Naya Jorgensen ’24 and Shweta Kondapi ’24 lived out their Broadway dreams as the Phantom and Christine Daaé from the musical “Phantom of the Opera.” With Jorgensen in a mask made of white face paint and Kondapi in a flowing white dress, the pair was easily recognizable as the show’s title character and his angel of music.

“The reason we chose this costume is pretty obvious—anyone who knows either of us knows we love The Phantom of the Opera (the musical, not the movie)!” Jorgensen wrote in a message to The Argus. “Dressing up as the Phantom and Christine came up at a dinner with friends, and we instantly got super excited and knew we had to do it. Shweta is Christine because of her beautiful long hair, and Naya is the Phantom because she is dramatic and doesn’t know how to get girls. We’re hoping that the sheer power of how good we look will stop the show from closing on Broadway this February.”

One student, who wished to remain anonymous, used Halloween as an opportunity to make a statement about the current political climate in China. Cutting out the back of a medical uniform and writing the word “police” on it, the student was dressed as a self-sexualized COVID-19 police officer in China.

“I’m trying to address how [the] Chinese government uses COVID as an excuse of mass-surveillance/exploitation to the citizens, and how they fetishize medical workers into a propaganda symbol to evoke people’s sense of loyalty and passion,” the student wrote in a message to The Argus.

CJ Joseph ’25 donned white tights, a black leotard, a purple cape, and a ruby belt to become Raven from the animated series “Teen Titans,” based on the DC Comics characters. She even went as far as to dye her hair purple, giving her the teen superhero’s complete look. 

“I think that the costume is really cool so it’d be worth it honestly. [Also], I wanted an excuse to get the really cool boots that I wore for the costume. I feel like [the show is] a classic but underrated,” Joseph wrote in a message to The Argus.

Steph Monard ’25 brought campus back in time with a retro reference to the classic board game Candy Land. From the red and white pinstripe overalls to the red dot on her nose, Monard combined creativity with nostalgia to create the perfect throwback costume. 

“It was kind of a deep cut, but I thrifted the perfect red and white striped overalls and I couldn’t let them go to waste,” Monard wrote in a message to The Argus. “I made a candy cane axe out of paper towel rolls and the costume was complete! Most people didn’t get it at first, but once I told them, they thought it was a really fun and unique costume.”

Isaiah Fraley ’25 created a costume that was inspired by his peers in the Wesleyan community. With three Usdan to-go containers in one hand and a protein shake in the other, he embodied student athletes in Usdan after practice or a game. Fraley proved that even what he called a low-effort costume could still be a home run.

“I work at classics [in the Usdan dining hall] and have noticed over the past few semesters that there is essentially a uniform for athletes coming from practice at dinner: ice around the knees, Wesleyan sports merch, multiple to-go boxes, and often some form of protein drink,” Fraley wrote in a message to The Argus. 

Nolan Lewis ’25 showed off both his social media prowess and his impressive drag skills in his costume. Covered head to toe in a shiny silver wig, turtleneck, and leggings, Lewis was easily recognizable as the iconic “Taste the Biscuit” TikTok filter. This filter took the app by storm and rolled out the runway for Lewis’ stunning look.  

“If you’re on social media, you know how iconic this filter is for being one of the most random things on the internet,” Lewis wrote in a message to The Argus. “The second I heard the audio, it was stuck in my head and I knew that it would be a great costume. It was also a great way to practice drag makeup! So y’know, two birds, blah blah blah.”

Kayla Harrison ’26 combined the divine feminine with a ghoulish monster with her costume. Decked out in a snake headband, snake bodice charm, and snake-themed makeup, her rendition of Medusa brought a modern light to the classic figure of Greek mythology. Harrison also pointed to the political significance of her costume, as a way for her to assert herself as a woman in a patriarchal society. 

“I was medusa because I honestly wanted to kinda make a statement back against men,” Harrison wrote in a message to The Argus. “Like my actual inspiration was something shitty that happened from another student here that they did to me…. I know medusa is kind of a symbol of that…it was a feminine empowering costume. ‘A symbol of fighting back against the patriarchy’ if you will.”

Emma Dhanda ’24 paid homage to one of her favorite movies by dressing up as Olive Penderghast from the iconic film “Easy A.”  Much like Penderghast does in the movie, Dhanda sewed a red letter “A” to her black corset, replicating Penderghast’s look in the movie’s most famous scene. Going so far as to include details like Penderghast’s pearl necklace and storytelling sign, it is safe to say that Penderghast would be proud of Dhanda’s work.

“Easy A is maybe one of the most iconic coming-of-age films of the 2010s—and the character of Olive has always been someone I heavily relate to (down to the dynamics of her family—I swear they based her parents off of mine!),” Dhanda wrote in a message to The Argus. “This costume was a perfect way for me to pay homage to one of my favorite characters without stressing myself out too much!”

Cecilio Munoz ’25 was working on set for “The Groom is a Lying Bastard,” a senior film thesis by Jolie Gui Zhang ’23 this Halloween. His costume combines comfort (a cozy jacket) with creepy (a plague doctor’s mask), making it the perfect outfit for a little bit of added fun when filming outdoors late at night. Plus, this costume allowed Munoz’s originality to shine through: He is probably the first plague doctor to hold a boom mic.

“It seemed both practical and absurd, so this costume definitely struck a nice balance for me,” Munoz wrote in a message to The Argus. “Also, it was a nice touch of fun between shots on ‘the groom’ thesis shoot.” 

Tanvi Navile ’25 and Imogen Frazier ’25 embodied early 2010s nostalgia by dressing up as Draculaura and Frankie Stein from the Mattel franchise Monster High. Monster High dolls and movies became popular for being simultaneously spooky and stylish. It is definitely safe to say Navile and Frazier captured this perfectly in a costume that slayed in every sense of the word.

“Me and my bestie went as Draculaura and Frankie Stein from Monster High!” Naville wrote in a message to The Argus. “It was super fun and mostly because I [have] pink hair, but it was super easy to find the pieces and I think it turned out really great!”

Kat Struhar can be reached at kstruhar@wesleyan.edu.