DIY Halloween Costume Ideas

It is almost our favorite day of the year: Halloween! In recent years, Halloween is becoming a national holiday in Japan. Although it is not a traditional type of Halloween with small children trick or treating around the neighborhood, a lot of young adults are dressing up on this very special day. As people in Japan are very fond of “cosplays”, which in a sense is closely related to costumes, many people are celebrating Halloween this year. Yet, Halloween costumes can be very pricy and it is also difficult to be original when purchasing one from a store. Why not make your very own costume by creating an outfit from your wardrobe? In another word, Do It Yourself (DIY)! This would be very useful for those of you who have decided to do Halloween at the last minute, have no time or money to go to a costume store, or simply have desires to be different from everyone else! So, here are some helpful tips!

Group Costumes

• Where’s Waldo?

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This one is one of the easiest and cheapest costumes to do with a group of friends. All you need is a red and white striped shirt, a pair of denim jeans, any kind of your favorite hat, a pair of glasses and that is all! You can even carry a camera as part of you costume.

• Minion

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Why not dress up as your favorite cute and cuddly character: Minion? There is something so lovable about those yellow creatures. You can do this by yourself, but with more people, you and your group of friends would certainly stand out! Here are some of the things you need: yellow top, denim overall, a yellow hat (possibly a beanie), and a pair of glasses with circle lenses. Now, if you want to be creative, you can even buy some black strings to attach on top of your hat or create a pair of goggles of your own. You can do this by cutting a toilet paper role, spraying them into silver, and attaching them onto a black string. You can also just create minion goggles by detaching silver jar cap and once again, attach them onto a black string. There are so many ways to create Minion costumes!

• 101 Dalmatians

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Even if there are not 101 of you, you can still dress up as 101 Dalmatians! If you already own a white shirt with black polka-dots, it is very easy to do. For those of you who do not own one, buy a white shirt and paste on some circle felt with hot glue-gun. Wear some black leggings or pants and you are almost done. Add some make up on your face with black eyeliner by drawing a couple of dots and of course a nose. Then, complete your whole costume by buying a doggy ear or if you are a girl, just make your hair into a high pig-tale. It would be even cuter if you have time to curl your hair.

• Mean Girls

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Yes, I am talking about our all-time favorite movie: Mean Girls. If you and your best girl friends are a group of four, this is perfect! Starting off with the queen bee Regina George, there are certainly a couple of ways to dress up as her. The most comical one being her tank top outfit with two circles cut-off around her chest will definitely get some laughs out. This may be over the top for some of you, so you can just wear a white tank top with a pink cardigan, a black leather skirt, finishing it off with a pair of pointed heels. Moving on to the second plastic, Gretchen Wieners. Her outfit comes with a pink long-sleeved shirt, a brown plaid-skirt, and a pair of pointed heels. Curl your hair and you are done! Next one is the brainless beauty, Karen Smith. Her whole outfit is pink. Just wear a light pink top with a ribbon, pink tight skirt, and a pink pair of heels. Last, but not least, our favorite Cady Heron. If you are the type to prefer sneakers over heels, I recommend dressing up as her. All you need is an over-sized pink polo shirt, a pair of baggy denim jeans, and sneakers. Walk with your girls in a line and you will become just like Mean Girls from the film.

• Fraternity Boys

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This one would be very easy for boys, but also for girls with an older brother. All you need is a buttoned shirt of your choice with a tie around your neck, a cargo shorts, and a cap. The only thing about this costume is that not many Japanese people know about the fraternity boys.

• Three Blind Mice

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For this costume, you do not need to buy anything. As long as you have two friends, you can make your Halloween unforgettable. There are many ways to complete this outfit, but all you need to do it to wear all black or all grey. Then, wear a black pair of sunglasses. You can buy mouse ears, but you can also easily create mouse ears with your hair. Just make two buns on the top of your hair, and it is complete!

Last Minute Costumes

• Cat

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Dressing up as a cat is one of the most popular Halloween costumes for a reason. It is effortless, but cute. You can basically wear anything you want from favorite little black dress to furry brown sweater. The only thing you need to buy are cat ears. The most important part is taking time on your make-up. There are so many tutorials on how to do cat eyes. By adding a black nose and some whiskers along your cheek, you are a cat!

• Cowboy/Cowgirl

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Everyone has at least one plaid shirt and a pair of denim jeans in their wardrobe. Thus, all you need to purchase is a cow boy hat and boots. It would be even better if you can buy a red scarf to wear on your neck.

• Britney Spears

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This one would be definitely easy for those of you who went to a school with uniforms. First, you need to wear your white shirt, but open a least two buttons from the top and tie off the end of your shirt in one. Then, wear your grey cardigan over the shirt. Take your plaid skirt and put on some over the knee socks. Last, make your hair into high pig tales with braids and if you can, add some pink furry bows on top.