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27 Creative Halloween Costumes for Women That Are Easy to Pull Off

Time to retire those cat ears!

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halloween costumes for women
Photographer Mike Garten; Hair by Meron Weyante; Makeup by Marc Cornwall

Halloween lends itself particularly well to the most creative among us. But even if you’re not the type of person who can tip your head back and conjure up a unique costume idea in minutes, you can still have a fabulous look. Ahead, we rounded up the coolest costume ideas for women that will blow your competition's socks off. Choose from iconic movie characters or the year’s biggest pop-culture moments—you really can't go wrong.

1

Sookie St. James from 'Gilmore Girls'

chef holding wooden spoons
mike garten

Dressing up as Lorelai or Rory would be super predictable. But going as Lorelai's bubbly chef bestie Sookie? That's thinking out of the box.

2

Beanie Baby

beanie baby
mike garten

The 90s are back in style and so is this effortless beanie baby costume.

Here's how to do it:

First, pick out a tie-dyed sweatsuit with a hoodie. Then, cut out felt ears and attach them to the hood with hot glue. Cut a heart-shaped tag out of red cardstock to and punch a hole at the edge. Tie it around your neck with red ribbon. Finish up with a pair of round sunglasses and you have a sweet and cozy look!

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3

Elphaba From 'Wicked'

halloween costumes for women
Mike Garten/Good Housekeeping

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.

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4

Dionne from 'Clueless'

woman wearing a stylish outfit with a unique hat posing against a solid background
mike garten

Dress up as Cher Horowitz's bestie in this timeless combination of knit and plaid. Will there be anyone at the costume party more stylish? As if!

5

Cosmopolitan

cosmo martini costume
mike garten

This classic martini has recently surged back to popularity, making its sister, the Cosmo, the perfect Halloween costume. It is also super easy to pull off as you can make use of any LBD you have hanging in your closet.

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6

Sadness from 'Inside Out'

sadness from inside out costume
mike garten

Who doesn't want to wear a bright colored wig on Halloween night? Dressing up as Sadness is the perfect excuse! Throw on your own blue sweater, black leggings and blue tinted sunnies to complete the look.

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7

Ladybug

halloween costumes for women
Mike Garten/Good Housekeeping

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-sized 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.

8

Barbara Howard

barbara howard abbot elementary costume
mike garten

Abbott Elementary's seasoned Kindergarten teacher may mix up her celebrities, but no one will be confused about who you are when you dress as her on Halloween night. Pair your favorite cardigan with a button-down and slacks to pull off this costume. And don't forget to top it off with a string of pearls.

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9

Deviled Egg

halloween costumes for women
Mike Garten/Good Housekeeping

Got dark jeans, a white tee and sneakers? 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.

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10

Lip Smacker

halloween costumes for women
Mike Garten/Good Housekeeping

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.

11

Taylor Swift

taylor swift on the eras tour stage
Pedro Gomes/TAS24//Getty Images

We're already waiting for the next Taylor Swift tour, but until it arrives, channel your inner T-Swift by rocking one of her iconic looks from the Eras Tour.

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12

Scrub Daddy

halloween costumes for women
Mike Garten/Good Housekeeping

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.

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13

Stanley Cup

halloween costumes for women
Mike Garten/Good Housekeeping

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.

14

Queen Charlotte From 'Bridgerton'

queen charlotte
Roy Rochlin

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.

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15

Tennis Player

halloween costumes for women
Mike Garten/Good Housekeeping

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.

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16

Emily From 'Emily in Paris'

halloween costumes for women
Photographer Mike Garten; Hair by Meron Weyante; Makeup by Marc Cornwall

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).

17

Inline Skating Barbie

man and woman next to each other wearing colorful pink and green workout attire looking like barbie and ken
Photographer Mike Garten; Hair by Meron Weyante; Makeup by Marc Cornwall

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 couple's costume.

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18

Error 404

halloween costumes for women
Photographer Mike Garten; Hair by Meron Weyante; Makeup by Marc Cornwall

For a funny and low-lift idea, grab your favorite t-shirt and some stick-on letters to become everyone's nightmare: an error 404 message.

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19

Ariel From 'The Little Mermaid'

halloween costumes for women
Photographer Mike Garten; Hair by Meron Weyante; Makeup by Marc Cornwall

For under-the-sea fun, you can't beat dressing up as Ariel. And when you DIY the look, you can re-wear everything after Halloween (even the whosits and whatsits).

20

Nepo Baby

halloween costumes for women
Photographer Mike Garten; Hair by Meron Weyante; Makeup by Marc Cornwall

The internet became obsessed with Hollywood's Nepo Babies and the fascination shows no signs of stopping. Steal Hailey Bieber's tee-and-jeans look for yourself this Halloween.

Headshot of Cameron Jenkins
Cameron Jenkins
Staff Writer

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.

Headshot of Yaa Bofah
Yaa Bofah
Editorial Fellow

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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