It’s that time of year again. The candy corn is back on store shelves, pumpkins sit on doorsteps, and overpriced Halloween costumes have returned to iParty. For most of us poor college students, these pricey outfits are out of the question. In this case, Halloween DIY costumes are the best way to go.

An obvious costume choice is to dress up like your favorite guido or guidette from “Jersey Shore.” Considering the fact that these people are most well known for their hair, mastering their ‘dos is a must.

You can choose whether you want to take the easy way out and buy a wig, or put in the effort on sculpting your own hair. If you choose to style your own locks, you will need hair gel, hair spray, a hairbrush, a teasing comb and a lot of time.

For Pauly D’s signature look, you will need to style your hair with lots of gel, spiking it up all over with your fingers. As for Snooki’s famous pouf, you will need to tease your roots on the top section of your head and secure your hair in the back.

If you’re interested in dressing up like “The Situation,” you will need sunglasses, a wife beater tank and dark denim jeans. In order to get the full essence of the Situation’s narcissism, you will need to continuously lift your shirt to show off your painted on six-pack throughout the night. As Pauly D, you can wear any type of t-shirt and jeans as long as you master the hair. For Snooki or J Woww, you just need a tight, revealing dress and high heels.

Depending on how far you want to take the look, you can add some orange caked-on foundation. Try out the Jersey accent and maybe you’ll woo someone enough to bring them back to the Smoosh Room by the end of the night.

Lady Gaga never fails to disappoint, and neither will you in one of her crazy outfits. There are so many looks to choose from that you will have to look through hundreds until you find one that strikes you. For any outfit, you will need a long platinum blonde wig with straight across bangs, with the exception of her 2009 VMA performance outfit. In that case you will need a short, curly platinum blonde wig with pink highlights.
You will most likely need some type of crazy hat to wear on your head or some kind of glittery design for your face. There is no underestimating her insanity, and if you can tune in to that type of thinking you will pull off her outfit with ease.

For those of you that have a good sense of humor and are willing to show a little skin, Nicki Minaj is a good choice. The costume is fairly simple, with just a few essential pieces to pull the look together. You will need a colorful wig, a tight jumpsuit or dress, a good pushup bra and butt pads or some type of padding if you are not already blessed in that area. To finish off the look, you will need bright lipstick, false eyelashes and chunky accessories.

If you are someone who enjoys a lot of attention, Tiger Woods is a good choice. You can buy the beaten and bruised Tiger Woods mask at a party store, or do the scars and bruises yourself with the help of some special effects makeup. For the rest of your outfit, you will need a black Nike hat, a polo t-shirt, some sort of khaki or dress pant and golf shoes. It would be clever to surround yourself with scantily dressed girls holding golf clubs. Don’t make any snide comments or stupid moves in this outfit, or you may end up with some real bruises of your own.

This last outfit is an easy fix for the people who may be a little slow at picking out Halloween costumes. Speaking of slow, Alan from “The Hangover” would be a good fit for you. You can buy the shirt with the baby already on it, or buy a t-shirt, baby sling and baby doll for the full effect. You will need dark shield or aviator sunglasses. You may also choose to wear his odd grey t-shirt with some white pants, and a purse – excuse me – satchel. Maybe in wearing his outfit, you will inherit his good fortune in winning $80,000.

Don’t bother dusting off the old classic Halloween costumes when there are so many current outfits you can pull off this October. With a little bit of creativity and imagination, you can be the life of any party on Halloween while keeping your wallet full and happy.

Malea Ritz can be reached at [email protected].