With Halloween just around the corner, students are readying their costumes in preparation for fall’s most anticipated holiday.

Halloween in New Orleans is unconventional because instead of one night of dressing up in a costume and going door to door for candy, Halloween is more of a prolonged series of parties and events. The entire city gears up for the festivities; front yards turn into eerie graveyards, costume stores update their window displays for their busiest season and on campus, students have an important decision to make: what costumes will they wear this year.

When picking a costume, students have several options to consider. First: where to get your costume. There is no shortage of costume stores in New Orleans and one of the closest and most popular shops is Uptown Costume & Dancewear on Magazine Street, which sells new costumes at an average price range of $40 to $60.

Store manager Stephanie Fowler said that Uptown Costume & Dancewear is the best costume shop in New Orleans because of its wide selection and unique finds.

“We have so much stuff that there is no way you couldn’t find something that you wanted to wear in here,” Fowler said. “We have some really great, weird pieces that nobody can find.”

Fowler said that although they do carry a variety of unusual items, there are some costumes that are popular every year.

“Honestly, people love pirates. That’s an overall favorite. I would say pirates, 60s and 70s themed and flappers are overall the most popular,” Fowler said.

The best-selling item this year is a monster costume that has a furry headpiece, a dress and a tutu, Fowler said.

Other shops that carry affordable costumes include Miss Claudia’s Vintage Clothing and Costumes, Funky Monkey and Buffalo Exchange.

Homemade costumes are also an option, and some students choose this more unconventional route of making their costumes from scratch.

Music industry senior Will Hagan is no stranger to this idea, and this year he created a costume that is sure to shock and bewilder many: Tonkerchimes.

According to Hagan, Tonkerchimes, brother to the beloved Disney fairy Tinkerbell, is a character he created while trying to imagine what the weirdest costume he could wear would be.

Hagan said he even went so far as to create a funny back-story for the character. “After being kicked out of his house for allegedly using drugs, Tonkerchimes ventures to find his favorite metal guitarist in hopes of starting a musical collaboration,” he said.

The irony of the costume is what makes it so comical, Hagan said.

“I try and find a way to create a weird costume that people will look at and laugh while also knowing that I’m making fun of the tradition of people wearing slutty outfits. I am straight edge, which means I don’t drink or partake in substances, so the fact that I am sober and dressing like this makes it funnier,” Hagan said.

Other students, such as sociology senior Ellen Rice, choose to base their costume off current cultural fads and icons.

Each year we see costumes that mimic society’s current obsessions: several years ago Snooki costumes were all the rage, and there is never a lack of Lady Gagas on Halloween.

This year, Rice foresees TLC’s Alana Thompson, more commonly known as Honey Boo Boo, dominating the Halloween costume scene.

Thompson has many notorious pageant outfits, but Rice said she will don the famous cowgirl get-up for Halloween night.

Rice said that although some may find Thompson’s show offensive, she hopes people will find her costume light-hearted.

“I’m hoping that people will laugh, think it’s funny and enjoy it. I think it will be funny because she is just so ridiculous,” Rice said.

Olivia Lueckemeyer can be reached at [email protected]