By Allison Mudge

From sexy chain gangs to that slightly creepy chain restaurant king, students are gearing up for another Halloween in Boston.

“I saw it on TV and was like, yeah, that’s it,” said Jake Guy, a sophomore chemical engineering major, of his costume – the King from the Burger King commercial campaign.

He purchased the mask on eBay, and as for the rest of the costume, “I’ll figure it out,” he said.

By last weekend, many students had already purchased their costumes or had at least some idea of what mask they would don. When it comes to choosing the right costume, the formula consists of either creativity, money or just trusting there’s something suitable in the closet.

In some cases, students rely on all three.

Janea Row, a middler marketing major, is dressing as a 1940s gangster.

“I got the fedora and black tie at Target,” she said. “And I got one of those cigarette holders.”

She already owned a pair of pinstripe pants and matching jacket, she said.

“In the past years I’ve gotten a lot of my stuff at a place called Michael’s, it’s a craft store,” said Erin Milton, a junior physical therapy major. “I’ve worn plain solids and I’ve made the rest of it.

“I think a lot of the costumes people buy now are like $50 and I bet I’ve made mine for under $30.”

This year Milton is going as the Pink Panther. Her costume consists mostly of putting simple pieces like ears and a tail together, though in years past her costumes have required a little more time.

“Two years ago we were the Ninja Turtles. I had to cut and sew masks, and I had to cut out and paint all of the shells … The sewing for Rainbow Brite was probably like an hour,” Milton said of past costumes.

Not everyone plans to dress up for Halloween, though. Senior music industry major Matt DeAnthony’s birthday is Oct. 29 and he will not be in a state to dress up that weekend, he said. But even if it were not his birthday, he said he probably would not dress up anyway.

“I did freshman year and that was it,” DeAnthony said.

Jen King, a senior marketing major, said she would rather go to a bar than dress up and attend a party. She said she went to a party last year and had more fun when she left for the bar.

For those still looking for a costume, the two most popular costume-hunting spots still seem to be Dorothy’s Boutique on Massachusetts Avenue and the Garment District, located several blocks from the Kendall Square stop on the Red Line.

Sissy Marcuccilli, a freshman photography major, and Anne Berger, a freshman English major, got their costumes from Dorothy’s. They said they are going as members of a chain gang.

“It’s an orange jumpsuit kind of dress,” Marcuccilli said, adding it would be a sexier take on a chain gang.

When they visited the shop, which not only boasts a wide array of costumes and wigs, but also jewelry, shoes and accessories, it was crowded, Marcuccilli said.

“It kind of sucks because you can’t try the costumes on,” she said, though she did add that the costumes were returnable.

This week is “positively” the busiest time of year for Dorothy’s, owner Jon Diamond said.

The most popular costumes tend to be on the scandalous side.

“Everything from nurses and cops to French maids and fairies do well,” Diamond said.

He included cowboys and gangsters among the popular choices for both males and females.

While Dorothy’s is close and convenient for students, the Garment District offers a bigger selection after a short ride on the T.

“They pretty much have every costume that you can think of and they have a lot of additives to costumes, like different kinds of masks, hair dye, wigs, chain saws and stuff like that,” said junior art and psychology major Morgan Brooks. “It’s almost like a Halloween headquarters.”

In addition to the costumes upstairs, the Garment District (which is actually a store, not a district) has an entire collection of vintage clothing that could be used as part of a costume, Brooks said. With the right amount of patience and luck, shoppers can find just the item they need in the $1.25-per-pound section.

“In the basement they have piles and piles of clothes,” she said. “You just have to dig through. I usually just find a bunch of random clothes and use them as material. If you have money, you can buy a costume upstairs.”

She mentioned students with a specific costume idea in mind might find what they seek for in both the costume and vintage sections.

For example, customers looking to dress as a nurse could probably find both a vinyl nursing costume upstairs and a vintage nursing dress downstairs.

As for traditional Halloween costumes like vampires, “they’re over,” Diamond said. “There’s not as much gore as there used to be. It’s more about being cute.”