It’s late September, a.k.a. the perfect time to start figuring out what you’d like to be for Halloween. If you’re strapped for cash, invited to a last-minute costume party, or maybe just lazy, then here are six fictional characters you can dress up as using stuff you might already have in your closet.
- Elle Woods, Legally Blonde
What you’ll need: pink, pink, and more pink. Seriously, just reach into your closet and pull out anything in Elle Woods’ signature hue, the more feminine the better. You get bonus points if you have blonde hair. Double bonus points if you have a chihuahua. Triple bonus points if you learn how to do the bend and snap, and then teach everyone how to do the bend and snap at your Halloween party.
2. Harry Potter, the Harry Potter series
What you’ll need: glasses and a lightning bolt scar. Seriously, HP is such a recognizable figure that all it takes is those two things for your costume to come across. Sure, you can go the whole hog and get a wizard robe or one of those Gryffindor scarves, but here’s the thing–Harry did spend a lot of the books dressed as a muggle, which means a t-shirt and jeans. If you already wear glasses, then just take a Sharpie to your forehead and you’re good to go. If you really feel like going the extra mile, go outside and find a stick. Congratulations! Now you’ve got yourself a wand.
3. Wednesday Addams, The Addams Family
What you’ll need: a black dress and pigtails. I can verify that this is an easy one to throw together because I literally threw this costume together and went as Wednesday a few years ago. I didn’t have a dress that looked like hers so I improvised–I wore a black long-sleeved shirt with a white button down underneath it, and a black skirt. I made my sister braid my hair into pigtails (because I literally still can’t braid hair) and tah dah! Instant Wednesday. If anyone doesn’t get your costume and asks who you’re supposed to be, say I’m a homicidal maniac. They look just like everyone else.
4. Kim Possible, Kim Possible
What you’ll need: a black turtleneck, olive green pants, and black gloves. Here’s a costume idea for the redheads–see if you can find a naked mole rat or at the very least, a big belt to complete your look. Don’t tell me you never wanted to be Kim Possible when you were growing up. Here’s your chance to live out that childhood fantasy!
5. Jake or Elwood Blues, The Blues Brothers
What you’ll need: suit, tie, hat, sunglasses, and a mission from God. Okay, I’ll admit that this one is kind of a stretch–you might not have a suit and tie lying around, but I’ll bet you have a white button-down, a pair of black pants, and black sunglasses. The hat, tie, and jacket you could probably easily thrift or even borrow from a friend. You’d be the coolest person at your Halloween party, especially if you get a friend to dress up with you and especially if the two of you serenade your party with a rendition of “Stand By Your Man” (complete with hand gestures). And if all else fails…
6. Charlie Brown, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
What you’ll need: an old bed sheet and a pair of scissors. That’s it. The genius of this costume is that, out of all the costumes in this list, it’s the easiest to throw together and it’s instantly recognizable. Everyone at the party is going to know who you are. Another cool thing is that you decide how you want to create this costume–do you want to actually cut out the holes, or do you want to just color some on with black marker for a more cartoon-like effect? Either way, if you really want to impress, make sure that you carry around a bag of rocks.
So there you have it: six different costume ideas that’ll hardly take any effort at all. If none of these tickled your fancy, you can always just dive into the back of your closet and find the Halloween costume you wore last year. No one’ll remember, right?
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