Here’s the great thing about Halloween: You can dress up as anybody you want! Here’s the not-so-great thing: You can dress up as anybody you want—and the overwhelming, limitless options can lead to some serious decision paralysis. So how do you find the perfect Halloween costume (and Halloween pet costume) for this year? We’ve teamed up with Pinterest to bring you a solution: Follow the trends.
As the internet’s No. 1 spot for finding and compiling what’s hot in fashion, home décor, entertaining and more, Pinterest is a natural source of inspo when it comes to Halloween. So we asked for their predictions on the most popular Halloween costumes, Halloween decorations and beyond. The result: A guide to the themes you’ll be seeing at every haunted house party this year.
Western
These pop culture cowboys are peak Western:
Old West sharpshooting legends Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley
Classic Hollywood cowboy John Wayne
Jane Canary of “Deadwood”
The Stranger from “The Big Lebowski”
The good news is that this trend is broad enough to suit just about any personality—both yours and your pet’s. Go nostalgic by dressing as a traditional cowboy (you could even pepper in some Woody-inspired “Toy Story” toys and accessories). For more recent inspiration, look to “Westworld”’s Dolores in her prairie farmgirl attire. (Flowery fabrics, jean dresses and leather accessories should do the trick.)
If you’re in need of a last-minute costume, simply pull on some jeans and boots, tie a bandana around your neck (and your pet’s too, if they’ll let you), pick up a cheap 10-gallon hat from a party store on the way to the Halloween party and voila! You’ve got an on-trend DIY cowboy costume.
Disney
These Disney characters offer magical Halloween inspo:
Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man and the rest of the Avengers
From the critically acclaimed “Loki” and “WandaVision” series to the latest Spider-Man installment to the new “Hocus Pocus” sequel (hello, Millennial nostalgia!), there’s never been a better time to be an adult fan of all things Disney.
With fervent fandom comes loads of swag, which means you’ve got tons of ways to express your love for Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars this year. Dress your pet as the trickster antihero Loki? Check. Embrace the Dark Side in a Darth Vader getup (with a Stormtrooper toy for good measure)? Check. Pay homage to the classics with a Mickey Mouse bandana? Check! And the options don’t stop at costumes – you can pick up toys, leashes and collars, beds and more to show off your superfandom on Halloween and beyond.
Pirate
These legendary pirates will shiver your Halloween timbers:
Stede Bonnet and Captain Blackbeard of “Our Flag Means Death”
The actual Captain Blackbeard
Anne Bonny, one of history’s few famous women pirates
Captain Jack Sparrow of “Pirates of the Caribbean”
Captain Hook of “Peter Pan”
Sure, there are history’s famed marauders like Blackbeard and Anne Bonny, and of course there’s the perennial favorite, Captain Jack Sparrow of “Pirates of the Caribbean” fame. But for a more current pop culture take on the trend, look to HBO’s “Our Flag Means Death,” the Taika Waititi-produced comedy about a ragtag pirate crew led by Stede Bonnet, a former wealthy landowner who gave it all up for adventures (or should we say, misadventures) at sea.
So, how do you create your own swashbuckling vibe this Halloween? Go all-out with a DIY pirate costume: Cut a pair of pants to ¾ length, tear the sleeves off of a plain t-shirt, wrap a bandana around your head and you’re there! You pet can play pirate alongside you, or maybe they’d be a better pirate ship, sea dragon, or mermaid. You can add a skull-and-crossbones ID tag to your look as you walk the neighborhood with your pup, or toss them some sea-inspired toys like this blue whale crinkle chewer.
Spooky
These classically spooky pop culture icons = perfection:
Dracula (in any of his literary or film iterations)
Jack Skellington of “The Nightmare Before Christmas”
This Halloween, basic is anything but, well, basic. Classic Halloween themes—think witches, skeletons, black cats and bats—are back in a big way, according to Pinterest.
With interest in supernatural and occult topics like tarot, horoscopes and crystals on the rise, it only makes sense that we as a culture are collectively putting the “spooky” back into spooky season. So now’s the perfect time to layer on the eyeliner and lean into your witchy side. (Bonus: Your pet makes the perfect familiar.)
There’s just one rule when it comes to embracing the spooky trend this year: all black everything. Go on, revisit your goth phase—the darker the clothing, the makeup and yes, even your pets’ accessories, the better. Whether you don a vampire cape or a full-body skeleton jumpsuit a la Phoebe Bridgers, your pet’s sure to match in a pair of bat wings or witch hat. Leave the fake blood alone—the vibe here is a retro, traditional and kitschy approach to Halloween’s scary side.
More Halloween Trends
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