Halloween Costume Couture: 3+ ideas you can pull from your closet!

Halloween turned Halloweekend, especially this year as it lands on a Friday #TGIF, makes room for more than one costume. Niche references and the digital world expand halloween costumes ideas far and wide which means either D.I.Y-ing a replica of the costume or buying things to put together a close enough representation of the costume. You cannot buy a Fancy Nancy or a Subway Surfers costume at Spirit Halloween, although after a stroll through earlier this October, they are getting good at keeping up with pop culture trends such as Glinda and Elphaba costumes to Bluey onesies.

With our knowledge of unsustainable and unethical fashion practices, it can be a personal decision on whether to buy a costume online/in-store or spark up your creativity, and craft it yourself.

Costume prices can affect one’s decision as well, if looking for a high quality and timeless halloween costume. Sites like Dolls Kill and Fashion Nova advertise costumes priced at $80 to $100 and if you are not looking to be Snow White for Halloween for the next 10 years, unrealistic prices can be discouraging.

I compiled three costumes that you can tailor to your own personal style in whatever ever way you please while still being recognizable and feeling #SWAG or #SEXY hehe. I wanted to mention that you MAY find MOST of the items in your closet but do not be afraid to ask around or find cheap alternatives at thrift stores. I also inserted within the list of costume items you may buy to elevate the look, totally optional though. XOXO

The rise in leopard, cheetah, snake and zebra print over the past few years reminds Gen Z of the early 2000’s they were not old enough for. Animal print is neutral in my opinion and are definitely great pieces to have in a capsule wardrobe. But there is no doubt that the McBling and Ed Hardy era is very in right now, which is promising that you may have, or a friend may have a piece or two of animal print in their closet.

• Leopard/Cheetah

I put these two together because the prints are similar and you can decide on which one from what you have. This is one of my costumes for this year! I own two leopard tops and was recently gifted a pair of leopard shorts from my friend (shoutout Annalise). However, I did buy ears from Five Below and it came with a face sticker for extra glitz and glam. But black eyeliner can create the same effect even if you just draw a nose and whiskers.

For a tail, that I did not have nor wanted to buy, I used a brown scarf that looks nothing like a tail but will give people the idea. Have fun and play around with it!

• Snake

This is easily achievable if you are someone with snake skin boots or a bag. I have a snake skin bag but personally that is about all the reptiles I own. Since snake print is in, thrift stores may have corsets or tube tops, possibly even mini skirts. Pairing that with your boots or bag and adding some fangs to your teeth, you are now a sexy, slithering, snake!

Adding a scarf to this outfit even if it is not snake skin patterned, would elevate the long and wriggly essence of a snake.

News/Life Editor, Taylor Moore put her own spin on the snake this year!

• Zebra

This one is very similar to our leopard and cheetah idea. Whether you have a zebra top or bottom pairing the item with another black or white piece will work! A tall black boot would be fun along with face stickers or eyeliner creating a zebra stripe look. Ears are an option purchase because space buns, half up or half down style, can resemble zebras’ ears. If you have blonde hair, black clip-in extensions would be a nice touch and vice versa for brunettes, white extensions. Your hair can be a useful accessory for less complicated costumes.

I have to give credit where credit is due because my friend James, who is a fashion major at Cal Poly Pomona, actually brought this idea up to me. He was working on a school assignment where he had to create a line of clothes. James chose cocktail dressing representing actual cocktail recipes

This was a ground breaking and revolutionary idea in my head and decided it would be fun to up the extravagance and turn the dresses into costumes. These costumes are where my crafters out there will thrive. There are a few simple D.I.Y’s in this section with step-by-step instructions to animate these outfits further.

• Martini

Any white, cream, pale yellow, light green, dress or skirt option will work as your base for the glass. You may choose any color but to be biblically accurate, martinis are typically a clear yet foggy color. I think two-pieces can be fun for this costume to demonstrate liquid in the glass. For example, your top (one color) is the liquid and your bottoms (another color) is the glass.

Here is where we get creative! With green construction paper, trace or free hand an oval shape for the olive and cut that out. With the red construction paper, trace or freehand a smaller circle for the stuffed aspect of the olive. Once you have taped or glued the paper together, you can buy a thin head band and attach the paper to the top or use a clip to attach the olive to your head. Viola! You are a dirty, little martini hehe.

