Homemade Costumes & Cheap Costume Ideas
This is crazy! It’s already October. Can you believe it? I sure can’t. The holiday season is upon us and first at bat is Halloween. In my opinion, Halloween is such a wasteful holiday. I don’t even know why we celebrate it. I bet you don’t too (don’t you dare Google it). I have always had a hard time selecting the right costume for me. One time, I lost a bet and had to buy this inflatable Ostrich costume that quite frankly was the most hideous thing I have ever seen. It was this:
Imagine me trying to ask a lady for a dance while having that on. LOL. “Hey girl, do you want to dance with me and my … ummmm….. ostrich?” After that Halloween, I vowed to never wear such a wasteful costume moving forward. The 3 years following that debacle, I spent less than $20 each year for my Halloween costume dressing up as a nurse, Vulcan, and sheriff, respectively. Yeah, I said VULCAN!
Here are a few other money-saving costumes. The key is to work with what you already have or can borrow:
For Men & Women
Geek Squad from Best Buy. Simple starched white shirt, clip-on black tie, black pants, white socks, and black shoes. Add a pair of cheap reading glasses with a thick black frame for the full effect. Megan Fox loves nerds (she said so on Conan)!
Starbucks Barista. Borrow a green Starbucks apron from a friend or buy one. Then purchase a latte and save the cup! Easy!
Walmart or Target Employee. For Walmart, navy blue top/cardigan/vest and khakis. Photoshop and print out a badge and head out to your local office supply store for lamination and clip. For Target, Khakis and a Red Shirt / Polo. Look at these guys below, they’re all soooo happy in their Halloween Target Costumes. Or are they actual employees? Oh well…
Safari Guide / Zookeeper. Wear a khaki top and bottom with a khaki colored fisherman’s hat
Nurse. Borrow someone’s scrubs
Surgeon. The Nurse costume with the addition of a mask and bandanna over your head
Chief of Surgery. The Surgeon costume with a lab coat
Graduate. Wear your old graduation gear. It’s probably dusty and full of moth holes, but at least you’ll look “accomplished”
Mechanic. Borrow a jumpsuit
Fighter Pilot. The mechanic costume with aviator sunglasses
Cowboy/Cowgirl. Tight jeans, plaid shirt, and bandanna around the neck. Buy a cowboy hat if you have extra money
Bicycle Cop. White polo, sunglasses, dark shorts, and a helmet. So Easy.
Tourist. Hawaiian shirt, a camera, puka shells and shorts.
For Men
Male Stripper. Requires little to no costume. Add a Bow-Tie. Haha
Werewolf. Go shirtless, buy fangs and wear jeans. Voila instant Twilight Werewolf. It helps if you have a 1 pack or a keg. Chicks dig it.
For Ladies
Sexy [profession goes here]. Put on something really sexy. Look in the mirror and figure out which profession matches your outfit.
Banshee. Long white night gown. Add tons of powder to your skin to pale out. optional: spray in white streaks into your hair for an added effect.
You have any other suggestions for cheap and easy Halloween costumes? We only have a two weeks left!
La revedere (Romanian)
collaborated with my friend Jackie
Related posts:
Great job Zen on the article! I think I’m going to be a vampire: wear something that I have already that is black and lacey + dark eyeshadow + hot red lipstick + spiked heels + some cheap fangs = instant sexy vampire!
be a S.W.A.T. member by buying or using the following items:
dress in all black. a baseball umpire vest and some velcro with reflective lettering. a full-covered bicycle helmet, with a head lamp taped to it. plastic or BB gun to finish off the look.
check out micheals, walmart, and your little brother’s toy bin for the items above.
or be Britney Spears (pre-crazy): plaid skirt, tank top with a button up white shirt tied in a knot.
Thank you for the great article. For me, it’s still too early to decide what to be for Halloween. I like to wait until either the day before or the day of. That’s when the real creativity comes out. One of my Halloween favorites was being a member of Kai (Asian Boy Band). Don’t ask me why, but chicks dig it.
My friends and I are PROS at cheap costumes. Here are some tried and true ideas:
- a member of the Enterprise. For Star Trek guys, all you need is a solid colored long-sleeved shirt and black pants. For Star Trek girls, you just need a solid mini-dress or a jimmy-rigged oversized t-shirt. Some felt and scissors will do the rest.
- Ugly Betty. I dressed up as her last year. Sadly, it didn’t take much to get “ugly.”
- an athlete or sports fan. Just wear whatever sports or team gear you have. Viola! (My nephews do this all the time.)
- with some posterboard, markers, and imagination, you can “dress up” as a myspace page, a facebook page, even an i-phone! (Again, a nephew trick. One of them was a myspace page last year.)
- If you’re Filipino and you have some Filipino formal wear or stuff you had to wear at a relative’s wedding, you can sport the Imelda and/or Ferdinand Marcos look. (Seriously. We convinced a friend to do this. She was going to a Halloween karaoke party, which made her Imelda costume even more hilarious!)
- Speaking of which… if you have some “culture night” costumes laying around… use it! (Yes. Even the bahag!)
- Jabbawockeez (or anyone of the dance troops on ABDC). Don’t act like you don’t own a Jabbawockeez t-shirt! Just buy a cheap white mask. BAM!
Um, that’s all that comes to mind. Good luck!
joanne´s last blog ..kudos
Awesome article! I got a good one. I’ll be invisible. My costume will be so good that you can’t see me, hear me or even talk to me! Just kidding, not sure what I’ll be. I’m thinking Manny Pacquiao.
I still have no idea what I want to be.
I was thinking something along the lines of “The Emperor’s New Clothes“. eh?
[...] I know. I promise next week will be much funner!!! Have a great weekend and get going on those costumes, Halloween is 1 week [...]
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Good night, Happy day-after-Halowen! Today the real scares come when all you one night standers find out you just got a nasty case of herpes.
!
Liked the post man, I didnt think of this
It would save me quite some money on my costumes if I had landed on your page earlier. Thanks for sharing these great Ideas! By the way it’ll be perfect if you can outfit your dog to go out to the party with you! Check out Dog Costumes for Halloween here.
The inflatable Ostrich costume is HOT! It’s so hilarious but definitely you’re gonna be the focus among the crowd if you wear this to the party in the Halloween!
Dog Costumes for Halloween ´s last blog ..Batman Dog Costume, Halloween Dog Costume Ideas
I love the bicycle cop idea! You’d really be unique and you wouldn’t have to walk anywhere – you could just hop on the bike!
Tina @ Bartender Costume´s last blog ..Tavern Wench And Tavern Man Costumes
I would like to be banshee,,,with untied hairs and i wanna add one more thing red color or ketchup around my lips just to make it more spooky..
Now days anyway you can save a buck is the way to go. Thanks for the suggestions.
It would save me quite some money on my costumes if I had landed on your page earlier. thank you for sharing these fully exquisite ideas! By the way it’ll be perfect if you can outfit your dog to go out to the party with you! Check out Dog Costumes for Halloween here.
The inflatable Ostrich costume is HOT! It’s so hilarious but certainly you’re gonna be the focus among the crowd if you wear this to the party in the Halloween!
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