Halloween is beginning to approach, as shown by the arrival of Summerween. This means that stores are busting out their Halloween decorations, candies, and spooky activities. But that’s not all Summerween brings. It also means that it’s time for the best, and most important, part of Halloween: figuring out your Halloween costume.
It’s always good to determine your costume as early as possible. Why? If you plan to DIY your costume, you’ll need time to gather the necessary clothes and accessories. Might as well shop during back-to-school sales! Additionally, you’ll lessen your chances of wearing a basic, last-minute costume. But how do you figure out what you want to be?
Oftentimes, people wear costumes that are trending memes, celebrities, and characters from movies. While you may be matching with a few people, starting on your costume early is sure to help you win all the costume contests. Who doesn’t love a good homemade costume?
Slaying the Solo Costume
It’s fun dressing up with a group of friends; however, you may want to do your own costume. This way, you can create a super niche, super you costume that is sure to turn heads! Especially if that costume is custom-made to suit you perfectly. Also, going solo means that you don’t have to argue with your friends over who gets to be which Disney princess. It’s a win for everyone!
When picking out a costume for yourself, it’s important to look at your interests. Maybe you have a favorite book or movie character you want to be. Or you have a super niche idea that not many people will get. Starting with multiple costume ideas is always a good first step. Also, who says you can’t dress up as multiple characters for different parties?
One option is to look at what’s trending. While you may have the same costume idea as others, the interpretations are all so vastly different, and it’s cool to see how people put their own creative spin on the concept. With all that being said, let’s dive into some costume ideas that you can add to your list!
Sabrina Carpenter
Here’s one for the girlies. Sabrina Carpenter has been making her mark in the music industry for quite awhile now. And with her latest tour, she’s continuing to make waves and build her music career. There’s no doubt about it: With her latest single “Manchild” and her upcoming album Man’s Best Friend, there will be countless Sabrinas this Halloween.
Now, would you rather wear one of her concert fits or dress up in an outfit from the “Manchild” music video? If you picked the latter, then your job just got a lot easier. If you want to do the hitchhiker fit, all you need to do is grab a white dress shirt and a pair of denim shorts! Of course, you can’t forget the silver heels. Finish the outfit with either a blonde wig or go natural, and you’re good to go!
Silver Surfer
With the release of the MCU’s rendition of Fantastic 4 came countless costume opportunities. One is Julie Garner’s Silver Surfer. Or, if you want to do a more masculine version, you could be the 2007 Silver Surfer (played by Doug Jones, voiced by Laurence Fishburne). This costume is great if you’re a bit of a superhero nerd, and it’s relatively easy to put together.
In fact, the Silver Surfer might be one of the easiest costumes; just be prepared to sweat. All you need is a silver bodysuit (think Britney Spears) and a silver wig. If you really want to get into character, you can purchase some silver body paint and paint yourself silver. Lastly, add simple silver boots, and voila, you have become the Silver Surfer!
Ozzy Osbourne
This one is mostly for the guys; however, I believe that the girlies can pull it off too! What better way to remember a music legend than representing him on Halloween? If you don the Prince of Darkness’s iconic look, you’re sure to be a standout at celebrity-themed Halloween parties!
To complete your Ozzy Osbourne look, you’ll need a few items. First, gather dark clothes, including a black leather jacket. Next, find a long, black wig, if you don’t already have long black hair, and round glasses. Top it off with makeup and a cross necklace, and you’ll be well on your way to honoring Ozzy Osbourne this Halloween!
Pepe from the Muppets
This one veers more toward the silly side, but who doesn’t love a funny costume? Inspired by the Pepe meme from the end of 2024, this costume will produce a lot of laughs. And if you really want to get into character, be sure to spill your strangest stories. Better yet, play “Like a Prayer” by Madonna every time you do.
Now, how can you recreate this chaotic meme? All you need is an orange hoodie and an apron. However, if you are fully committing, put some googly eyes on your hoodie or draw wide eyes on your face. Grab a blue hat of sorts and go crazy gluing orange pipe cleaners on top. The crazier, the better! Congrats, you are now ready to deliver wild stories and crazy secrets.
Couples’ costumes? Make those duo costumes!
Now, if you don’t want to go solo, what’s better than going with a friend or significant other? Especially since there are so many cute friends/couples to dress up as! Or maybe you need a costume for you and your sibling? Well, there are plenty of iconic sibling duos as well! When it comes to duos, there’s something for everyone.
How will you ever be able to choose who to dress up as? Well, for starters, you both should like the two characters. This makes it fair for the two of you, and you’ll have more fun dressing up! Next, you should pick a duo that matches your relationship or personalities. Do you want to go as a couple, besties, or siblings?
Picking out a costume with your partner can be stressful, especially if you each have ideas you really want to do. However, if you turn it into an entertaining shopping trip, you’ll be able to enjoy some quality time together!
The Coldplay affair
We’ve all seen it. We’ve all laughed at it. Now, we’re going to replicate it for Halloween. The affair between former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and his head of HR has gone viral around the world. So obviously, we have to keep the trend going by dressing up as the infamous “couple.” That’ll teach them not to cheat!
This costume is also relatively simple to put together (do you notice a theme?); they are two ordinary people wearing normal clothes. If you’re going as Andy, you’ll need a light blue polo shirt and jeans or dress pants. If you’re going as the head of HR, you’ll need a black tank top/dress with a simple necklace. And there you go, you are now kiss cam ready! (Or not…)
Elphaba and Glinda
If you want to go to parties with your bestie, I have the perfect costume for you. Especially if you’re both theater nerds. Elphaba and Glinda are an ideal costume choice for best friends or even sisters! And with part two of Wicked coming out in November, why wouldn’t you want to dress up as these fabulous witches? The hard part is choosing who will be who and which outfits you want to wear.
If you’re looking for something simple, you can buy two dresses (one pink and one black) and then accessorize. If you’re going as Glinda, you’ll need a silver crown, a blonde wig (unless you’re already blonde), and cute pink shoes. Of course, you can always add more jewelry, and don’t forget the wand! If you’re going as Elphaba, you’ll need a witch hat, black shoes, and a black wig. Green body paint is optional, but the broomstick is not!
Deadpool and Wolverine
With the movie being a smashing success, what better way to continue the fun than dressing up as these iconic characters? Here is yet another one that works for both girls and guys, particularly chaotic friendships/relationships where you love to bully each other, but you still have each other’s backs. Not to mention, you could also go with your sibling! Just don’t start fighting until you’re in costume.
This one is a little harder to DIY. So, unless you’re crafty, I’d recommend getting a costume from a store like Spirit Halloween. Another option is hunting down a onesie. This way, you’ll be comfy but still serving epic comic book characters! Or if you really want to simplify it, you can throw on a red shirt and a yellow one and add related accessories. Just don’t get confused for ketchup and mustard.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
This one is for the pop girlies and sporty boys. Taylor and Travis have been a power couple for almost two years now, so why not dress up as them for Halloween? They have numerous looks to choose from, so you’ll have a wide variety of costume options.
Let’s start with Taylor. You can either wear a comfy outfit inspired by her football looks, or you can get a little more dressed up and bedazzle a bodysuit. For Travis, you can wear his jersey or one of his statement pieces like the picture above. No matter what you wear, you and your partner are sure to be the “it” couple at every party!
Everything is better with a group costume!
Lastly, we have group costumes. Who doesn’t love a good group costume? We’ll cover small and large groups so you can find the right theme for your Halloween clan!
Most group costumes have a common theme. It could be Disney princesses, the Scooby-Doo gang, or something completely random. Deciding on a group theme is a good place to start. However, make sure you all agree so everyone is happy with the costume choice.
After picking a theme, it’s time to figure out how much effort you all want to put into the costume. When doing group costumes, it’s essential to ensure that one person isn’t doing all the work. Not to mention the cost of the costumes. It’s usually better better to DIY something so you can turn it into a fun crafting party!
Inside Out 2 emotions
This one works best for a slightly larger group, where each person can be their own character. While some arguments might ensue when deciding who is who, there are multiple ways to resolve the issue. One solution is to assign based on personality, but that might offend certain people. Another way is to draw character names from a hat, making it random and fair.
When it comes to crafting the costume, you only need a few things to match your character, which can easily be found in a thrift store or your closet. However, if your group is really committed, you’ll want body paint and wigs/temporary hair dye.
100 men vs. a gorilla
Yet again, we are stepping into the meme world. If you are on TikTok, I am sure you have seen the “100 men vs. gorilla” trend floating around. But if you haven’t, it basically means who would be our best bet to fight a gorilla? The trend comes with several categories such as distraction, strength, and strategy. Now, how does this translate to a costume?
Well, you obviously need a gorilla. So you can either pick a name from a hat or vote for someone. Once you have your gorilla, you can divvy up the rest of the categories to the group. For example, to represent strategy, you could dress up as a nerd or a scientist. These costumes are classics, and you can likely thrift them. What a great way to save money!
Uno cards
We all know the game. Uno has been a staple for years and should honestly be brought to casinos at this point. Dressing up as the cards is sure to garner a positive reaction and is helpful if you have an indecisive group. All you have to decide is a color and a number (or you could go as a special card, too).
This is by far one of the easiest costumes to craft. You can go to your nearest Michaels and purchase plain shirts in the different card colors. Then you can pick up fabric paint and paint on your number or special symbol. It’s a super-easy, super-cheap DIY costume that will give you the opportunity to host a totally awesome craft party!
Spice rack
Lastly, we have the spice rack. This one may seem a little random; however, it’s super creative and one-of-a-kind. Moreover, there’s an abundance of spices, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally matching with someone. You can either wear a t-shirt with the spice of choice (kinda lame if you ask me), or you can have some fun with it and stunt as a super cute spice.
You can A., grab a plain shirt from Michaels that correlates to your selected spice (i.e., burnt orange for cinnamon) and then gather your fabric markers and draw away. Or you could go as a “sophisticated spice rack” and get a little more dressed up. Maybe it’s a cute dress that you can accessorize to scream “I am dressed up as cinnamon!” Regardless, you will have a super unique costume that will turn heads at every party.
Halloween may seem far away, but it’s never too early to start planning your costume. So skip the basic costumes that everyone uses yearly (I’m looking at you, M&Ms). Try something that’s trending (or not!). Grab your partner or group, or perhaps go by yourself, and make your way to the nearest craft store to begin your DIY costume adventure!
