Last-minute Halloween costume ideas inspired by news and pop culture that almost anyone can make

Every single day, the average working person plays many roles: sassy coworker, office comedian, and deadline stickler, to name a few.

The labor doesn’t stop when one gets home—with new job titles coming into play, such as mom, brother, pet parent, and more. On Halloween, you get to choose which character you want to inhabit instead of having society dictate your role.

This frivolity requires forward thinking and planning. If you find yourself running out of time, popular culture and a few easy-to-obtain items can come to the rescue. Here are nine easy costume ideas that range from classic to timely.

The Louvre museum robbers

This one is perfect for last-minute Halloween planners, as the true-life events surrounding the costume happened a little over a week ago. On Sunday, October 19, four robbers dressed up as maintenance workers and stole the French crown jewels from the Apollo Gallery at the world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris.

The internet had a field day with this. The heist only took about seven minutes, security at the museum was severely lacking, and it occurred during regular business hours.

To pull off this current event costume, all you need is a reflective maintenance vest, fake costume jewelry, and a tiara. You can wear these accessories on an all-black outfit base. 

Labubu

These furry collectible toys really took off in 2024 despite being around for almost a decade.

Artist Kasing Lung created the creepy yet cute characters in 2015 and introduced them in the book series The Monsters. Celebrity endorsements helped move the creatures into the cultural zeitgeist, with K-pop star Lisa from Blackpink leading the way.

The easiest way to dress up as this popular plush toy and/or mini key chain accessory is to start with a onesie base. From there, you can get creative with premade bunny ears and makeup. Between your local Spirit Halloween store and Amazon, you should be able to obtain everything you need.

Jake from State Farm

This is one of the easiest looks on this list. You may even have all the costume pieces in your closet already.

State Farm Insurance first introduced a real-life employee in its commercials in 2011. His name was Jake Stone. In 2020, actor Kevin Miles began playing the character in an effort to modernize the advertising campaign.

All you need to pull off this look is a red polo and khakis. Bonus points if you have a name tag that introduces your character as well.

Glinda and Elphaba

Wicked: For Good will be released in movie theaters in the United States on November 21, ending the longest intermission in musical theater history.

To celebrate all things witchy, consider dressing up as one of the movie’s leading ladies: Elphaba or Glinda (aka Galinda, before she drops a letter in Wicked: Part 1). You can even keep it minimal by wearing a simple green or pink outfit. If you want to bust out the green makeup and body paint, though, more power to you.

Joel Goodsen from ‘Risky Business’

This costume will take some guts to pull off and might get a bit chilly, but it’s an easy one.

In the 1983 film Risky Business, Tom Cruise plays a straight-laced high school senior named Joel Goodsen who cuts loose when his over-protective parents leave town for a couple days. His first act of rebellion is dancing around the house in a pink Oxford shirt, white socks, and briefs to “Old Time Rock and Roll” by Bob Seger.

This scene is so iconic that most will recognize the dance moves if you commit by sliding around in your socks. Plus you don’t even need pants—although that could make for an awkward Uber ride.

Mark and Helly from ‘Severance’

This Apple TV-inspired couple costume is more office friendly than the pantless option.

Severance is of course the hit science fiction series that puts a whole new spin on the term work-life balance. Employees of Lumon Industries have undergone a process that creates two personalities living in the same body: a work personality called an “innie” and a personal life persona called an “outie.” The two are not aware of each other.

At the center of this story are the couple Mark, played by Adam Scott, and Helly, played by Britt Lower.

To dress up as Mark’s innie, all you need is a blue suit and Lumon Industries ID badge. To go as Helly’s innie, all you need is a pencil skirt, blue turtle neck sweater, and a Lumon Industries ID badge.

Damian from ‘Mean Girls’

While this costume idea has been around since the hit 2004 movie Mean Girls came out, the classics endure for a reason. It is also so simple to pull off.

Damian Leigh is the sassy gay best friend who feels more comfortable with the girls than the boys. This is one of the reasons he sneaks into the girls’ assembly with his masterful disguise of a blue hoodie and sunglasses. Make sure to tell people throughout the night that “she doesn’t even go here,” for maximum costume effect.

6-7

If you have been around any group of young people lately, you have probably heard the term 6-7. These same youths will not be able to tell you exactly what that even is, but rest assured they are obsessed with it.

A quick Google search will tell you it came from rapper Skrilla’s song “Doot Doot,” but then turned into a TikTok sensation and took on a life of its own.

You can be a hit at the costume party with the young people and thoroughly confuse everyone else by wearing a t-shirt with the two numbers. You could even turn this into a couple’s costume and both wear just one number.

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