Halloween is the perfect time of the year to dress up and express your creativity. Yet year after year, we always see the same basic costumes. As someone who loves Halloween and coming up with costume ideas, here are 12 costumes for groups, duos, and individuals that are both recognizable and unique.
- Artist and Painter
As an art history major, I may be biased, but this may be my favorite idea. You could dress as Vangogh and Sunflowers or The Starry Night or Davinci and the Mona Lisa. Of course, you could opt for a more niche pair, but these two options are great if you want to remain recognizable.
- Cryptid
If you’re looking for an open-ended costume that’s a bit dark and mysterious, or if you enjoy folklore, this idea is for you. From Mothman to Bigfoot or the Yeti, there’s an extensive list of cryptids to choose from. You can style these in a multitude of ways, leaving ample room for creativity!
- Fairy Godmother (Shrek)
I see people dressed up as characters from Shrek every year, but it’s always Shrek, Fiona, or Lord Farquaad. Instead of these characters, I’d love to see more people dress up as the Fairy Godmother. I’ve definitely seen this one a few times, but the costume is so iconic I had to include it.
- Character From a Wes Anderson Film
Throughout his career, Wes Anderson has produced many characters with iconic looks. The Tenenbaum family from The Royal Tenenbaums is great for a group. Sam and Suzy from Moonrise Kingdom or Mr. and Mrs. Fox from Fantastic Mr. Fox would work well for a pair. With the release of Asteroid City earlier this year, I think it would be fun to see some of the characters or even the Alien from the film as a costume.
- Ella Enchanted
Growing up, Ella Enchanted was one of my favorite stories. I also enjoyed the film and think that Ella would be a fun costume to recreate. If you wanted to make it a group costume, you could incorporate other characters from the story. Ella’s fairy godmother, Lucinda, would also be a fun costume idea.
- Elaine (The Love Witch)
Elaine from The Love Witch is unique; this costume will guarantee that you don’t look like a basic witch. While most witches are dark and gothic, Elaine dons a bright, retro 1960s look. If you’re looking for something colorful and funky, this is for you.
- Sky High
Another movie I’d love to see in costume this year is Sky High. An early 2000s throwback, Sky High offers a twist on the traditional superhero costumes we see each year. I don’t know that I’ve seen anybody do this before, but I think it would be excellent for a group!
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Usually, when people think of characters from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, they think of Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy. Instead, I think a great spin on this classic would be to dress as Aslan, the White Witch, and the wardrobe. You could dress as the White Witch, Aslan, or even Mr. Tumnus for individual looks, but this is a fun and unique idea for a trio.
- Kissin’ Kate Barlow (Holes)
I think this is one of the rather unique costumes on this list, but it would be a fun idea. Instead of being any generic cowgirl, Kissin’ Kate Barlow from the movie adaptation of Holes has multiple iconic looks to choose from that will make a great Halloween costume.
- Famous Author
With this option, you have hundreds to choose from! There are so many options from different periods. From Emily Dickinson to Edgar Allen Poe or even a contemporary author, this idea gives you a lot to work with. Similarly, you can dress as your favorite book character or do an author-character combination similar to the first idea on this list.
- American Girl Doll
Like many, I had an obsession with American Girl dolls growing up. I never thought to dress up as them, but the original dolls from the historical collection have iconic outfits that would be fun to work with. I particularly like this idea because it works well as an individual or group costume. Some of the dolls have friends in their stories, which would be a fun costume for a pair.
- Characters from Clue
Finally, I would like to suggest the characters from Clue. I’m late to the party with this one, but I recently watched the movie for the first time, and the costumes are still fresh in my mind. I had played the board game before watching the film, but I appreciated seeing the characters come alive. This is a fun idea because you can play with different eras, either dressing as the original 1940s game or putting a more modern spin on it. With their distinct, bold colors, I think the costumes would be easily recognizable and would work either for a group or individually.