There are so many options for Halloween costumes. That's why we can't understand why there are still so many people who choose to wear the worst options. Those options can range from being done over and over every Halloween until we're more than sick of them to cultural appropriation and, in some cases, derogatory language. We made a list of the many costumes we keep seeing that need to end as well as giving 5 great options for Halloween of 2021. If you don't want to end up wearing something that people are sick of, take a look at all the bad options below and we'll even throw in some reasoning against them.
Culturally Inappropriate Costumes
This one should pretty much go without saying, but we know there are some of you out there who haven't figured this out yet. You shouldn't go out wearing anything that might offend someone and you shouldn't be dressing your kids up that way either. For example, native Americans are real, and the way we've been running around on Holidays pretending we know a thing about how their culture works.
There are ways you can dress up as a character whose culture is not your own without being offensive. Taking care to dress with cultural sensitivity in mind goes a long way.
Cats
Dressing up as a cat is so cliche. Like, we understand that cats are supposed to be bad luck, but how many people have to wear a cat costume on Halloween? It gets especially bad when you change it up and opt for the sexy version of it. That's really just an excuse to don some lingerie and while you go around town or to some club with your friends.
We don't really understand why dressing up as a cat means wearing stockings, teddy bodysuits, and corsets. You can literally do the sexy thing as anything meant to be sexy.
Star Wars Anything
We get it, you love "Star Wars". The people who dress up as anything from "Star Wars" are usually the people who can never stop talking about it. While the costumes used to be a great novelty, they become so overdone in the decades since the original movie came out that people need to start finding other things to be. Unless you want to dress up as something totally unexpected from the movies, that is.
Though, we're sure you probably wouldn't be able to find something like that anyway. Just stop reminding us what this franchise has become. Let it die already.
Superman
Speaking of things that are overdone, Superman is another one of them. This is like when you want to dress up as a superhero but can't figure out which one to do, so you go with the one that everybody knows because that's about as creative as you can get. There are plenty of other superheroes and also a bunch that you can still wear your underwear on the outside of the costume with.
And if it's those muscles you're trying to show off, we can think of a thousand other heroes that you can be. Hulk is the first one that comes to mind, but he's overdone too.
Wonder Woman
We see you too, women of the world. If you think we were going to talk about Superman without talking about Wonder Woman, you're dead (get it?) wrong. There are so many cool and powerful superheroes for women as well, so why choose one of the ones that are the most overdone from the DC universe? We're not saying she's lame, we just think there are so many unique options that no one ever tries.
If you really want to wow your friends, you should try someone like Raven or Starfire from the Teen Titans. Those don't get nearly as much love as they should be getting.
Batman
Batman is basically the same option as Superman. You want to dress up as somebody that everyone knows in the hopes that maybe you can strike up a conversation while looking as sexy, yet more brooding than Superman. Pro tip: if you want people to be amazed by your superhero costume, choose a really cool hero that people have never seen before. They're guaranteed to ask about it.
Besides, we're sure that the costume you end up choosing will be more crafty, intricate, and potentially less expensive than the pre-made Batman costume you found over at Party City.
Catwoman
Wonder Woman is to Superman as Catwoman is to Batman. This is basically just taking the "sexy kitty" thing and giving it some purpose. On the one hand, that actually makes the cat costume more reasonable (as well as explaining why people think cats are meant to be sexy). But on the other hand, this is just as overdone as the cat costume itself. We'd still rather take this one, though.
But if you really must choose a character that is attractive and is also superhuman, there are so many options. Off the top of our heads, we can think of Poison Ivy. She's just as bad, not nearly as overdone (though coming close to it), and you can really make the costume a work of art (Catwoman is literally a body suit).
Harley Quinn
On the other side of things are those who choose to dress up as villains. This actually kind of fits the theme of Halloween more, in our opinion, though seeing as it's the one time a year where wearing a costume is normal and encouraged, we definitely think you can be whatever you want. That being said, if you're going to be Harley Quinn, maybe you want to choose someone that no one else is going to be.
While Harley Quinn used to be something of a cool character once upon a time, it has become way too common and after Suicide Squad, we kind of just want to forget these characters.
Power Rangers
The Power Rangers were really cool... when we were kids. This costume just kind of feels a little off-putting. If you're going to get dressed up with your friends as this crime-fighting team, we'd have to advise against it. In the first place, we'd be a little surprised if you found enough people who actually wanted to wear these costumes and also the full set seems a bit overpriced.
