Riley Church’s hands ran along the edges of the bright red fabric as they sewed the bows for their Powerpuff Girl Halloween costume.

In light of COVID-19 regulations, students have found ways to make sure the Halloween spirit is restored this year. Some are putting together their own costumes as they plan the weekend’s festivities.

After brainstorming costume ideas for weeks, Church, Plan II and radio-television-film freshman, and their two roommates decided that they will dress up as the Powerpuff Girls. The trio combined closets to find pieces they could use to put their unique twist on the classic characters. 

“We ran around swapping clothes,” Church said in an email. “The goal isn’t to be a perfect image of the girls but instead have monochromatic outfits inspired by them.” 

As a seamstress with a background in theater costume design, Church used their sewing skills to create the details of the costume, such as Blossom’s red hair bow. Church said Halloween has always been their favorite holiday, and they did not want to let COVID-19 get in the way of their festivities. 

“My roommates and I are going to watch some spooky movies and chow down on some candy,” Church said. “We enjoy all the Halloween movies, so we have to get in the spirit somehow.”

Grace Besly, communication and leadership freshman, and her boyfriend Joseph Richardson have decided to channel their inner influencers with their costumes. The couple will use pieces from their own closets and materials they ordered from Target and Amazon to dress up like TikTok stars Charli D’Amelio and Chase Hudson. 

“We both thought it would be so fun and hilarious,” Besly said in an email. “Chase, Charli and the Hype House are relevant to this year, so it felt fitting to do it.” 

Besly will be wearing yoga pants and a cropped gray sweatshirt paired with a black wig that she ordered online. She’ll also wear press-on nails and fake eyelashes and finish off the look with a Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffee in her hand. 

“I looked at Halloween as a fun way to celebrate and distract myself from the current situation instead of seeing it as another thing dampened by the pandemic,” Besly said. 

Braxdon Cannon’s friends inspired his Glee-themed costume. After the mathematics freshman learned a dance routine from the show with his best friends, he decided that a “Cheerio,” a cheerleader from the show, would be the perfect costume. 

Using different red and white pieces in his closet and a blonde wig that his friend bought him at Buffalo Exchange, Cannon plans to recreate the iconic cheer uniform. He said putting together the costume himself was less stressful than his usual Halloween look, which includes far more elaborate costumes. 

“If (COVID-19) wasn’t prevalent, I probably would have put way more effort into it,” Cannon said in an email. “I won’t be seeing a ton of people. When it’s just close friends, you have fewer to impress.”

Cannon plans on spending this Halloween with his four closest friends and said large gatherings aren’t necessary to keep the Halloween spirit alive. 

“(Halloween) is a combination of weather, smells, foods and movies for me, none of which has been directly affected by (COVID-19),” Cannon said. “I think we should still make fun out of any situation.”