec10a-inspired costume would be poorly representative if it were Furman and Laibson alone: David Martin, too, deserves some recognition this weekend. Two dressed in suits, one in an ironed button-up shirt decorated with a Lowell pin.

Large Language Model

Seems like many of you already invest so much of your time talking to your AI bot, so what better way to recognize their service than by dressing up as them. Really get specific with which one best matches your personality since you’ve got a plethora of options: Claude, ChatGPT, M3gan? Implement an even more creative spin by turning this into a duo costume.

House Mascot

Maybe a bit more on the basic side from an outsider’s perspective, but rest assured it still carries some personality. Being just a bunny is boring — but being a Lev bunny encodes a message. It tells you wow, she loves Lev so much she had to dress up in honor of her for Halloween. Obviously, some houses have a greater advantage than others both in terms of cuteness and effortlessness (i.e., rough time to be an acorn). Bonus: you now have an outfit for Housing Day.

So please, don’t show up as a deer. Yes, it is cute and yes, I literally considered it as an option. But this is college! We must capitalize on all of the wonderful, one-of-a-kind ideas to get the crowd talking this Halloween. So whether you stop by Currier’s Heaven or Hell or grab a slice at Joe’s after a long night out, know that you’ll stand out in any of these niche costumes. It doesn’t matter where the hallowed night takes you. Happy Costumeing!