Why not let your kid who's probably obsessed with the show dress up like this with your friends? We're sure there are a bunch of other cool costumes that your group can try out.
Scooby-Doo Gang
If you were thinking we meant something like the Scooby-Doo gang, you'd be wrong. This one is starting to cross the line of how overdone things can get. While this was definitely a really cool costume to don in the 1970s and 80s, we feel that after five decades of these costumes people would figure something else out to wear. Maybe you should split up and search for clues to that mystery, eh, gang?
And listen, if we're feeling this way about it, how do you think those people who lived before "Scooby-Doo" even came out feel about it? Just think about that one.
The Wizard Of Oz
And if we're going to talk about costumes that have been done for decades, we can't not talk about all of the "The Wizard of Oz" costumes out there. This one is exactly 30 years older than Scooby-Doo, so if you think that Scooby-Doo is overdone, think about how many people must have done this in the past 80 years. Let us tell you, it's a whole lot of people.
We love "The Wizard of Oz", but it's become too much of a given. We want to see your creativity, not your obvious love for the movie and its cast... at least, we assume you love it. Who doesn't?
Disney Princesses
This is one of those things that you might want to leave your daughter some room for. Maybe as a collaboration with your kid, this could be cute, but if you're doing this alone then you might want to consider doing something else. For one, it's a bit creepy the number of people who take these beloved characters and turn them into some sexy version of themselves. It's also just too overdone.
We want people to take some of the more obscure things or even the newer Disney characters that have been coming out. We don't want to see your fallback costumes when you've run out of time to think.
Bob's Burgers
There was a time when this show was one of the funniest shows on TV. But since then, it's kind of fallen into obscurity. We don't exactly know what happened; we're sure that they're still airing new episodes, but somehow we've just stopped seeing it. Still, this is another one of those overdone costumes that we hope to see a little bit more out of them. And we actually have some good ideas.
For one, you could be the kids when they dressed up for Halloween. That's pretty funny! Or, even better, an obscure character that no one thinks about, like Teddy! We love that guy. (And by obscure, we mean no one chooses him for Halloween. We know Teddy's pretty well known.)
Fitness Instructors
You know the kind. The instructors from those vintage workout movies. The ones where there are huge groups of people all working out together. This costume, we've noticed, is done a lot more by men than by women. If it's irony your looking for, all you've found is overdone-ness. And besides, there are male costumes for that sort of thing. We get it, you're a physically unfit male who's cross-dressing. Yawn.
On the other hand, if you can dress up and do a perfect recreation of the workout video that was synced to Kendrick Lamar's "Humble" we would support you 110%.
Stranger Things Characters
You guessed it: overdone. And that's pretty sad, actually, since "Stranger Things" is a relatively new phenomenon. But as with all things good, people immediately take the idea and tire it out. Let's be honest, you can't expect that people would wait a few years before dressing up as these characters. Still, we're sad to say it, but the Elevens with their Eggo Waffles and all of the boys around her have got to go.
Although, if we're going to be fair, the image above is actually one of our favorite looks. There's just something so nerdy about it and if anyone gets a pass it's these guys.
The Office Characters
If you think we're going to say this one is overdone, you wouldn't exactly be wrong, but you wouldn't be totally right either. When it comes to the characters of "The Office" it really just comes down to the look of it all. It's boring. There, we said it. You're literally dressing up as people who work in an office. You look no different than the random people we see on the street every day.
And if you are dressing up as the office characters dressing up as other things, then congratulations, you're obscure, but that still doesn't save your costume from being drowned out by others.
Nurse
This is one of the most common things we see every year. It's either this or witches. When it comes to choosing a costume, don't you feel like you want to be something spooky or at least something that you've never seen before? On the other hand, with the current climate, this would be the perfect costume to go with that mask you should definitely be wearing while you're out on Halloween.
That being said, make sure that your coronavirus-inspired attire is meeting up with quality standards. You shouldn't theme it on the pandemic itself. That can be really insulting to the people who have had it or lost loved ones.
"Sexy" Versions Of Things
You can literally be sexy any other day of the year. Not only is this a holiday that's mostly made for the kids' sake, but dressing up in something and making it "sexy" is not what you should be doing to save your costume. If your costume is boring, there are so many other things you can do with it to make it better. You can turn it into a pun, for example.
