77 Last-Minute Costume Ideas That Will Look Like You Put in a Ton of Effort
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If you clicked on this article, we’re guessing that you’re running out of time to get a Halloween costume together. We get it — life gets busy. Maybe you’re having trouble coming up with a costume idea or can’t make it to the store to pick up a full outfit, so we put together a list of DIY Halloween costumes that are super easy to make. We even handmade many of them ourselves, so if we can do it, you can too.
Most of these last-minute costume ideas can be crafted from items you most likely have lying around the house right now or can be completed with one or two items that’ll ship in two days with Amazon Prime just in time for all your Halloween festivities. We included a mix of timeless and trending costume ideas for you, the kids, and your entire friend group. Consider going as a classic skeleton, answering questions all night as a magic eight ball, donning one of many Barbie costumes, and more. We think these costumes are creative enough to be a hit at any party, so read on to get inspired.
Swiftie Costume
Shop Faux Fur Jacket
Calling all Swifties! Whether you were the lucky one who got concert tickets or waiting for the movie to drop, this DIY costume will make you feel like you’re part of the Eras Tour. Recreate the look with this purple faux fur jacket, sequin dress, and white boots.
President Barbie Costume
2023’s Barbie gave us tons of DIY costume inspo. Throw on this pink jumpsuit and construct a sash out of ribbon and glitter iron-on letters to transform into President Barbie this Halloween. Add a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses to complete the look.
Denim Ken Costume
You are Kenough. You can turn yourself into Denim Ken with this vest, light blue jeans, pink bandana, and white briefs. Don’t forget to add Ken to the waistband in black letters for extra points!
Ms. Rachel Costume
This one’s for the parents. If your little one is a fan of Ms. Rachel, surprise them this Halloween by wearing this DIY costume. Steal the popular YouTuber’s look with this pink t-shirt and pair of overalls.
Tanya McQuoid from 'White Lotus' Costume
To recreate this White Lotus costume, you’ll need this flowy dress, pink scarf, and oversized sunglasses. Then you’ll be ready to ride off into the sunset on a Vespa.
Alien Costume
Shop Glow in The Dark Googly Eyes
With new information about aliens coming to light in 2023, why not go as one this Halloween? You’ll need this sweatshirt and sweatpants combo to start. You can add these glow-in-the-dark googly eyes to a headband to create an extraterrestrial accessory.
John Wick Costume
When you’re in a pinch and need a look fit for a retired assassin, transform that black suit in the back of your closet into a John Wick costume. Add a white button-down shirt, black tie, and dog stuffed animal to complete the transformation.
Furby Costume
Whether you had one as a child or steered clear of them completely, we can all agree that this furby DIY costume is a win. You’ll need a wearable blanket as the base as well as white styrofoam balls, pink construction paper, and white hair to recreate the face and ears.
Wind Up Doll Costume
This creative DIY costume is destined to win some best costume awards. While you can shop this gingham dress and red bow tie for the look, you’ll need cardboard and this metallic spray paint to create the wind-up component.
Troll Doll Costume
Shop Red Wig
Turn yourself into another iconic doll this Halloween with this DIY costume. All you need to recreate this look is a dress and a red wig. Plus, you can easily turn it into a group costume with wigs in other fun colors.
Ghost of Twitter Costume
RIP Twitter. The social media site’s name was changed to X this year. You can honor the former name and dress up as the ghost of Twitter with a sheet, lantern, and Twitter’s logo pasted inside the lantern.
Coastal Grandmother Costume
Looking for a comfy, yet trendy last-minute costume? You can turn the coastal grandmother aesthetic that’s been all over TikTok into one of the coziest DIY Halloween costumes ever with pieces you (or your grandmother) already own. A bucket hat, straw bag, knit sweater, and linen pants will help you bring the trendy aesthetic to life.
Carmy Berzatto from The Bear Costume
The hit Hulu show The Bear follows young chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto as he takes over his family sandwich shop. While a day at Original Beef of Chicagoland is never easy, Carmy’s chef look is practically effortless.
