October is amazing. It has some of the best weather all year round; it’s not too warm outside, yet still warm enough to go out. It’s football (and football snacking) season. And, most importantly, the best holiday is waiting at the end of the month: Halloween. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t believe that Halloween receives its flowers like this holiday should. There aren’t any holiday obligations such as a dinner or ceremony — instead, you get to choose how you spend it and who you spend it with. Some people (like me) embrace the ambiance and settle in with on-theme treats and the perfect spooky movie. Others take the opportunity to go out — dare I say, all out, in the best costumes they can come up with.
But if you are a part of the latter group, you might know that the fun also comes with a key struggle: It’s the big event, a party or time for trick-or-treating, your costume is on and you feel great. All of a sudden, the horror! Someone is wearing the exact same costume as you. Seeing one doppelganger might not be too bad, but seeing a whole army of Hannah Montanas or Harley Quinns? That’s not so fun.
Not to mention, it’s hard to find original inspiration. The second you see a costume recommendation on TikTok, a million people have already seen it and hundreds have already recreated it. So, if you’re looking for niche Halloween costume ideas that are safe from TikTok oversaturation (but still recognizable!), you’ve come to the right place.
Fancy Nancy
Nancy from the Fancy Nancy books is such an awesome idea for a costume ! Her whimsical and maximalist style has been all over TikTok, especially for birthday party inspo, but as far as costumes go, it’s still pretty niche. For a costume like this, there is no wrong way to execute it, though I would recommend a feather boa, a tiara, an elaborate purse, and lots of tulle.
Scooby-Doo villains
How many costumes have you seen of the Scooby-Doo gang? But how many costumes have you seen of Scooby-Doo villains? This is a perfect costume idea if you’re looking for something a bit more noticeable without accidentally matching with a bunch of people. Bonus points if you find a Mystery Gang and get a picture with them!
A bed bug
For those who like the idea of dressing up as a bee or a ladybug, but want something a little more unique: This costume can be taken literally, or using word play by dressing up as a bug in your favorite PJ set. Make sure to add a sleep mask, slippers, and hair rollers or a bonnet for the full effect.
A fly on the wall
Similar to a bed bug, this is a costume that can be done in a literal sense. Simple dress up as a fly, and stick your back to the wall all evening. If you have a friend, you can convince them to follow suit, or to dress up as a flower to be a wallflower!
Barbie From The Movies
When it comes to Barbie, everyone always goes doll — but no one ever considers the Barbie Cinematic Universe (BCU). Dressing up as a Barbie can be a fun and easy look, but dressing up as your favorite Barbie movie character is all the more iconic. I’d love to see someone as Odette from Barbie in Swan Lake or Liana and Alexa in Barbie & the Diamond Castle.
Sam from A Cinderella Story
Hilary Duff absolutely ate down with A Cinderella Story. This is a fun and iconic character that you will most likely not see! The best part about going as Sam is that she has multiple outfit options, including her dress at the dance, her baseball outfit, or her diner uniform, roller skates and all.
Freaky Friday with your friends
This is the perfect costume if you’re going to a smaller party. One great thing about having friends is picking up on their personality, how they dress, and any other quirks they may have. If you can do a good impression of your friend, can dress like them, and vice versa, then you have a low-effort costume with a strong reception.
Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler is so amazing that he’s recognizable with a simple shirt and basketball shorts for an outfit. It’s similar to how anyone in a suit with a bald cap is Pitbull; the outfit is just iconic. You could follow the outfit recipe, or recreate an outfit from Sandler’s characters in any of his movies. If you’re looking to do a group costume, each person can select a different Adam Sandler era or movie.
A lava lamp
Dressing up as a lava lamp is an example of a costume that seems complicated, but just needs a bit of creativity. So long as you can sew, draw, or create blobs onto a colorful shirt or dress, then wear black, white, or silver for a hat and shoes, you have a lava lamp costume!
Meredith Blake from The Parent Trap
The Parent Trap is a great movie with so many characters to dress up as for Halloween. With that being said, Meredith Blake is an iconic character with a great wardrobe and it seems that no one dresses up as her! Grab your chic little workout gear and a dash of red lipstick and you’re set.
Soot sprites
If you’re a Studio Ghibli fan and want a costume to reflect that, dressing up as a soot sprite from My Neighbor Totoro. All that really needs to be done is to wear an all-black outfit, cut out a pair of eyes, and add some colorful stars to resemble the konpeitō candy This is a costume idea that can be easily noticed by other studio Ghibli fans, and is neat enough to be liked by others.
A Work Of Art
This is a great idea for anyone who likes to DIY for Halloween. There are endless amounts of artwork to create into a costume. Recreate a person within a piece or the entire piece. If you’re a makeup lover, you can also easily recreate a piece of art onto your face. If you can encourage a few friends to join in, you can easily create a gallery.
Dumb ways to die
The dumb ways to die public service campaign was one of the most viral videos when it was first on the internet. The advertisement cleverly used to inform people about train safety quickly became an earworm that some still think of every now and then. The video with simple colorful blobs quickly became a franchise with multiple videos and games that are still being created to this day. Dressing up with a few friends as dumb ways to die characters can be an easy and memorable costume, but make sure you can sing the song!
A bird
Dressing up as a bird can be the easiest or most complex Halloween costume, it’s all up to you! There are so many bird species found around the world that you can get as common or as niche as you’d like. If you can convince someone to wear an outdoors outfit with binoculars, they can go as a birdwatcher to match.
The zoo
This costume is similar to dressing up as birds… it’s just a little different. Of course, dressing up as animals is one of the most common costumes ever, but it’s the mindset that makes this a little more original. If you and your friends coordinate which animals to be, and allocate somebody as a zookeeper, then you’ve just created the zoo as a group costume!
The Kratt brothers
Chris and Martin Kratt were two of the coolest people on television growing up. With shows like Zoboomafoo and Wild Kratts, the Kratts brought awareness to the importance of animals, the environment, and climate change. With their popularity on TikTok, their iconic vests with blue and green colors could be an excellent but niche duo costume.
The Hoovers from Little Miss Sunshine
Little Miss Sunshine is one of those movies that so many people love, but I’ve never seen a Halloween costume of. This is definitely one costume where the more people you get involved, the more iconic and cohesive the vision gets. If this is a costume you want to do solo, I suggest recreating Olive’s talent outfit from the pageant.
Fran Fine from The Nanny
The Nanny was one of the best shows to watch as a kid while being sick and stuck at home. Fran Fine is a character so iconic that people can recognize without ever seeing the show. Her over-the-top ’90s outfits are the perfect blend of costume, iconic, and camp all rolled into one. If you’ve been looking for a couples costume, ask your partner to be your Maxwell Sheffield.
Any character from Recess
When I think about TV shows I grew up with but have never seen a costume for, Recess immediately comes to mind. This show is about the antics, politics, and structure of recess as a kid in elementary school. The core six, TJ and friends, are the star faces of the cartoon, but many of the side characters are so fleshed out that they can be even more niche but still easily recognizable.
Maya & Anna from Pen15
Pen15 is a hilarious, painfully accurate television series about life in middle school. Regardless of what years you were in middle school, the shared experiences transcend the 2000s setting and the show is relatable to almost anyone. The iconic wardrobe of the show, mixed with Maya and Anna’s character quirks, result in an awesome duo costume to do with your best friend.
Past Presidents
The Hamilton trend totally put this idea into my mind. For this costume, you can put any spin you’d like on it. You can stick with the Hamilton costume style, decide to go à la Mount Rushmore, stay traditional, spice it up, or anything in between or beyond. This is also a great group costume idea. I’d love to see Herbert Hoover, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt all in the same room!