Creative Halloween Costumes for Spooky Season

It’s that time of year again: the best time of year—Spooky Season. Ghouls, goblins, and witches have emerged, ready to take over the town. It’s time to bring out the Halloween decorations, bake spooky-inspired treats, and, most importantly, decide on your Halloween costume. If you’re as obsessed with Spooky Season as we are, you might have been planning your costume since last year’s Halloween. But if you’re not quite as excited and still need a costume, we’ve got you covered! Figuring out what to wear can be a challenge, so we’ve come up with five creative outfits. These costumes cater to both those who have time for a detailed ensemble and those in need of last-minute options.

Cruella de Vil

A classic Disney villain, Cruella de Vil is infamous for wanting to steal 101 Dalmatian puppies for her fur coats. While Halloween is about dressing up as your favorite character, you don’t have to mimic them entirely. Skip the puppies and channel Cruella’s fashion sense instead. Many of her clothing pieces can be thrifted to save money on your Halloween costume this year. Aim for a black satin midi dress, a white fur coat, red elbow-length gloves, and red high heels. If you don’t already own a black dress, you can easily find one at a thrift store, along with the fur coat. The fur coat might be trickier to find, so some research may be needed. Amazon sells a fur coat for $49.98, Spirit Halloween offers red gloves for $9.99, and J.C. Penney has red heels for $30.39.

Poison Ivy

Switching from Disney to DC, dress up as Poison Ivy this Halloween. You can take her ivy-themed look in many directions. Add faux ivy to any green dress or swap the dress for a corset top and skirt for a sexier version. Elevate your costume by wrapping vines around your arms or legs. Complete the look with green pumps, an ivy headband, and a green eye mask. Poison Ivy’s red hair also defines her character, so consider buying a red wig or temporarily dyeing your hair red. Light in the Box sells a sexier version of Poison Ivy’s costume, which includes a dress and elbow-length gloves for $35.30. You can easily DIY an ivy headband at home using a plain headband and faux ivy leaves.

Bratz Doll

One of the easiest costumes to pull off is a Bratz Doll. There are countless outfits to recreate, allowing for personal flair. Accessories and vibrant colors are key components when assembling your outfit. Bratz Doll Yasmin typically sports a style that blends vintage and modern elements. One of her iconic looks includes a chic lace-up pinstriped faux leather long-sleeve top, a brown mini skirt, and brown boots with a purple platform. Accessories should include gold jewelry, a matching purple purse, and gold sunglasses. If you can’t find the specific top, swap it for any purple lace long-sleeve. Pretty Little Thing sells a brown pleated skirt that pairs perfectly with the top. When selecting accessories, opt for gold and purple.

Strawberry Shortcake

For a cute and innocent costume, Strawberry Shortcake is perfect for passing out candy to kids. This fun costume is easy to assemble and unique enough to avoid common choices like cats, witches, or princesses. You might already have most of the modern Strawberry Shortcake costume in your closet. Aim for dark denim straight-leg jeans paired with a red-and-white striped long-sleeve shirt, a red hoodie, and red shoes. You’ll need to purchase a hat, which you can find hand-knitted on Etsy for $45 or a bucket hat style from Etsy for $27. Like Poison Ivy, Strawberry Shortcake has red hair, so you can either keep your natural hair or buy a red wig for the night.

Harper’s Marker Dress

If you want to get creative and make your Halloween costume, look no further than Harper Finkle from Wizards of Waverly Place. She’s known for her wonderfully quirky outfits, including racecar, rubber ducky, and lampshade dresses. One of my favorite outfits is her blue dress covered in markers, which is relatively easy to replicate, even for novice seamstresses. You’ll need a blue knee-length short-sleeve dress, colorful striped ribbon, fine-line markers, hot glue, and Velcro. Use hot glue to attach one side of the Velcro to the dress and the other side to the markers so they can stick to the dress. Alternatively, you can skip the Velcro and directly glue the markers onto the dress. Since the dress is a statement piece, pair it with any comfortable white shoes and solid-colored earrings.

Enjoy crafting your costume, and have a spooky and fun Halloween!