You can easily recreate it with a dark blue apron, a white T-shirt, and black jeans.
Catwoman Costume
Catwoman’s all-black outfits in The Batman make for surprisingly quick DIY Halloween costumes. Grab a leather jacket, leather pants or leggings, and a black beanie, and you’ll turn into the crime-fighting, motorcycle-riding DC character. For extra points, wear a cat ear headband under the beanie to really nail the look.
Cereal Killer Costume
All you need for this punny costume is a T-shirt, some cereal boxes (mini or full-size), and plastic forks — fake blood is optional!
You'll also need some fabric glue or even safety pins to secure the boxes onto your shirt. Poke the spoons through the boxes and add some red nail polish around the hole for a dramatic effect.
Rue from Euphoria Costume
HBO’s Euphoria is filled with trendy outfits, glitter-filled makeup, and, of course, drama. While Maddy and Cassie’s matching sets are perfect for a group costume, Rue’s favorite hoodie makes for an easy DIY Halloween costume, especially if you’re flying solo. Simply throw on a maroon hoodie, an oversized tie-dye tee, biker shorts, and a pair of black high-top Converse.
Dr. Ellie Sattler Costume
Laura Dern’s role as Dr. Ellie Sattler in Jurassic Park brought us the now-iconic khaki short outfit. Not only is it instantly recognizable, but a go-to DIY Halloween costume.
Recreate it with a pink button-down shirt, light blue shirt, khaki shorts, and boots fit for outrunning any dinosaurs. For a bonus, you can make a Jurassic Park ID badge to legitimize the look.
Error: Costume Not Found Costume
When you really can't think of a last-minute Halloween costume, opt for this simple T-shirt that’s dressing up without really “dressing up.”
Kid from Old Enough! Costume
Fans of the long-running reality show from Japan — Old Enough! — will appreciate this last-minute costume. With a backpack, bucket hat, and flag, you will look just like one of the errand-running children from the show. Just remember to look both ways before crossing!
Bob Ross Costume
Gentlemen, this creative costume idea is super easy if you already have a beard, or are looking to get a head start on No-Shave November.
Just grab a blue chambray shirt from your closet, and add accessories like an 80s-style curly wig, and a paint palette to fully nail The Joy of Painting star's signature look.
Rollerblading Barbie Costume
With the release of the Barbie movie this year and Barbiecore trending, this Barbie costume is the perfect DIY costume to put together to make your rollerblading Barbie dreams come true this Halloween.
Recreate this rad look with a neon swimsuit, neon biker shorts, protective gear, and a visor. No skates? No problem! Tape cutouts of wheels to the sides of your sneakers for a sporty look.
Awkward Yearbook Photo Costume
We all had to take them, so why not embrace your awkward yearbook photo this Halloween? With a turtleneck, oversized glasses, and some butterfly clips, you can relive your picture day glory!
For the retro backdrop, tape a classic ’90s print on cardboard and use fishing wire to create invisible straps to keep it up.
Night and Day Costume
Grab your best friend and turn yourselves into the sun and moon with this last-minute Halloween costume. With these shimmering shirts and impressive DIY headgear, you’ll both light up any party you walk into. You’ll need these headbands, glittery foam sheets, and crafting wire to create the eye-catching crowns.
Magic Eight Ball Costume
Go back to your art-class days to tackle this DIY costume. Cut out the various symbols and tape them together. It's really that easy!
Mary Poppins Costume
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Turn yourself into the famous magical nanny with a few staple pieces you most likely already own like a blazer, white button down, and black skirt.
Accessorize the look with a red bowtie, oversized bag, umbrella, and her signature hat for a DIY Halloween costume that’s practically perfect in every way.
Anna Delvey Costume
Netflix’s Inventing Anna brought the fraudster Anna Delvey back into the spotlight last year. The fake German heiress’ look doesn’t require much to recreate. All you need is black glasses, black flats, a black dress, a choker necklace, and most importantly a forlorn expression for this DIY Halloween costume.
Gnome Costume
Protect gardens (and your friends) this Halloween with this super fun last minute costume. You can turn a simple chambray shirt and jeans into a classic gnome look with some black boots, a beard, a red hat, and a black belt. It’s a DIY costume that’ll never go out of style.
Bernie Sanders Wearing His Mittens Costume
There’s nothing cozier than a pair of knitted mittens... and a puffy winter coat. Take inspiration from Senator Sanders’ outfit at this year’s inauguration and pay homage to the Bernie meme with this warm costume. All it takes is a jacket, a mask, glasses, and most importantly, those mittens.
More: Family Costume Ideas You're Going to Love
Cheugy Person Costume
TikTok trends come and go, but cheugy seems like it's here to stay. “Cheugy,” defined as something out of date or someone trying too hard, can easily be achieved by going full-on early ’00s — and not in a cool way. Think super-fitted jean jackets, adidas slides, all pink everything, carrying a Starbucks cup at all times, etc. Basically, it’s like if “live, laugh, love” were a person.
Free Britney Advocate Costume
After years of fighting for autonomy, Britney Spears is finally free! You can continue to show your support for the singer by donning a “Free Britney” shirt or carrying a flag. It’s a great DIY Halloween costume that any fan will be proud to rock.
Bo Burnham and Socko from 'Inside' Costume
If you haven't caught Bo Burnham's Netflix special yet, it's worth a watch. One of the most memorable skits in the show includes a guest appearance by his friend Socko — who is quite the realist when it comes to describing how the world works.
To complete this look, put on a microphone headset, and add a striped shirt and sweats. Don't forget Socko, either!
Low Battery Costume
This could quite possibly be one of the easiest costumes on our list. Dress up as a low battery by mapping out the symbol on a black shirt with white and red tape or cutting out the symbol on paper and sticking it to your shirt. To go the extra mile, carry around a charger without the USB block as an accessory.
An NFT Costume
Last year, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) were in the news for selling hundreds of thousands of dollars. Things like the Nyan Cat (remember them) went for more than half a million dollars, just so someone could officially own the piece.
For the costume, wear a frame around your neck with your favorite NFT displayed inside. And be sure to know how to explain your costume to others.
Olivia Rodrigo 'Sour' Cover Art Costume
Sour was perhaps one of 2021's biggest albums, and we’re still obsessed with Olivia Rodrigo’s look on the album cover. For this costume, all you need is some stickers, a pink tank top, and some silver jewelry to complete the look. Plus, it gives you good reason to jam to her music while getting ready.
Pet Influencer Costume
You may not be an Instagram influencer, but your pet can be. Impress your millions of (imaginary) followers by dressing in a matching outfit with your furry friend. The more sequins, the better. Or, if you don't have a pet, opt for a stuffed animal in a blinged-out carrier.
Plant Parent Costume
Plants are the new pets, and people love watching their plant babies grow! Channel your inner plant parent and pop on a baby carrier to tote around your leafy love like the excellent plant parent you are.
Pumpkin Spice Costume
Add a twist to the classic pumpkin spice costume, and go for hot sauce instead of something sweeter like cinnamon or nutmeg. Don't want to buy hot sauce? Hit up your local Taco Bell for some packets to add to your jack-o’-lantern shirt.
Unicorn Costume
Become a mythical creature this Halloween with this easy unicorn costume. All you need is a unicorn horn headband, but you can jazz it up with some rhinestones and a velvet or metallic top.
Tourist Costume
Hopefully we'll be able to travel more in the coming year, but until then, we can play tourist. If you're an unexperienced traveler, lean into it — the more maps, bucket hats, and touristy shirts you have, the better for this Halloween costume. Bonus points if you look lost.
Work-From-Home Employee Costume
A lot of us have been working home for a while now, so you're guaranteed to have the elements for this costume. Grab your laptop, a coffee mug, button-up shirt, and pajama bottoms for a full WFH uniform — er, costume.
Sriracha Bottle Costume
Spice things up this Halloween. This sriracha shirt makes a great, easy DIY costume. Just throw on a green beanie and you're set!
Maverick Costume
Top Gun will never get old, especially with the release of Top Gun: Maverick last year. Go as everyone's favorite pilot for Halloween this year and show off your Air Force pride. Just don't forget your aviators.
