Halloween is the type of holiday whose purpose changes as you get older. For college-age students, Halloween was mostly about candy in copious amounts about a decade ago (and for some just last year). Now, it’s about copious amounts of partying for most students. But one thing about Halloween never changes: Everyone wants to be the one with the best costume. However, few college students can afford the elaborate ensemble of their dreams.

“I would say half of our customers are college students who don’t want to by a whole costume and try to piece together costumes,” said Wes Schield, manager at Dallas and Co. Costumes and Magic.

Piecing together costumes is often cheaper than buying a ready-to-wear one because you have the opportunity to get parts of the costume from your own closet. Schield said he can’t think of any costume idea that can’t be pieced together at Dallas and Co.

“Zombie is the easiest and cheapest,” Schield said. “You can get professional-grade liquid latex for under $4. You can get professional-grade blood; it’s $2 for a small bottle. Makeup for shading and shadows will cost you $1.49. (With) zombies, the whole idea is the living dead, so you go to your old closet and (wear) the nastiest thing you can find.”

Here are a few other costumes ideas that won’t cost you more than $10: