Find out how much students can spend on dressing up for Cowhide Week. With some dress-up days going way beyond what you can find in your closet, students may spend a lot of money on things they wear only once. Not only the cost of dressing up, but also the cost of tickets and snacks.

By. Heidi Dilsaver

COWHIDE DRESS-UP DAYS

–Monday – Wrong Occasion: Dress like you’re going somewhere other than school!

-Tuesday – Y2K: Throw it back to the year 2000!

–Wednesday – Spooky Season: Wear your Halloween costume, spooky outfit, or fall apparel.

–Thursday – Blackout Before the Showdown: Wear all black!

–Friday – Cowhide: Wear Redwood blue, cow print, or a cow onesie!

Imagine you had an endless budget to spend on Cowhide, dress up for the whole week, snacks at the game, and tickets; then imagine your budget was tight and you really had to search your closet until you really decided that you had nothing that could work for the dress-up days. You still had to find a way to budget for snacks at the game and tickets.

Dress-Up Days

With the cost of dressing up all week in mind, we start with day one.

Ideas you could do for The Wrong Occasion

–Going to Bed: Pajamas

–Holiday: An ugly Christmas sweater with a Santa hat, or a full Halloween costume (like Spider-Man or a pumpkin bucket).

–Graduation: A high school or college cap and gown with a rolled diploma. 

–Pool or Beach Party: Hawaiian shirt, board shorts, sunglasses, flip-flops, and zinc oxide sunscreen on your nose.

Now, this raises the question: how much would it cost to dress up for day one if you had nothing in your closet and were going to a slumber party?

Slumber Party

~ Pajamas can cost from $9 to $178

-If shopping at places like Walmart, Target, and Costco Basics, fleece separates and cotton blends can fall into the price range of $9 – $25.

–If shopping at places like Old Navy, Macy’s, and JCPenney, you get better quality cotton, modal knit, or multi-piece gift sets ranging from $25 – $65

-If shopping at places like Nordstrom, you get higher-end materials like washable silk, Pima cotton, or designer labels with a price range of $65 – $170+

…

Y2K

Ideas you could do for Y2K

–Velour Tracksuits: Wear a matching pastel or bright-pink Juicy Couture-style velour tracksuit with a rhinestone zip-up and a tiny shoulder bag.

–Bratz Dolls: Go as Cloe, Yasmin, Jade, or Sasha with oversized platform boots, lip gloss, and bold eye makeup.

–Retro Tech / Cyber Y2K: Style metallic silver puffers, wraparound tinted sunglasses, butterfly clips, and a rhinestone belt.

Let’s Look Into The Prices

  1. Velour Tracksuit Look

The cost of this look heavily depends on whether you buy an official Juicy Couture set or a generic Y2K-style variant.

  • Authentic Juicy Couture Set: A brand-new rhinestone hoodie ($119) and matching velour track pants ($99) direct from the official Juicy Couture Tracksuit Collection bring the base outfit total to $218.
  • Resale & Secondhand Options: New-with-tags (NWT) and gently used authentic sets frequently sell across platforms like Poshmark for $68 to $169, or on Mercari for roughly $99.
  • Budget Alternatives: Generic Y2K-style velvet/velour 2-piece tracksets (featuring zip-up jackets and flare pants) are available on Walmart starting between $23.59 and $24.99.
  • Tiny Shoulder Bag: Small faux-leather or nylon baguette bags to complete the look generally add $10 to $20 on Amazon or Walmart.

2. Bratz Doll Look

The focal point of a Bratz costume is the dramatic, oversized footwear paired with distinct makeup.

  • Oversized Platform Boots: Chunky block-heel goth or Y2K-style mid-calf platform boots retail on Amazon’s Bratz Doll Shoes Selection for roughly $37.98.
  • Bold Makeup & Lip Gloss: High-shine lip glosses, heavy lip liners, and bright eyeshadow palettes average $5 to $15 total at drugstore prices (e.g., e.l.f. or NYX).
  • Clothing: Standard Bratz apparel (like a micro-skirt or low-rise jeans paired with a baby tee) can be built from items already in your closet or found at thrift stores for $10 to $25.

3. Retro Tech / Cyber Y2K Look

This outfit relies entirely on metallic textures and distinct industrial accessories.

Rhinestone Belt & Butterfly Clips: Crystal-embellished Western belts average $12 to $18, while large packs of plastic pastel butterfly hair clips cost $4 to $7.

Metallic Silver Puffer: Shiny metallic bubble coats and silver rave jackets average $25 to $35 on budget marketplaces like Walmart or Amazon.

Wraparound Tinted Sunglasses: Multi-packs of retro 90s/2000s sports shades and cyber rave sunglasses are highly affordable, with 3-pack sets priced at $7.90 on Walmart. Single pairs can be found for around $7.46.

…

Spooky Season

Ideas you could do for Spooky Season

–Fall-Themed & Nature Costumes: A pumpkin patch outfit using green attire with faux pumpkin vines and leaves, or a Halloween tree combining a twisted trunk with miniature jack-o’-lanterns,

–Chilly-Weather Layers: Throw on a plaid shacket or lightweight jacket in rust, camel, or olive over neutral basics for outdoor bonfires and pumpkin patches.

–Icons & Throwbacks: Kim Possible (black top and green cargo pants), Cher Horowitz (yellow plaid blazer), or Wednesday Addams in a black dress with plaits.

Deep Dive into the Cost

Fall-Themed & Nature Costumes

  • Green Attire Base: A matching olive or sage green two-piece shirt and pants set (like the boohoo Crinkle Textured Co-ord) typically costs $27.00 to $42.00.
  • Faux Pumpkin Vines & Leaves: Decorative autumn leaf and pumpkin garlands used to wrap your outfit range from budget-friendly plastic styles at $5.00 from Walmart up to $8.50 at Michaels Stores.
  • Total Estimated Cost: $32.00 to $50.50

Chilly-Weather Layers

  • Plaid Shackets: Mid-weight knit or woven flannels featuring warm tones like rust, camel, and olive range from $21.37 for lightweight layers up to $52.95 for cozy brushed knits from boutique retailers like V-Rae’s Boutique. [1, 2]
  • Neutral Basics: If you need to add clean base layers (such as cream or black cotton tees or thermals), expect an additional $10.00 to $20.00.
  • Total Estimated Cost: $21.37 to $72.95

Icons & Throwbacks

  • Cher Horowitz (Yellow Plaid Blazer): A standard double-breasted yellow tartan costume blazer from Target or Walmart costs between $47.99 and $66.99. High-end replicas or full-wool options range from $110.00 to $148.99.
  • Kim Possible: A classic fitted black long-sleeve crop top paired with olive drab or green wide-leg utility cargo pants generally averages $35.00 to $55.00 combined across fast-fashion retailers.
  • Wednesday Addams: A basic long-sleeve black dress featuring a sharp white collar runs roughly $20.00 to $40.00 on primary marketplace platforms.
  • Total Estimated Cost: $20.00 to $148.99

…

Black Out

You Don’t Need Ideas! Just Wear Black!!!

What’s the Cost?

The estimated cost for an all-black outfit generally ranges from $45 to $150 for a complete budget-to-mid-range look, though it can easily scale past $500+ if you opt for high-end designer brands. Because black is a universal staple, you can build a sharp, monochromatic style at almost any price point.

…

Cowhide

Cowhide is easy: the best cowhide ideas are COW!

Think Cowboy, Cow, School Colors, and Cow Onesie

What would be the price for a fun Cowhide day outfit?

-A cow onesie generally costs $15 to $50, depending mainly on whether it is for a child or an adult and the material’s thickness.

-An estimated cost for a cow-print or cowhide cowboy hat ranges from $7 to $170+, depending on whether you are looking for a novelty party accessory or an authentic hair-on-hide or felt hat.

– Last: The Cowhide shirts are for sale at lunch on Wednesday and Thursday this week, and that is always perfect for a good Cowhide Fit. These shirts are $15 and have a student-made design.

Game Tickets and Food Cost

Friday night has finally come, but this year, for Cowhide, we are on the away side. So get there early if you want a seat!! Being on the away side also means we have to buy tickets, but it is always worth it for the Cowhide game.

-Tickets generally cost about $5 for seniors (65+), $5 for students, and about $10-$8 for Adults.

No Free ASB Entry: If you are supporting the away team (Redwood High School when Mt. Whitney hosts on the South side), away-side students cannot use their school ASB stickers for free entry. Every student sitting on the away side must purchase a mobile ticket

-Snacks cost about the same, ranging from $5 to $7.

In total, Cowhide can be a strain on the students, with the cheapest cost rounding to $228 and the most expensive rounding to $1,209.

Let’s have the best Cowhide Ever! Go Rangers!

Heidi Dilsaver
Heidi Dilsaver
+ posts

Heidi is a 2030 graduate and a reporter for the Redwood Gigantea. She is so excited to be covering Arts and Entertainment!! She is passionate about dance and anything that has to do with art. She really can't wait for a year full of stories.

 

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