Combine two things that sound like each other and you'll have plenty of people asking what you are. Then when you say it, you'll get a whole bunch of laughs and feel much better (and get more attention) than your other costume.
"Zombie" Versions Of Things
The same thing can be said for the zombie version of certain costumes. Many people will turn their character into an undead version of themselves just to make their costume look a whole lot better. It doesn't work that way. A lot of the time, the thing you're doing doesn't make any sense. And it gets a whole lot worse when you do that while dressing up as a recently deceased celebrity.
If you want to give your costume some spice, why not try turning them into a superhero instead? Nobody ever tries that and it could be a really cool project and costume idea.
Rick Sanchez
As much as we love "Rick and Morty", this costume is getting kind of old. We mean that both figuratively and as an intentional pun. Rick, while being the most interesting, funny, sad, and intricate character of the series (honestly, the list goes on), we do feel that people need to choose something else. Unless, of course, you can match the level of sarcasm and cynicism that his voice actor, Justin Roiland has been able to give him.
We think it's highly unlikely that you'll be able to pull that off, so maybe leave this one off the table for now. Though if you can meet those standards, by all means, we could use a real-life Rick... we think?
Pickle Rick
And if you were thinking of being Pickle Rick because that was a huge craze for a while, we advise you not to be. Now, more than ever, "Rick and Morty" has a whole lot of potential characters for you to dress up as. After the latest season, we think that you should instead focus on Bird Person, Evil Morty, or even Mr. Nimbus if you're so inclined.
The point is, out with the Rick and Pickle Rick, and in with the cool, new, and more relevant characters. Sure, Rick and Morty are always relevant, but not if you want a cool Halloween costume.
Regular Hogwarts Student
If you own a Hogwarts robe and you're planning on just throwing it on and carrying a wand around with you, please don't. That's basically the same as doing Harry, Ron, or Hermione (which are totally overdone, by the way) except with a whole level of laziness added to it. Yes, we get that you have memorabilia from the movie, but seeing as you probably also go to other themed events where the attire is appropriate, you might want to try something new.
But if you really must use your "Harry Potter" apparel, then you might want to think about actually giving your costume some literal character. Go the extra mile and be someone no one else usually is from that universe.
Spider-Man
We couldn't leave The Amazing Spider-Man off of this list if we were to include Superman or Batman. While Spider-Man is probably the most on-them character amongst superheroes, we think that he may have had too much time in the spotlight. Actually, thinking about it, if you can recreate a costume that the Tom Holland Spider-Man wears (like the really cool Iron Man suit he receives from Tony Stark) that would be doing a huge service.
Basically, unless you're planning on going all-out with your Spider-Man costume, you shouldn't be our favorite web-slinger. But please do try to go all out because shooting webs on Halloween seems like a given.
Avengers Characters
The same can be said for pretty much any Avenger. The thing with the Avengers is that pretty much every character you see there is going to be way overdone on Halloween. But, like we were saying with Spider-Man, if you can go the extra mile and be a more obscure version of said character, then do it. People love it when old Halloween costumes come better than ever before.
And if you're going to be the one who creates a Marvel-ous costume that no one can compare to, you're going to feel like the star of the party.
Trump
We get it, Trump is a funny man to dress up as. Whether you're going to do it to make fun of him or you're doing it in support of him, you should probably leave that idea behind. Even though we can say there is an ample amount of things you can do with the costume, we have to go ahead and say that it's best not to bring politics into the fray.
Not everyone is going to like the idea, and if you want to enjoy your holiday you should take that advice. Please don't bring politics into Halloween. Leave him in the past.
Daenerys Targaryen or Other Game Of Thrones Characters
"Game of Thrones" was certainly a huge phenomenon. It was one of the most-watched shows of all time and for good reason. A few of us were late to the party and we're in shock that they somehow got away without any spoilers while watching the whole show in anticipation of the final season. And that's where this costume comes into play. It was the last season that really did us in for this costume.
The final season just put such a bad taste in many people's mouths that no one really wants to see it anymore. Daenerys is really the only character with a costume that isn't just fantasy clothing, but this goes for all of them really.
