Don't you hate when you show up for a Halloween party and no one knows what you are? Just me? For the most part, I think out-of-the-box ideas are awesome and so much fun, but sometimes I just want everyone to know what my costume is so I don't have to keep explaining it all night. Sure, there might be six other people dressed up as the same thing, but it makes for a fun group picture at the end of the night.
If you want to dress up like something completely relevant that everyone knows from the latest TV and movies, we have some ideas for how you can throw those costumes together at home. You can still be mainstream with your pop culture costume, but this way it has a DIY twist! Keep reading for 30 ideas for your next party.
Jackson and Ally from the A Star Is Born remake is sure to be the hottest — and easiest — pop-culture-inspired couples costume this year, and we aren't mad about it. Bonus points if you top off your costume as Lady Gaga's Ally with a bag of frozen peas.
Channel what is undoubtedly one of the best movies of the year with your very own kissing booth setup. Cut a square out of a piece of cardboard and put a price tag and sign on it.
This classic spooky character never goes out of style, and as long as you have a black-and-white striped outfit, you can be him.
It doesn't matter which of the lifeguards from the Baywatch movie you want to be; all you need is a red swimsuit and a whistle.
To be Howard and Bernadette from The Big Bang Theory, you'll need tight pants with a button-up shirt for Howard and a dress with a cardigan for Bernadette.
To be Ariana in her video, you'll need a lot of purple paint. That's really it.
You can dress up as one of our president's most hated things by fashioning a skirt out of newspapers and writing "FAKE" on a shirt.
Dress up as cheerleading practice Cheryl with knee-high socks, black shorts, and a softball tee with yellow sleeves. Don't forget your long red wig.
Pull out your long red dress and find yourself a spear to be this Black Panther character.
There are a variety of ways to be Eleven, but for this '80s punk-inspired look, you can wear a black coat and jeans with slicked-back hair.
You could do the whole huge Thanos costume . . . or you could come up with your own interpretation, like this cool makeup look that includes the Infinity Stones on your face and body. Just as long as purple is your main color.
You can be everyone's favorite neighbor with a cardigan and a smile. Bonus points if you have a king puppet.
If you want to be one of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, you'll need a bathing suit or bodysuit, a DIY star-spangled corset, and a lot of attitude.
You be either Sophie or young Donna from Mamma Mia with very similar looks — overalls and a wavy blond wig.
You can wear whatever makes you feel like a rock star as long as you have ears and microphone.
Bedazzle your favorite bra and wear it with some cute leather pants to be Selena.
Be any of the sisters from Hocus Pocus by teasing your hair out and wearing your most colorful witchy clothes.
For this look, you need a short-sleeved red dress and a large white bonnet that you can make out of paper.
If you've got a long flowy dress and a long flowy blond wig, you can be Daenerys Targaryen easily.
This series won't seem to go away, so you can emulate it the creative way by wearing paint chips in shades of gray.
Copy this DJ's look by painting his iconic face on a white bucket and wearing it on your head. You'll probably want to cut eyeholes out so you can see, but that part is up to you.
Taylor wears a lot of different looks for this video, but you can do her all-black look with fishnets pretty easily. You just need a black bodysuit or bathing suit with a fishnet shirt and stockings and black socks and heels.
The '90s are very back in style, which makes re-creating Cher's yellow schoolgirl outfit easy to do. You just need the plaid skirt and jacket and knee-high stockings.
Grab your carpet bag, because you'll need it for this costume. Wear your most prim-looking dress and jacket and carry around your umbrella.
Beyoncé isn't shy when it comes to wearing a bedazzled bodysuit. To be just like her, just take a bodysuit and glue rhinestones all over it and wear it with heels.
You can either wear orange or tan to be an inmate at Litchfield. Scrubs work well for this look, as long as you have a t-shirt and pants all in the same color.
If you've got extra boxes handy, you can paint them to look like a Minecraft character and glue them together into an outfit.
Unicorns are still having a moment, so why not be one for Halloween? You can wear whatever outfit makes you feel most majestic and attach a horn to a headband you can wear.
This fun costume just requires a bikini top and a shiny green skirt. You can dress it up more with seashells or some netting.
Harry Potter characters will always be relevant, and they're a fun costume to wear any year. Throw on a black robe and carry around a wand and put spells on people to your heart's desire.