74 Most Popular Halloween Costume Ideas for Women
Strong, sexy, scary — you name it, we've got it.
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Channeling your alter ego is what Halloween costumes are all about. Whether you're looking for a full-blown DIY project or you prefer to keep it simple with a last-minute costume you can buy, we've got dozens of creative ideas to really make your alter ego shine on October 31.
Our list of the best Halloween costume ideas for women to help make this year’s getup standout includes a little bit of everything, including getups that are funny, cute, badass, sexy and clever. Take notes from the women of Disney with outfits inspired by iconic heroines and villains, or try out a look inspired by one of the biggest pop culture moments of the year. Scary or historical, sweet or punny, best friend duo or girl group, we’re sure we’ve covered all of our bases when it comes to narrowing down the best costumes of all time for women. All there’s left to do is for you to do is decide who you want to be!
Looking for more ideas? We've got Halloween costumes for the whole family.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice comes out in September, but you can keep it old school in Lydia's iconic red wedding dress from the original film. This costume set comes with everything you need, including the veil!
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Caitlin Clark
The Iowa basketball legend turned WNBA superstar is a popular choice this Halloween. Luckily, this costume is fairly low lift as long as you have black basketball shorts, sneakers and a white tee or jersey. With a few iron-on varsity letters and numbers, you'll be knocking down deep three-pointers in no time.
Match with your own Bugs Bunny or rock this costume solo. Either way, you'll be ready to take down the Monstars.
Deviled Egg
Got dark jeans, a white tee and sneakers? Egg-tastic! You're already halfway there to creating this egg-cellent costume. As for the delicious-looking headband, you'll need an oval foam egg form, yellow rope, white felt, green pipe cleaners (for the chives!) a few red sequins (for the paprika!) and scissors and plenty of hot glue.
A skeleton is a classic Halloween costume, meaning you can't go wrong (especially if you're shopping at the last minute). Plus, this getup glows in the dark!
Dolly Parton
There's no working 9 to 5 on this Halloween costume! Of course, you can always go the wig route to imitate Dolly's iconic 'do and call it a day. But if you're in the DIY mood, a big piece of cardboard, yellow and brown craft paint, and some skills with an X-acto knife or box cutter can yield a larger-than-life wig cutout that you and your friends can pose with during the big Halloween bash.
Elphaba from 'Wicked'
You don't want to be just any witch, you want to be the witch the Wizard has been waiting for. Any black dress will do as will a black witch hat. But if you don't want to go all out with the green body makeup, you can try a cute variation like this, which only places green on the cheekbones and temples.
Top Gun isn't just for the guys! This cute dress adds a girly spin to the typical pilot costume.
Ladybug
Talk about a cozy and cute costume! If you've got black leggings and a black sweater, you're nearly there already. The next part is nailing the red poncho and antennae headband.
Here's how to do it:
1) Cut the red poncho up the middle and curve the cut out at the bottom to make the two sides of the poncho look like ladybug wings.
2) Cut out an even amount of the same size circles to create black spots. Hot glue the circles onto the poncho being sure to have the same amount on each wing.
3) Paint two foam balls black and let them dry completely. Fold a black pipe cleaner in half. Attach one of the foam balls to one of the black pipe cleaners by pushing the pipe cleaner into the foam ball until it feels secure. Repeat with the other painted foam ball.
4) Fold down the other ends of the pipe cleaner about a half inch and attach to the black headband evenly spaced with hot glue to create antennae.
Olivia Rodrigo
Liv's statement tanks were the talk of her Guts World Tour this year. Channel her look with just a few items, including sparkle shorts, a ribbed crop top and tights.
Lip Smacker
Remember these? We thought so. Take a trip back to the '90s or early 2000s with this adorable look that's seriously easy to create. Use our Lip Smackers template to create an iron-on patch, which goes on a pastel t-shirt dress or night gown. As for the chapstick cap, look for a brightly colored plastic beach bucket. If it doesn't fit quite right as a hat, you can customize the size by snapping off the plastic handles and attaching elastic or ribbon.
Taylor Swift
Channel your inner T-Swift by rocking one of her iconic looks from the Eras Tour.
Scrub Daddy
Shark Tank isn't saying no to this adorableness! The secret? A foam egg crate mattress topper. Begin with two large cardboard circles and paint both sides a shade darker than the foam topper. Using sharp fabric scissors, cut two circles out of the foam, about two inches wider than the cardboard. Trace and cut a smiley face from one of the foam circles. Attach both pieces of foam to the cardboard with hot glue. Attach thick ribbon straps to both circles with duct or Gaffer's tape. Complete your look with rubber cleaning gloves.
You'll be the star of the party, trust us. Wear this onesie alone, or have a friend dress up as a bat for a funny gag costume.
Stanley Cup
If you are a diehard for your Stanley Quencher, then this costume is a must. Choose your favorite matching sweats, use our Stanley iron-on template, glue a white thick paper plate onto a white paper towel roll, hot glue the paper plate onto a headband and done! Go with your friends and choose different colors for a truly unique group costume.
Queen Charlotte From 'Bridgerton'
Georgian Era dressing has never looked so good. Don a powdered wig, dress and petticoat and get ready to designate the Diamond of the season.
Tennis Player
U.S. Open, here you come! Use whatever athleisure you may already have, bonus points if you've got an athletic skirt or a preppy sweater already handy. Pair with a tennis ball and racket, and your "tenniscore" outfit is complete.
Emily From 'Emily in Paris'
You can say "Joyeux Halloween!" to everyone you meet when you're Emily Cooper. You probably have everything you need in your closet to transform into her, except maybe the beret (which is crucial).
Inline Skating Barbie
It feels obvious, but who cares? There are few things we can think of that would be better than walking into a room and seeing a bunch of Barbies! We especially love the inline skating look here, especially if you need a couples' costume.
Batgirl
Simple costumes you don't have to fuss over putting on are always ideal (especially if you're a mom!). This one includes the everything you need to recreate a '60s-era Batgirl look, from the cape to the gloves.
Cameron (she/her) is a staff writer for Good Housekeeping, where she covers everything from holidays to food. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, where she received a B.A. in magazine journalism. In her spare-time she can be found scrolling TikTok for the latest cleaning hacks and restaurant openings, binge-watching seasons of Project Runway or online shopping.
Yaa Bofah is an editorial fellow at Good Housekeeping. She is a freelance illustrator and created original cover art for The Fashion Bomb Daily’s first e-book series. She enjoys supporting philanthropic endeavors and being an advocate for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
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