Pantone Color Swatch Costume
If you own a lot of one color, turn it into the easiest Halloween costume ever by printing out a Pantone swatch frame and taping it to your shirt.
Crazy Cat Lady Costume
This year, go as your true self — a crazy cat lady. Put on that robe you and your cat always snuggle up in and attach a bunch of kitty stuffed animals, then add the details: hair rollers, slippers, coffee mugs, etc.
Cactus Costume
We love how cute this costume is. It might take a bit of work to attach the pipe cleaners, but the result is totally worth it. For an added touch, throw on a rose headband.
Lichtenstein-Inspired Pop-Art Girl Costume
This last-minute Halloween costume idea will have you looking like you popped right off the page of a comic strip! If you have makeup and/or face paint lying around, you can be party-ready in just a few minutes. YouTube has tons of tutorials for how to get this Lichtenstein-inspired look.
'The Price Is Right' Contestant Costume
We love last-minute Halloween costumes that are just regular clothes, plus a fun accessory. For this The Price Is Right-inspired getup, just cut a name tag out of yellow construction paper and paste it right onto your shirt.
Ice Cream Sundae Costume
Some of our favorite costumes to DIY are sweet treats. All this one takes is some construction paper cut into sprinkles, and a white loofa for the whipped cream on top!
A Disney Park Tourist Costume
You must know someone with a Mickey Mouse shirt that you can borrow! Throw it on with a pair of cheap mouse ears and you're set. Bonus points if you pair it with a fanny pack and some enamel pins.
Moon Light Costume
No crafting know-how required here! Moon shirt + head lamp = the easiest and punniest costume imaginable.
Clark Kent/Superman Costume
When you're scrambling to find a good last-minute Halloween costume, this idea will save the day. This classy DIY costume requires your civilian clothes plus a Superman shirt underneath to transform you into everyone's favorite superhero.
Fork in the Road Costume
We love a good pun costume, and this "fork in the road" is almost as good as it gets. Add some white Post-it Notes to a black shirt, tape a fork to your chest, and that's it!
Beer Pong Costume
All you have to do for this simple costume is glue some Solo cups with ping-pong balls in them to a piece of cardboard and hang it around your neck (or glue it straight to a fitted shirt). You'll be the life of the party... literally.
Cosmic Brownie Costume
Get some colored pom poms that match the exact colors of the cosmic brownie sprinkles, then glue them all over a dress or all-brown outfit. You can even carry around a box of brownies and pass them out throughout the night — it is Halloween, after all!
Sugar Mama Costume
You can't help but giggle at this punny costume. Any mom who has a little one — or a baby carrier still lying around from the infant days — won't need to purchase anything.
Flamingo Costume
Make use of your favorite pool float one last time before you put it away for the winter. Just wear it around your waist, find an outfit to match, and you're set!
The Bachelorette Costume
Any dress or gown will work with this DIY Bachelorette costume. Throughout the night, hand your roses to any lucky bachelor you think might be the one.
Pineapple Costume
Simple, yet seriously impressive, this pineapple costume can be done in a dress or with yellow pants and a top. Just get a sturdy headband so the fake frond stays upright all night long.
Elizabeth Holmes Costume
We can't quit our obsession with scammers, and there's none more notorious than Elizabeth Holmes. Fill a little vial with water and add some drops of red food dye to really take this costume to the next level. Then put your hair in a super messy bun and get your wide-eyed stare on!
Greek Goddess Costume
Need a no-fail, last-minute Halloween costume? Time to bust out those toga-tying skills from your college days.
Wrap yourself up in a white top sheet and create a makeshift olive-branch crown with some leafy gold craft ribbon.
Bat Costume
Thankfully, this DIY costume from Good Housekeeping shouldn't require buying much, if anything. To create the bat's wings, cut an old umbrella in half, and attach the "wings" to a black shirt or sweatshirt using safety pins, and create ears from construction paper or felt.
