By Henry Fisher | October 31, 2022
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Wouldn’t it be delightfully fitting if the article on last minute Halloween costumes was written on short notice?
Haha. Yeah.
Halloween is a time of great delight for those who love costuming, partying, and candy – though it can often be a season of woes to those of us who find ourselves suddenly needing a costume. Didn’t think you would need one? You’re here, so clearly you do.
The best thing when making a last minute costume is to take stock of your supply. Have any noticeable clothing that you could base a costume around? A fun jacket? A cool hat? No? Dang. Read on.
Simplicity is your friend, and relatively normal clothing can be turned into a recognizable character or style:
The gang from Scooby Doo are year-in and year-out some of the most common Halloween costumes. Is it because they are a beloved ensemble cast that investigates monsters and ghosts? Well, yeah, but also due to the plainness of their designs. Got a green shirt and khaki pants? Congratulations, you are now Shaggy.
The idea behind this simplicity can be expanded beyond the crew of the Mystery Machine. Many characters within contemporary settings wear contemporary clothing – some of which you may have a close match to. A flannel and jeans makes you a Lumberjack.
Further down this rabbit hole are the characters from advertisements:
While he may be an older joke, Jake from State Farm is easy to dress up as – he literally describes what he is wearing in the ad. Khakis. Well, a red polo too. Make a little State Farm logo on paper, tape it to your polo, boom. Costume done.
The same goes for other well known advertisement characters. Flo from Progressive or Mr. Clean is easy enough to do with a white shirt and white pants. For Flo, get yourself some paper and write Progressive on it. For Mr. Clean, just carry a swiffer, people will get it. Shave your head if you are dedicated, but it is not necessary.
With all of these examples, the key has always been using your resources. Think about characters set within the modern age and use your closet to steal their look:
For those of us a little less desperate, still try to think about your resources. Maybe at Spirit Halloween, you can get away with only buying parts of a costume – the majority coming from what you have already. This is a great way to save on money, plus it means those costume “parts” can be reused for next year!
My final suggestion is to do steampunk. What is steampunk? Great question. Vaguely Victorian, vaguely clockwork-esque. Just put some goggles on, you’ll do great. It's somewhat recognizable in its style, but so incredibly vague that you can make it work.
That’s it for me, my little fiends. Happy Halloween!