• Aperol Spritz

My bright orange dress is perfect to recreate the drink of the summer! This dress paired with kitten heels and jewelry of choice is simply a great ‘going-out’ look. By printing out the Aperol logo and attaching that somewhere on your outfit will define the drink and your costume.

The final touch is crafting your citrus slice. With orange construction paper, trace or freehand an orange slice and cut that out. With yellow construction paper, trace or freehand three triangles that will fit into your orange slice and cut them out. Once taped or glued together, attach to your head with either the headband or clip options.

• Old Fashion

This costume can be perceived in many different ways. I think a fun play on this costume would be to wear a flapper dress, expressing the ‘old fashion’ angle of it and displaying the history of cocktail dresses #historicallyaccurate. But if not, any brown or warm clothing pieces will do as the drink is mainly whiskey. The drink is served with a cherry and an orange peel curl. For the orange peel curl, I think an orange scarf or ribbon would be a chic fashion touch to the outfit.

Still adding our crafty spin to it, we will need to create our liquor-soaked cherry! With red construction paper, trace or freehand a cherry shape and cut it out. With green construction paper, trace or freehand a stem and cut it out. Normally the old fashioned cherries do not have stems but for the sake of not having just a red dot on ur head, adding a stem vitalizes the costume.

I could not find any Inso pictures for this particular outfit but I found a Tik Tok that gave other cocktail concept costume ideas, that may be more accessible for you!

As a society there are some bugs we love and some we are disgusted and terrified by. All bugs deserve love as they are active players in how our ecosystem runs. Did the “Bee Movie” teach y’all nothing?? But creepy, crawly insects thrive as a halloween theme and fear for many. So not only do these costumes have humorous undertones, they switch the narrative to represent bugs as cute and sustainable beings to our planet. #Savethebees

• Lady Bug

If you are not someone who already owns a pair of fairy wings or wings in general, for all of these costumes those are necessary to fully transform into a gorgeous butterfly lol.

For the lady bug outfit, all that is required is a red shirt. If you have a polka dot piece, even better. Adding white or black dots to a red shirt is an at home alternative if you cannot get exactly what you are searching for. Fabric paint is available at Michaels along with dotting brushes to ensure an accurate size of dot and perfect circle. I would pair the shirt with black micro shorts or a mini skirt layered on top of tights. Red tights or polka dot tights would make the costume extra adorable.

Along with the wings, the antennas are just as important to represent your bug of choice. To craft the antennas for each bug costume, tightly roll black pipe cleaners in a flat spiral. Do not roll the entire pipe cleaner as you will attach the unroll end to a head band or clip by wrapping it around. Bold makeup with red eye shadow or dots can be an extra option if you are feeling bland.

• Bee

I did not have a fully black and yellow striped shirt but I made with what I had. I paired the top with a black skirt and added leg warmers for the fuzziness of a bee’s body. Striped tights and a yellow eye look would amplify this costume if it is a little too plain for your taste.

Just do not forget your wings and antenna!

• Dragonfly

This costume is for those with a lot of reflective wear in their wardrobe. Blue, purple and green are the primary colors for this costume and can be styled in any combination of those colors. Velvet fabrics have a sheen to them and work as an alternative if you do not own reflective pieces. Sparkle and jewels also can shine in substitution for reflective pieces as well.

The dragonfly conveys mysticism in a realm with fairies and gnomes, so utilize the whimsy of dragonflies in fantasy worlds if you create this costume.

The wings are a little different from the other bugs, which is ultimately not a big deal and any pair of wings will do. But if you are looking for actual dragonfly wings, look for wider and skinnier pairs for a more precise costume.

Happy Halloween! I hope I inspired you if you were stressed out about what to be and how much money you will have to spend. You do not have to splurge to have #SWAG especially on Halloween. Have a craft day with your friends and create your olives or antennas together because this list is compiled in a way, trios or groups of friends can simply and cost efficiently coordinate. Before shopping for something you may only wear once, rethink what hidden gems you have in your closet that with a little brain-powered creativity can be transformed into a unique and comfortable costume.

Sarah Van Buskirk can be reached at bysarahvanbuskirk@gmail.com.