Halloween Costume Ideas for Women
1) Fictional/Real Life Characters:
You can dress up like your favorite character or celebrity without donning a silly plastic mask. Some ideas include:
A character from your favorite show: for example, love Family Guy? Why not dress up as Lois, with a green shirt and an orange wig? Or go as a classic character – maybe Mary Tyler Moore, or Lucy from I Love Lucy.
A character from your favorite movie: for example, if you like wild hair, why not dress up as Princess Leia? If you like outrageous outfits and makeup, there are the characters from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Be sexy, and go as Nancy from Sin City, with the stripper cowgirl look. Just think of a distinctive character in a movie, study their outfit, makeup, and hair, and then follow suit.
A celebrity: Jackie O. had a very specific style. Just search the thrift stores for that famous fifties look. Don’t forget the pearls and the hat! Or how about Marilyn Monroe? That look can be done fairly simply, with a curled blonde wig and a slinky dress. You can research your celebrities on Google images to get a good idea of what they wear. If you want to be a little scary, go for the Lizzie Borden look. Don’t forget the weapon!
2) Animals/Creatures
If you’re going for the cute and cuddly look, dressing up as animal can be a great choice (depending, of course, on the animal). On the other hand, if you want to be scary and ferocious, you can pull that off with an animal costume too. Animal costumes can range from incredibly simple (a little face paint – whiskers and a black nose – and some ears) to beautifully intricate. If you want to be creative, why not go as an animal people don’t generally think about or dress up as. For example, otters are cute and cuddly. Wear all brown, paint a big black nose on your face along with some whiskers, add some little ears, and carry a shell around with you. Or be fierce – go as an alligator or a fox. What about a hyena? Be creative. You could even go as a bug. There are a lot of cool bugs out there – try being a praying mantis.
3) Odd Objects
If you’re into the funny costumes, why not go as a random object? The possibilities for this are endless. Safety pin a bunch of white sheets together and wrap them repeatedly around your torso. There, you’re a roll of toilet paper. Paint phone buttons on a tee shirt and put an antenna on your head – now you’re a cell phone. Look around your house for other ideas. Be creative – you can make a very cheap and very funny costume out of things you have laying around.
4) Scary Things
Maybe you’re a Halloween purist, and prefer scary costumes. Scary costumes can be really effective without spending a lot of money or even having a lot of props. Makeup, however, is usually necessary (unless you’re a mask person). You can be a dead bride, pirate, prom queen, etc., by making your face a pale or white, giving yourself under eye circles, and finding the appropriate outfit, then distressing it so it appears worn/dirty/torn/etc. Add a little bit of blood in key places and you’re good to go. Or dress like some kind of creature of the night – think dark: dramatic dark makeup, dark clothing, etc. Be a serial killer – give yourself a psycho makeover (dark circles around the eyes, crazy hair, simple clothes) and pick a weapon to carry around. Be creative with the weapons – anything can be weapon, really. Why not carry a frying pan or a set of chopsticks? Or maybe a pillow case or a sewing needle?
5) Blast from the Past
Pick your favorite decade or era (and location), whether it be the Victorian Era or the 1920s, and create a costume based on that. These are good for people who like to pick out their own fabric and sew their own costumes, or for people who just like to put a lot of detail into their costumes. With the internet, it’s easy to research these ideas first to get a good idea of what you want to go for.
6) Sexy Costumes
It’s always fun to dress up sexy for Halloween. A lot of the looks have become kind of generic, though, so if you’re into super unique costumes, a lot of these probably won’t work for you. There’s always the Catholic schoolgirl (knee socks, short plaid skirt, sweater w/ collared shirt underneath, cute hairdo – maybe pigtails), or the cute Go-Go girl (think big boots and a short dress). The sexy vampire has long been a favorite, as has the nurse (short white collared dress, little white hat). A cigarette girl would be a fun and rather unique one to do – a scant but fancy outfit, high heels, sexy stockings, lots of makeup, and of course the cigarette tray (maybe even a little hat). You could be a “naughty” secretary (in small and tight “business” clothing) or a can-can dancer in a short, puffy skirt.
Whatever you decide to do, just have fun doing it and remember to give it a personal touch.
