11 Last Minute Halloween Costume Ideas
Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. I love dressing up and luckily I usually have a good reason to do with Halloween parties. I am never at a loss for ideas on what to dress up as - in fact, this year I had my Halloween costume figured out back in February (because I’m a dork). If unlike me you are struggling to come up with something even now with Halloween only a few days away, I have come up with a few easy costumes to throw together on short notice.
1. Witch
This one is definitely basic- but it’s also really easy. What I love about this particular costume is that it can be the base of so many other costumes as well.
Items needed:
A black dress (any length)
Black Tights
Black shoes
Black or dark lipstick (a vampy burgundy or red works just as well)
Dark Eyeliner
Mascara
Additional options:
A black or white wig
A broom or wand
2. Wednesday Addams from the Addams Family
A knee length black dress
Dark Lipstick
A black wig that you can braid into two braids
Or if you have dark hair that grows out of your own head - even better.
3. A Detective
Trench coat
Hat
Dark glasses
Additional options:
A pipe
4. A 50’s housewife
Bathrobe
Pajamas
Curlers for your hair
Face Mask
Slippers
And with this costume you won’t have to change when you get home- just crawl into bed!
5. A Hippie
Vest
Patterned Shirt
Big Glasses
Floppy Hat
Just put on everything you own that is leather, suede, fringed or patterned and slap some big glasses on and you’re good to go.
6. Lara Croft, Tomb Raider
Tank Top
Cargo Pants
Heavy Boots
Backpack
Throw on a leather jacket and hat and you can be the female Indiana Jones!
7. Bank Robber
I did this one a few years back when I was at a loss for what to wear. It was actually one of my favorite costumes I’ve ever worn - and super easy to do)
Striped top
Black pants
Black Gloves
Black Shoes
Black knit hat
Mask
(or dark glasses if you’re in a pinch)
White pillowcase
I stuffed my pillowcase with paper that I wrote on to look like money and stapled a paper dollar sign to the outside of the pillowcase. The entire costume took about 30 minutes to put together.
8. Harry Potter
Round glasses
Striped Scarf
A wand (a long twig does the trick)
Eyeliner (to draw on Harry’s iconic “lightning” scar)
9. Lumberjack
Jeans
Plaid Shirt
Fake Beard
(you can either purchase one or draw one on with eyeliner or mascara)
10. Rosie the Riveter
A blue short-sleeve shirt or dress
A red bandanna
Red lipstick
11. A Comic Book or “Pop Art” Character
I have done this before and really the only thing required is a working knowledge of makeup and a little time. There are tons of tutorials on Pinterest and YouTube that show how to do this. Supplies-wise all you really need is the following:
A black Eyeliner
A White eyeliner
Red Lipstick
To add more color and detail to the look, you can add “Wow” and "Pow” on your face or body. This was one of my simplest and yet most effective costumes.
These aren’t the most ground-breaking costumes. But- they will do the job in a pinch! If you have any other great last minute costume ideas let me know in the comments.
