Image: Getty/HBO/Getty/AP
There are few things more satisfying than a well-rendered reference, especially one worn on a body; but this requires a certain specificity that can elude you when you sit down to actually make it happen. There are so many things I see throughout the year that I think, “That will make a great Halloween costume come October!,” and then forget about right away.
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So I’ve collected a bunch of ideas below to take some of the guesswork out of Halloween. Many of these are relevant to happenings of the past year and I hope that least some will inspire your fellow Halloween partygoers to say, “Oh...that’s funny,” even if they show no signs of actually believing that (like, for example, laughter). There are Met Ball looks, viral moments, memes, someone on TikTok who is fond of salmon, celebrities who don’t bathe...so much of what made 2021 truly special! The gang’s all here: Oprah, Doja, Tyra, Gorilla Glue girl, the giant boat in the Suez Canal, dream blunt rotations...whew! What a year!
I’m just giving you concepts here, mostly—the execution is on you. Not many should require too much legwork (besides that “Ocean City” crew seen in Mare of Easttown
Angela Merkel amongst birds - All you need is a camel hair something, some clip-on birds Photo: Georg Wendt/dpa via AP (AP) Squid Game playerImage: Netflix
Jeff Bezos on his dick rocket Photo: Joe Raedle (Getty Images) A box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch - I hope you’ve been saving your shrimp tails Photo: Gene J. Puskar (AP) Advertisement You can skip ad after 1 second
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Mare of Mare of Easttown - If you can make the trip, a lot of stores on the Ocean City, NJ, boardwalk stay open into the fall, especially on warm weekends, and their merchandise may have an off-season discount.Image: HBO
Tessica Brown - I’m not saying you should put Gorilla Glue in your hair, like Our Lady of Viral Mishaps, Tessica Brown, but if you did do that, at least some people familiar with her story would admire your commitment. I’d be first in line to give you a high five :) Screenshot: Instagram The container ship stuck in the Suez Canal - Couples costume idea! One of you be the boat, one of you be the canal. It’s erotic. Screenshot: BBC Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly - Another couples idea! Make sure whoever is Machine Gun has a fake tat that reads “I am weed Photo: Rich Fury/Getty Images for dcp (Getty Images) Advertisement You can skip ad after 1 second
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AOC at the Met Gala - A white dress, some tulle, and red tape will allow you to make a statement on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s statement without saying a word.
A sandworm from Dune - Dune ! A lot riding on this one. A big brown garbage bag is all you’ll need, really, to become a worm, though you could also use broom bristles to create the anus-like face of Denis Villeneuve’s spice-giving, life-taking monster. But don’t tax yourself—wearing a garbage bag is already a lot.Screenshot: Warner Bros. Pictures TikTok’s Salmon Girl (Emily Mariko) - I hope your fellow partiers like fish!Screenshot: TikTok Rashida Jones in those damn ads - Get yourself a giant shirt and a credit card and you’re good to go.Screenshot: Citi Advertisement You can skip ad after 1 second
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My plans vs. the Delta variant - Live the meme by doing a costume split down the middle (left side is something cool, right side is something chaotic). For a visual example, check out Prince in his 1989 video for “Batdance,” in which he played the half-Batman/half-Joker character of Gemini. Or just go as Prince from this video—it’s a great costume idea and something I’ve always wanted to do. Actually, don’t do that. This is my idea this year. Hands off.Screenshot: WMG Just be normal and tell people that you tried out to host on Jeopardy! but you didn’t get the job Photo: Chris Pizzello/Invision (AP)
Bernie Sanders at the Inauguration - This is another very easy, very obvious one. But did you know that there’s a sexy version Photo: Brendan SmialowskiI/AFP (Getty Images) Doja Cat at the MTV Video Music Awards - A longshot, but if you find this outfit somewhere, like in a thrift store or whatever, you should definitely wear it for Halloween.Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBS (Getty Images)
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Kat from Euphoria as Thana from Ms .45 - I love a conceptually layered costume: you are X as X. I realize that the Euphoria episode in which Kat (Barbie Ferreira) referenced Abel Ferrara’s early ‘80s exploitation classic aired all the way back in 2019 so this isn’t the freshest idea, but maybe you watched it then, forgot to do it for that Halloween, and then you weren’t able to do so last Halloween because of that pesky pandemic and here we are. Screenshot: HBO
Tyra Banks as Britney Spears - More layers. But please for the love of god, white people, don’t go in blackface. Screenshot: ABC
Sally Rooney bucket hat - I mean, if you could get your hands on one of these, I think it could totally be the extent of your costume. But why not think bigger and construct a giant Sally Rooney bucket that you could wear over your body, referencing the literary chuckle we all had this year and undoubtedly endearing yourself to fellow partygoers, irrespective of their proximity to the publishing industry?Image: FSG A dream blunt rotation - Group costume idea! Here’s your chance to assemble in a powerful Voltron formation with wonderful individual costumes that come together as a reference to the dream blunt rotation meme Photo: Express Newspapers, Keystone, Scott Gries/ImageDirect, Jemal Countess (Getty Images) Advertisement You can skip ad after 1 second
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Kim Kardashian at the Met Gala - I don’t even think you need the ponytail, just some kind of pantyhose for your head. This look could also be used for Kanye (if you really want to dress up like him) or get conceptual and say you’re someone who’s been canceled and/or disappeared from Twitter like Chrissy Teigan (at least for a little while!).Photo: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / AFP (Getty Images)
An anti-masker - Layer on the irony and wear a mask with a mouth on it to represent someone who isn’t wearing a mask at all and would scream, spraying spit everywhere, if asked to do so. I know this many will find this idea unpleasant, but isn’t Halloween all about horrors, big and small, imagined and real?Image: Etsy Evan Hansen - Relive everyone’s favorite cinematic laughingstock of the year, Dear Evan Hansen Screenshot: Universal Pictures Frances McDormand at the 2021 Oscars - I just think it would be funny if you wore a nondescript black outfit with feathers on the sleeves and when people asked you what you were, you’d say, “I’m Frances McDormand at the 2021 Oscars.”Photo: Todd Wawrychuk/A.M.P.A.S. (Getty Images)
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The retro-cool women of Practical Magic - Have you looked at H&M lately? It’s teeming with big sweaters and babydoll shirts right out of the 1998 Sandra Bullock/Nicole Kidman flick. Fast fashion = a quick Halloween costume.Screenshot: Warner Bros.
A tree - But say that you’re Scarlett Johansson in her latest role Photo: Luca Sola/AFP (Getty Images) The supply chain shortage - Figure out a way to represent empty shelves on your person (maybe staple cardboard to a black bodysuit?). Alternately, just dress as a zombie with chains around yourself since the supply chain is basically dead and barely revived, a limping, pale imitation of its original self.Photo: AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File (AP)
Grimes reading Marx - A (suede? denim? ultrasuede?) bodysuit/cowl combination would really hit this home, but all you actually need to do to get at this is carry around a copy of the The Communist Manifesto (make sure it’s the Norton Critical Editions version, though!).Screenshot: Instagram Advertisement You can skip ad after 1 second
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Bisexual Superman - Another easy one! Wear a big S on your chest and carry a kiss on your lips!Image: DC
