Trick or treat yourself...

It's almost here. In a mere two weeks, a dark shadow will engulf the entire Boston College campus. Demons will terrorize the Mods, ghosts will lurk in the Dustbowl, and vampires shall have their choice of dining. For one night, chaos and havoc will blow in the wind. That's right ghouls and gals: Halloween is on the way.

Maybe it's the promise of candy or the mystery surrounding Halloween, but each year students look forward to the holiday with a great deal of excitement and anticipation. Everyone will have all sorts of plans for Oct. 31. Still, there's one thing uniting all students on this night. Whether waiting for the Great Pumpkin or partying it up with friends, a good costume is essential.

The costume must be unique, expressive, and eye catching. More than merely good, it must be epic. Undertaking such a task isn't always easy. One would need a wide selection of clothes, wigs, and accessories to choose from. Luckily, The Garment District offers an extensive array of Halloween necessities and fun extras to compliment any costume.

A main concern of most college students when preparing a costume is the price. Fear not, the staff at The Garment District take great pride in its "Dollar-a-Pound" offer. Buyers are given a plastic bag and encouraged to hunt through a rather large pile of clothes. This mountain consists of anything ranging from random old T-shirts to crazy sweaters. Don't worry about grabbing too much. Since it is only a $1 per pound of clothing, many customers are left with enough change to buy Halloween candy.

If nothing in the pile was "Costume of the Year" material, be sure to venture upstairs. Here's where costumes are born. Masks, wigs, face paint, accessories, and nicer used clothing (collared shirts, skirts, jeans, jackets, sweaters, and coats, ranging from $6 to about $20) can be mixed and matched to create quite a Halloween getup.

"Many people come here with an idea of who they want to dress as," says Liz Donovan, store manager. "Recently, the Duke Brothers, Daisy Duke, Napoleon Dynamite, and the Desperate Housewives have been pretty popular amongst college students. But each one looks different. We show them how to get started, and they can personalize the costume from there."

Plastic swords, shields, toy guns, axes, and tridents are just a few of the great accessories. There are also "costume starter kits." For example, the Ninja starter kit is comprised of a ninja hood and scarf, while the pirate one provides a handkerchief, eye patch, and earring.

It's the staff's help that makes the whole trip worthwhile. They know what looks good and where to find it in the store. "You'd make a good pirate, Pat. You have the right look," says Donovan. "Arrrrr you sure?" I ask, and am quickly ushered to some pirate vests and skeleton hands.

The Garment District is located at 200 Broadway, in Cambridge, between Kendall and Central Square. The long commute may put off many BC students, but think of it as time to contemplate a costume. First, take the Green line to Park Street and switch to the Red line. Next, head on over to the Kendall stop and hop off. After exiting the subway, go around the Marriot Hotel and turn left on Broadway. The Garment District is roughly a four block walk from there, on the left. The building is hard to miss; it's the only one with purple trim on the bottom.

The Garment District is open until 7 p.m. on all days except Wednesday to Friday when it's open until 8 p.m. "A lot of people will stop by with friends before going out for the night. It's a fun thing to do with a group of friends," says Donovan.

Be sure to stop by sooner rather than later. "October 14 is when things really start to get busy," Donovan says. "The line will go outside and sometimes begin to wrap around the building."

When the big day comes, don't be the one left wearing a bed sheet with holes cut out. Walk fearlessly, sporting a genuine costume, into the Mods, Dustbowl, or any other haunted part of campus on Halloween.