Jacey Tanioka/The Mossy Log
Orange streetlights flicker as mobs of students swarm the streets of Sellwood each October. Homeowners and millennials alike run for their lives when they see the madness of the fantastical getups, but not because they see a lack of attire and revelers clothed only in alcohol blankets. Rather, they see an absence of department store costumes that overtook prior generations. Old folks scream in fear at the sight of a generation that has ditched Spirit Halloween for hot glue and thrift stores.
Each coming Halloween starts to look less like an array of partygoers and more like a fashion show. For Lewis & Clark students, Halloween is not about buying any trite costume, but about building your own. In a community overflowing with artists of all kinds, the holiday has become a show of the imagination that runs throughout this community.
Class subjects seem to be one popular inspiration. For instance, Logan Sumner ’28 is drawing from mythology he learned in his Greek language class to create his Theseus costume. He is crafting a sword from cardboard, foil and duct tape, and wrapping himself in a white bedsheet to serve as his tunic.
“The main part is the thread Theseus famously used to find his way through the maze,” Sumner said. “I got a spool of white yarn I’ll wrap around my head. Even if it’s a little sloppy, it feels more in the spirit of the holiday.”
Meanwhile, Angie Bennett ’28, the talented artist behind The Mossy Log’s Clueless and Dark cartoons, plans to make their own costume of a chair form, a 3D molecular model studied in organic chemistry class.
“I’m probably going to raid the Platteau and make some balls out of newspaper, wrap them with tape, and skewer them onto my hands, elbows and head. When I position myself in a very specific way, I’ll look like the chair form.”
For Bennett, this process of creating is not just fun, but serves to make a statement.
“In this generation, we’re really focused on individuality. By making your own costume, you can show that. This isn’t just me being a chair form; this is activism,” they said.
That spirit of independence runs deep across campus. Instead of spending their money on the mainstream, students are building props from cardboard and painting old clothing items. Echo Smith ’28 plans to cut balls of yarn into pompoms, layer coffee filters into a ruffled collar and paint stripes onto old tights for her handmade Pierrot clown costume.
“I think it’s so important to make your own costume,” Smith said. “Buying one, you wear it once and it ends up in a landfill. Making something yourself feels more personal and meaningful — it’s special.”
Even simple references can become fuel for intricate and incredibly unique costume ideas. For example, Kanani Seward ’27 plans to fashion herself as Sally (who sells seashells by the seashore):
“I’m drawing and laminating seashells so the Portland rain doesn’t destroy them, then gluing or threading them onto my clothes.”
Other students are experimenting with even more unconventional materials. Dylan Higgins-Kiang ’28 is using staplers, printer paper and found objects to become Alice in Wonderland, while Oliver Mulvihill ’28 plans to thrift a waistcoat and attach a giant watch onto a chain necklace for his White Rabbit ensemble. Both say their costumes are about reclaiming creativity from consumerism.
“There’s a lot of consumption nowadays and a lot less creating,” Higgins-Kiang said. “It feels so much more fulfilling to make something yourself. A Halloween costume is one outlet where you can really go to town. Halloween is, frankly, the best holiday.”
That joy in making, rather than purchasing, reflects something deeper in the culture here at LC. This school has always prided itself on the individuality of each student, and Halloween is a creative outlet where that value shines through. So, when the spooky night finally arrives, the Portland streets will not just be filled with partiers, but liberal arts students with niche references and hot glue guns.
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