Freddie Mercury Costume
You don't have to hit those high notes in Bohemian Rhapsody to dress up as Freddy Mercury this Halloween, but you do need a ribbed white tank top, light wash jeans, and a mustache. If you're really in a pinch, you can just draw one on.
Skeleton Costume
Cut out sections in a plain white T-shirt to get the ribbed effect and paint your face. It's that easy. There are even YouTube tutorials to guide you depending on how intense you are looking to go. Good Housekeeping even suggests putting a heart under the shirt to make it a little less frightening.
Fifty Shades of Grey Costume
This easy costume idea from Good Housekeeping is free — and PG. Head to your local Home Depot and grab some gray swatches. Stick them to any T-shirt you have in your drawer, and you're set.
Arthur Meme Costume
Everyone loves a good throwback, and this one is perfect for that '90s nostalgia. All you need to do is make some ears out of construction paper and a headband, and wear a yellow sweater with jeans. Bonus points if you already have a pair of red Converse shoes. Walk around with a fist all night and you'll look just like the Arthur meme. You could even get your whole friend group to dress as other viral memes, like the Kermit sipping tea one pictured here.
Sadness from 'Inside Out' Costume
Don't be sad that you don't have a costume for Halloween! Just go as Sadness from Disney's Inside Out like Katie McBroom of Martinis and Mascara did.
You could go all the way and paint yourself blue or buy a wig, but you can also just swipe on some bright blue eyeliner, lipstick, and hair tint to get the point across. Then put on a chunky-knit sweater and some round glasses to complete the look.
Wednesday Addams Costume
Wednesday Addams is like the queen of Halloween, but all you need to re-create her morbid AF look are a few simple pieces. A Peter Pan-collared black dress, and black boots are the base of the look, while black tights, pale makeup, and braided pigtails give it a signature touch.
Raining Cats and Dogs Costume
You can also do this one with pictures of dudes for the perfect "it's raining men" costume! All you need is a printer, some fishing line, an umbrella, and a few extra cuddly critters to complete the look.
Pageant Queen Costume
Still have an old bridesmaid dress lying around? Give it one more go with this easy and elegant costume that only requires a crown and a sash. Halloween is always a great excuse to get glammed-up!
A Bunch of Grapes Costume
If you have enough time to run to a party supply store, all you need for this costume are some purple or green balloons and some safety pins to secure them to your clothes. For a finishing touch, cut out some grape leaves from green construction paper and tape or glue them to a headband.
Source: @judehnd
Rosie the Riveter Costume
You can do it! Don't be the one who didn't show up to the party without a costume. This one is so simple because you probably own everything you need already. Wear a denim shirt, jeans, and a red bandana tied around your head. It's as simple as that!
Harley Quinn Costume
Harley Quinn's hardcore aesthetic is easy to achieve with her signature "Daddy's Lil Monster" tee. Throw your hair up into some high pigtails, and go all out by dipping the ends into some blue and red temporary dye.
Chill Pill Costume
Feeling stressed about Halloween? Chill out! It's super easy to put this costume together. All you need is a single-color skirt, a white shirt, and some black construction paper or felt. Sew, glue, or tape on the letters for a quick getup, but make sure to check out Studio DIY first for full instructions.
Joel Goodsen, aka Tom Cruise in Risky Business Costume
Tom Cruise's famous Risky Business costume is so easy. It requires an oversized light pink button-down, underwear (or short shorts if you want to keep it a little more modest), and some tube socks — that's it!
Gumball Machine Costume
Go all out with this super cute costume that doesn't require too much technical skill to accomplish. Dot an old tank top with a ton of pompoms, throw on a red skirt, and maybe even make some pompom earrings if you're feeling extra fancy.
Karen Smith from Mean Girls Costume
Quite possibly the easiest last-minute halloween costume really only needs one thing: mouse ears. Channel your inner Karen and let everyone know "I'm a mouse. Duh." To complete the look, don a black dress and silver boots.
Wonder Woman Costume
Still reeling from Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman 1984? This trendy DIY costume is achievable with a Wonder Woman T-shirt and a blue skater skirt that can easily be embellished with cut-out paper stars.
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