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Scare up some last-minute costumes

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By Belinda M. Paschal, Contributing Writer 6:21 PM Wednesday, October 26, 2011

You’re always the one with the cleverest Halloween costume. But this year, you lost track of time. Now here you are with nothing to wear as the festivities kick off this weekend.

You don’t have a ghost of a chance of finding a prize-winning disguise among the picked-through offerings in the stores. But don’t get spooked! You can still dress to impress because necessity may be the mother of invention, but desperation is the midwife who births creative last-minute ideas.

Whether you’re attending a fa-BOO-lous party, having a wicked time at Hauntfest on Fifth, or getting garbed up to pass out candy to little boys and ghouls, a dose of ingenuity and a quick glance at current events headlines are all you need to conjure up your own Halloween outfit.

Topical costumes are a perfect choice when you’re on a deadline, and Internet photos make much cheaper masks than store-bought ones. Skip the no-brainers, e.g., Charlie Sheen. You’ll be one of many and besides, tiger blood and Adonis DNA don’t come cheap.

If you’re running short of ideas as well as time, here are a few ensembles you can pull together with relative ease:

Steve Jobs: Pay tribute to the late Apple co-founder and long-time CEO by donning a dark T-shirt, faded jeans and wire-frame glasses. Accessories: An iPod – or even better, an iPad – and of course, an apple missing one bite.

Amy Winehouse: Rat up your hair (or wig) into a beehive, slap on some temporary tattoos and bat-wing eyelashes, wriggle into a pencil skirt, and even your friends will mistake you for the recently departed chanteuse.

Lindsay Lohan: Orange jumpsuit, dead-eyed stare and a toy toilet containing your career.

Showtime’s “Dexter”: It’s the one time of year when you can walk around spattered with blood, carrying a knife (plastic, of course) and not get questioned by the cops. So put on a Henley shirt and khakis and knock ‘em dead!

Moammar Gadhafi: Yeah, it’s way too soon for that one.

When pondering your All Hallow’s Eve get-up, keep this in mind: Costumes should be identifiable. If people have to ask, it’s not as clever as you thought. Dressing as “The Decline of Western Civilization” will seem far less brilliant after a night of cockeyed stares and confused questions. Just keep it simple. After all, abstract is for paintings.

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