C.J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
Unique and Easy DIY Halloween Costume Ideas
I love to dress up. I don’t need it to be Halloween in order to do so either! Over the years, I have dressed up as many characters and have gotten some of my friends and family members to do so too! I love a good theme party as an excuse to make others dress up with me.
In this post, I’ve scoured my photo inventory of some of my favorite costume ideas. Some will require a trip to a thrift store, your closet or maybe even online to find the costume or details.
Read on to learn about our unique and easy DIY Halloween costume ideas.
1- Movie Characters
Pulp Fiction Mia Wallace Cosplay
Movies are a great source of inspiration. I fall in love with some of the characters based on their costume design alone!
Pulp Fiction has lots of characters to gain some inspiration from. I saw this dark wig on Amazon and instantly thought of the Mia Wallace character from the movie.
DIY complete Mia Wallace costume
I bought the wig and then found the shirt and pants in my closet. If you don’t have these items, Amazon has a complete Mia Wallace costume available for purchase.
Easy DIY Mia Wallace Costume Idea
To put the look together, I Googled the DVD cover to look at her makeup (which was rather simple) and set to work. The whole costume came together quickly at a low cost as I only had to buy the wig.
DIY Zoolander Costume
Years ago, we had a Zoolander Zombie party after being inspired by the Derek Zoolander character. The theme had everyone come as a fashion victim from the past. It wasn’t my best party theme BUT some good costumes came out of it.
My husband came as Derek Zoolander, of course. He found a vintage Member’s Only jacket at a second hand shop and we found some MC Hammer style pants on Amazon. I found his bandana at Hobby Lobby. I lined his eyes with a little black eyeliner, he sported the “blue steel” look and a fun costume was born!
2- Book Characters
The Wizard of Oz is always an easy book to gain costume inspiration from. I found this Dorothy costume online and found the red glitter shoes at Target. I was going to apply some red glitter spray paint to some heels, but when I saw the glitter flats, I thought that would be a better option since I wore it to school on our annual “Book Character Day” when I was a teacher. One year I went as Ladybug Girl too.
If you don’t want to buy the actual costume, I always recommend shopping some thrift stores to find pieces that match the style of the character you are trying to create.
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3- Music Video Characters
For the Zoolander Zombie party, I came as rock star wannabe. I found the light up wig on Amazon, and pieced the rest together with many other fun things I found in my closet. Yes, I own animal print leggings and I love them!
The next music video character I created was the “sexy” girls from Robert Palmer 1980’s videos, Addicted to Love and Simply Irresistible.
The slicked back hair, heavy makeup and black dress is an easy one for anyone to pull off. I first created the look for a Kevin Bacon music video contest (which I was a finalist in…see the video below).
You can see clips of me as many characters throughout his video for Go My Way.
I recreated the look recently just for fun. I found a similar black slip dress at a thrift store and already had the black heels. You could also add some sheer black tights and some false lashes for a bit more glam.
4- Celebrity Couples
Our version of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love
One year, I put together a Halloween party and told people they should try to come dressed as someone famous. My husband and I decided on becoming the infamous duo of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. Once again, I ordered some appropriate wigs and we scavenged thrift store for costumes.
Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love Costume Idea
At the time I couldn’t find sunglasses to match the ones Kurt Cobain famously wore, so I bought some black ones and rubbed some red paint on them to make them look like his.
5- Gym Fanatics
Fitness Costumes
I once had a fitness party and everyone had to come dressed as a fitness guru. One of my friends came in a 1980’s leotard while others came in sweatsuits. One person even came in a complete Spandex bodysuit!
My husband found an awesome vintage matching polyester Adidas sweatsuit and we paired it with some sweatbands. I created my 80’s aerobics instructor look out of some vintage and new dance wear finds.
6- Your Future Self
Future Self Costume Idea
To surprise my niece and nephew one Halloween, my husband and I arrived at their house as our “future selves”. My mom had given me a pair of vintage suspenders and the idea started from that. My husband wore the suspenders with an old white t-shirt and some of my grandma’s glasses with the lenses taken out so he could see.
I threw together one my grandmother’s old dresses with a flowy top and added some cheap plastic glasses I found on Amazon. I slicked Tommy’s hair down flat with a little gel and I wore a wig. I used brown eyeliner to draw lots of wrinkles on our faces. Our niece and nephew thought it was pretty hilarious.
7- Your Favorite Animal
Peacock Costume Idea
If you are an animal fanatic, dressing as one would be fun! Think of your favorite animal and then start putting together your costume. Dressing as your dog or cat could be super funny!
I like peacocks and dressed as one to attend a Halloween performance of Dracula at a local theater. It was Halloween, but I was almost one of the only people dressed up. Oh well, I liked the look!
Want a comfortable animal costume idea? Try a onesie! One of my coworkers came to work in a Unicorn onesie once and she was cute and comfy all day.
C.J. Braden is a regular contributor and editor for Carolyn’s Blooming Creations. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Little Ways to Get Back To You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.