Anything Transphobic
We're not saying you can't dress up as your favorite female character if you identify as male or vice-versa, we just think you need to have a little common sense when it comes to your choice of costume. Don't wear the costume "to be trans", wear it because you appreciate the character. There are so many cool gender-bending ideas you can do as well if you want to be a male version of your favorite woman. Just please, for the love of God, don't be offensive.
That up there is what you don't want to do. This was a costume from Walmart that had to be taken down because it literally used an offensive term right in the title.
School Girl
This has got to be one of the laziest ideas we've seen so far. Dressing up in a school uniform and being a school girl is... well, how is it different than any other day? Maybe you don't have a school uniform and you're doing this in an effort to make a costume out of it, but it just feels so uncreative. We're not sure how we feel about an anime-style school girl either.
The bottom line is don't do it. People will literally think you're dressed up like a normal person. You want to be the one who wows with a costume that has people asking questions.
Vague Decade Costumes
Okay, scratch that last one. THIS is the laziest attempt at a costume we've seen so far. Grabbing whatever tie-dye you have in your closet and going out as a "hippy" or some other arbitrary fashion statement isn't really a costume at all, it's a theme. Maybe if you're trying to save some money we can let it slide, but if the goal is to be cool then you can do a whole lot better than this.
There has to be something else you can do that doesn't involve the clothes that you already wear on a daily basis. Worst case, borrow some things from a friend.
The Witches From Hocus Pocus
It's one thing to be a witch for Halloween (pretty cliche if you ask us) but it's another thing to be the witches from "Hocus Pocus". Yes, it is our favorite movie to watch on Halloween as well, but that's precisely why we want to advise against it. There are not only a lot of people who do this, but it really doesn't stand out from other witches and we're going to watch the movie later, so you don't have to be hasty.
Honestly, though, if you're really itching to be this or any other Halloween character, it's your choice. We just think you can stand to stand out from the crowd and do something new.
Suggestion 1: The Tiger King
If you think this show is too old to do a costume for, think again. We believe that this outfit deserves a second shot considering the fact that we've been put through the runner because of the pandemic. While it might not be as relevant in a social context anymore, we believe that it's still fresh enough in people's minds to deserve another shot at being this year's Halloween costume.
And if you're not keen on being Joe Exotic, then you could probably go as Carole Baskin, though that might be harder if you aren't that good at impersonations.
Suggestion 2: Mr. Nimbus
If you really want to do something from Rick & Morty (because let's be real, this show is super relevant right now) you should consider being Mr. Nimbus. Many of the other characters are overdone and while Evil Morty and Bird/Pheonix Person might also be a good choice, Evil Morty is still a Morty costume at the end of the day and Bird Person is a bit harder to do and less colorful if you want your outfit to wow.
There are also tons of other characters to choose from, but this character really made a splash (pun intended) at the start of the season. Pretty much any character that's not Rick and Morty and the immediate family is a good choice.
Suggestion 3: Scarlet Witch And/Or Vision
This is not only a great option but also the perfect thing to be if you want a couple's costume. These two characters became extra successful in part due to the super-popular show Wanda Vision (as well as obviously being a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and would be the perfect costume for this Halloween. It may take a lot of makeup and outfit work to get the job done, but it's well worth it.
And if you haven't watched Wanda Vision yet and you're a big fan of Marvel, then you have to go see it. Then you'll understand why it's a good time to dress up as them.
Suggestion 4: Squid Game Grunts
This is a great option whether or not you've watched the show (which you most likely have) and it works especially well if you are a group of three as there are three tiers of grunt to choose from: There are the circles which are the lowest ranking guard, then there are the triangles at mid-tier duties, and then there are the squares who seem to manage them all.
Alternatively, you can also dress up as the man in the cool mask who appears frequently, or you can dress up as the less popular VIPs that show up (though they're gross, so unrecommended).
Suggestion 5: Literally Any Anime Character
Some of the most popular shows this year have come from overseas, specifically from Japan in the form of anime. The upcoming second half to one of the most popular animes of all time, "Attack on Titan" is due for release this January and we're sure there will be tons of people going as their favorite character from that show. Others include "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations", "Jujutsu Kaisen", "My Hero Academia", and much, much more.
You might even be so inclined as to go dressed up as Sora from "Kingdom Hearts". Though this technically doesn't count as anime, he was developed by Disney and the popular JRPG maker Square Enix 20 years ago this year and was recently announced as the final character for one of the most popular games out there "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate".