Mallory Pace
Words by Mallory Pace
Halloween has returned once again, and along with it the anxiety of finding the perfect costume. We only get a few days each year to bring our creativity to life in the form of extravagant, witty and creative costumes, but the pressure comes on when it’s time to actually put it together. At least for me, it seems like I spend the months prior coming up with great ideas just to eventually pull out my sexy angel costume (which is quite sacrilegious when I think about it) for the third year in a row. You don’t have to spend $100 on Amazon to have a great costume. As a matter of fact, let’s not do that this year. Your local thrift stores or even your closet might have everything you need.
Here are eight creative and easy costume ideas that I hope to be seeing this Halloween:
- Barbie and Ken
The 2023 Barbie movie dominated pop culture for months, and it still does. There are plenty of scenes from the movie to curate a costume around. There’s the rollerblading scene where Barbie and Ken dress in an ‘80s neon skate set completed with kneepads and visors. Classic. If you identify with more of the Western Barbie, you can easily recreate the iconic pink vest and bell bottom look with a cowboy hat and boots. For Ken, find a black and white Western-style jacket and glue on the white fringe that you can find at any craft store. Pair that with black jeans, a western belt, a cowboy hat and voila!
For my Kens out there, another simple scene to recreate is Ken’s all-jean, no shirt look. Throw on a pair of jeans, let a white underwear band peek out and throw on a jean vest. Ditch the shirt and draw on abs if you have to — I won’t tell. For all my I’m-not-like-other-girls-but-go-feminism Barbies, Weird Barbie is an easy and fun costume idea. Wear a pink dress, mess your hair up and draw all over your face. Especially if you treated your Barbies as punching bags when you were a kid … it’s time for some justice.
- Peter Peter, Pumpkin Eater
This witty duo costume idea couldn’t be easier to put together. Find a t-shirt with a pumpkin on it (I have one from Walmart) and then either write or iron on the words “Peter Peter” onto another orange shirt for your partner. Then cover their face or hands with orange face paint to make “Peter peter, pumpkin eater.” Speaking from experience, it’s sure to get a few laughs.
- Shark attack
Another duo that makes perfect sense for Floridians is recreating a shark attack. Doubling as a way to stay cool, one person dresses up as a lifeguard and the other in a bathing suit with “blood” dripping from a body part. This has the perfect mix of shock factor and a twisted sense of humor, making for the ideal Halloween costume. You can also get as creative with this one as you’d like — whether you want to make the “shark bite” look realistic or pay an ode to Soul Surfer, it’ll be a good costume, especially if you’re hanging out around the Beaches.
- Adam Sandler
A personal favorite, dressing up as Adam Sandler is niche but super comfortable. Despite being an award-winning actor, Sandler is known for his laid-back streetwear style consisting of knee-length basketball shorts and seemingly the first shirt he can find. Sometimes it’s a zip-up hoodie, sometimes a classic dad t-shirt, or if Mr. Sandler is feeling extra spiffy, a golf collared shirt. It’s like he doesn’t know he’s a famous actor ,and that’s why I’m obsessed with it.
This outfit you can surely find in your closet, if not your brother’s or boyfriend’s. Throw together the perfect Dad-fit with some baggy gym shorts and any baggy top, either a T-shirt, golf shirt or zip-up. Complete the look with sneakers and long white socks.
- Ghosts
Again, classic and easy. This is a good last-minute group idea if you don’t feel like trying too hard. Ghosts are the epitome of Halloween, after all. Find some white sheets from your local thrift store (I found two huge ones and cut them in half) and cut some holes for eyes and you’re good to go. You can also cut a hole for the head if you’re going to be out and about.
This takes minimal effort, but it can also be customized to your liking. For example, by adding cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, you’re now Western ghosts. It doesn’t make much sense, but Halloween isn’t about being logical. Or you can add tights and boots to make it a bit sexier. The options are endless, just get creative.
- Carrie
Another personal favorite, the 1976 horror film “Carrie” is the blueprint of villain origin stories, and I think we all see a bit of ourselves in her. This costume requires a bit of mess but find a long dress with thin straps, cover your chest and face in fake blood and throw a tiara on — you can finally be the prom queen you never got to be! This costume is timeless and is sure to turn a few heads. You can even get into character by somehow getting sweet revenge on an ex-boyfriend or friend and blame it on method acting … without burning the place down, that is.
- Us
The 2019 Jordan Peele film “Us” is a perfect group costume for friends or family. It’s easy, creepy and recognizable without being basic. Put together an all-red outfit of pants and a collared shirt and carry around a fake pair of scissors (or real, depending on where you’re going). To up the ante, walk around the way the family does in the film — quickly and on tiptoes. It looks creepier than it sounds.
- Cheetah Girls
If you have the time to do a little extra searching, the Cheetah Girls is the perfect costume for a group of girls (or boys… who cares?). In the movie, the girls wear different colored tracksuits and matching headbands. The color scheme is pink, purple, orange and blue but really anything would work. With a few trips to the thrift stores, or somewhere online, find a matching tracksuit set and throw a headband on. Or ditch the tracksuit and find something relatively similar. Cheetah-printed top and colored sweatpants would do the trick as well. This costume is fun and easy to play with, so let your imagination run wild.
As stressful as it might be, Halloween is your chance to put those creative thoughts begging to be released to good use. The best part of this holiday is nothing is off the table when it comes to costumes, so be as funny, sexy or scary as you’d like. Just eat a lot of candy, drink too much spiked witch’s brew and have fun. After all, the next thing you know it’s time to put up the Christmas tree and have Thanksgiving dinner with your in-laws … that’s even scarier than Halloween.
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