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9 Halloween costume ideas with an academic twist

Date

23rd Oct 2019

Category

Online study

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Stuck on what to wear for Halloween this year? We’ve got you covered!

Here are costume ideas inspired by the subjects we offer – all appropriate for the office, a night-out with your pals and trick-or-treating with the kids.

 

Business

Spooky Santa

Did you know Santa Claus hasn’t always been a jolly old man with a round belly in a bright red suit? Scandinavian folklore traditionally depicted him as everything from a tall lean man to a spooky-looking elf dressed in green. From the 19th century, Santa was almost exclusively portrayed in red, however, it’s a  popular myth that Coca Cola invented the modern image of Santa because their advertising campaigns popularised it. Celebrate their marketing ingenuity by dressing up as a spooky Santa and ensure to have a cola in hand to highlight your costume choice.

 

Werewolf of Wall Street

This outfit is half-inspired by the movie The Wolf of Wall Street which showcased the greedy excesses of men and women on business in Wall Street during the 80s. Dress up in your best power suit and stuff a brief case full with Monopoly money. To add a mythical element to your look, wear a werewolf mask and gloves. Then recreate a debauched Wall Street office party by running around your place of work and making it rain with money.

 

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Criminology

The Suspect Hunter

Do you have an unsolved crime in the office? Why not dress up as suspect board with the clues pointing to the perpetrator of the crime mapped out on a t-shirt! Wrap up your detective guise with a suave trench coat.

 

Education

Haunting Homework

Create a simple yet haunting costume with just a white t-shirt, and black, blue and red permanent markers. The base of this look is a notepad page – to create the lined paper, draw horizontal lines across the shirt in blue, then add a single red vertical line down the left side to create the margin. In black write-up your homework pet peeves, the stuff of your nightmares: misspellings, miscalculations or maybe even plagiarism. In the top right-hand corner, in red write a giant F and circle it to stress your horror.

 

Health

Operation Patient

Ever played the board game Operation? This outfit is inspired by the classic game. All you need to do is buy a clown nose, nude coloured shirt and trousers and stick on several humorous ailments. Add tongs and you can be the game – have fun testing your friends’ hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills!

 

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Infected Zombie

What better way to express your interest in infection control than to embrace your inner zombie? Attack your clothes with scissors, roll through the dirt in the garden, then splatter yourself with fake blood. You’ll then look perfectly equipped to infect people!

 

Law

The Undead Snail

This outfit is inspired by the landmark case, Donoghue v Stevenson, which involved Mrs Donoghue finding a dead snail in her ginger beer and suing the manufacturer Mr Stevenson. For an easy DIY snail costume, crumple and roll-up brown paper in a swirl pattern and glue together to form the shell. Take a square piece of cardboard and mount it to your shell, then glue ribbons on to make a backpack. Pair your shell with a green-y brown shirt and trousers, slide on an antenna headband, and paint your skin green. Finish off your look by swigging from a bottle of ginger beer.

Not keen on dressing as an undead snail? Well how about…

 

Elle Woods

Legally Blonde inspired a generation to use legal jargon in everyday life – honour this icon with this outfit! Delve into your closet and find the pinkest clothes and accessories you own. Don’t have a chihuahua handy? No problem! Borrow a kids’ stuffed toy to complete your look.

 

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Psychology

Walking Illusion

Do you remember The dress? Did you think it was black and blue or white and gold? Unsettle your colleagues by wearing the viral dress and reignite the debate in your office. Want to disturb people further? Take inspiration from the ‘My Wife and My Mother-in-Law’ illusion – glam up half your face and age the other half by emphasizing lines in your face and adding talc to your hair.

 

If these Halloween costume ideas piqued your interest in our subjects have a look at the courses you could study with us!

Interested in the supernatural? Check out the spooky subjects we would offer serious scare enthusiasts!