I take Halloween costumes very seriously, always have and always will. Some of my favorite costumes have been planned months in advance while others have been thrown together a day or two beforehand. Things happen! Maybe you were scheduled for a barshift Halloweekend so you didn’t bother putting anything together and at the last minute got off. Or your situationship ended abruptly and now your couple’s costume is useless without your second half. It’s also very possible you simply did not care to consider your costume until the last minute, and that’s okay!
Despite the title of this list, anyone of any gender expression can dress up as these costumes. First and foremost, they’re easy to throw together last minute. So, no, you will not see Danny Phantom on this list, because that requires getting a bodysuit and dying your hair white. Plan earlier next time! Secondly, they’re either timely pop culture references or classic — you won’t really find any niche references here, because those require time and effort that you, my friend, do not have.
Happy Halloween! Drop what you plan to be/ended up being in the comments.
Literally Any Character From The Goonies
Mikey – gray undershirt, dark blue denim shirt/jacket, same shade denim jeans, sneakers. optional: yellow rain jacket.
Mouth – black graphic/band tee shirt, gray jacket, blue jeans, black sneakers
Data – white button down (you could cheat and use a false collar), gray crew neck/sweater, long gray trench coat (the more patches, the better), blue jeans, and white sneakers.
Chunk – plaid pants, Hawaiian shirt, and sneakers. optional: red rain jacket.
Brandon – gray muscle tee or sleeveless crewneck sweater, gray sweatpants, blue athletic shorts (worn over the sweatpants), sneakers, and a red bandana.
couples/duo: Andy – white skirt, white polo, yellow cardigan, white sneakers
David Byrne
Simply borrow a cis guy’s gray suit and you’re done. Just kidding… but really. Or grab one at the thrift store and don’t get it tailored.
David Lynch
This is the first Halloween since Lynch’s passing, and I imagine it may be a popular or at least recognizable costume. It’s also a pretty easy one to accomplish at the last minute. All you need is a white (or really any color) button up shirt, black pants, and a pair of over-the-ear corded headphones.
Peter McVries from The Long Walk
It was borderline distracting how hot David Jonsson was as Peter “Pete” McVries in Stephen King’s The Long Walk. I’m used to Jonsson in a suit, tie, and glasses in Industry, so seeing him in a wife pleaser with THOSE ARMS?!? unlocked something deeply bisexual within me. I think it’d make for a great Halloween costume and super easy to accomplish last minute. All you need is a gray wife pleaser/tank/muscle tee, light wash blue jeans, a belt, backpack, and black boots/sneakers, and you could totally hand-make a dog tag with “23”. Of course, you should sport a watch or athletic band to keep pace! Optional: overshirt tied around your waist.
Really any of the guys from The Long Walk
McVries/Jonsson is hardly the only hottie in the movie. Depending on your vibe and who you most closely resemble, you could be any of the main guys. Here’s what you’ll need for them:
Richard Harkness – Jordan Gonzalez plays nerdy Richard Harkness. You’ll need thick black framed eyeglasses, a denim jacket (bonus points if you rip the sleeves off), a neutral color button down shirt with a tie, dark wash jeans, converse sneakers, backpack and a notebook.
Raymond Garraty – baseball tee, flannel overshirt, gray/dark colored work pants or jeans, bucket hat, brown boots/shoes, and backpack.
Hank Olson – blue/denim baseball cap, horizontal striped tee shirt, cross body bag, brown pants/jeans, converse/white sneakers
Otherwise, pick your boy below!
Benny from Overcompensating
This was one of my favorite watches this year and conveniently a very easy character to dress up as. It’s just a gray short sleeve tee shirt, light wash blue jeans, and sneakers. If you’re a transmasc who happens to love walking around shirtless, you could literally also just skip the tee shirt and walk around with light wash blue jeans and the ones who know will know.
Bad Bunny at his Puerto Rico Residency
Another Benito with a big year, and it’s only getting bigger. Bad Bunny has been a huge pop culture fixture this year between his residency, tour, SNL appearances, and now the Super Bowl Halftime Show. He sported a ton of different looks you could choose from to dress as him for Halloween, but the easiest to accomplish last minute is his Night 1 look from his residency. Complete the look with a white collared long sleeve shirt, white crew neck with the collar, sleeves, and bottom hem trimmed, white pants, a furry earflap hat, sunglasses, and yellow gloves if you can find ‘em.
Smoke from Sinners
Easily one of the best and most exciting film releases this year, Sinners is ripe for Halloween costumes. Most of them would require some planning and procuring, given the period-specific clothing we likely don’t have laying around, but we can throw together a Smoke costume fairly quickly. You’ll need a ribbed white wife pleaser tucked into brown slacks with a belt, a black leather pouch worn around your neck and a necklace with some kind of silver medallion. Bonus points if you get some fake blood and cover yourself in it!
Dr. Robby from The Pitt
This one’s topical AND comfortable. The Pitt swept at the Emmys a few weeks ago, and let’s face it — Dr. Robby is a freakin’ heartthrob. Luckily for you, dressing up like him is not just easy but it also guarantees a super comfy Halloween. Grab some scrubs or a deep v-neck black shirt, a white undershirt, and navy blue zip-up hoodie. Make yourself an ID badge and if you can get your hands on a stethoscope, toss that bad boy around your neck. Throw on some cargo pants and you’re the ER’s thirst trap.
Harry Burns from When Harry Met Sally
A classic for a reason! All through autumn, people of every gender expression accidentally dress like Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally, but this Halloween, you can do it on purpose. All you need is a white knit/retro/cable/fisherman crewneck sweater, true blue jeans, and white sneakers. Easy peasy.
Bruce Springsteen
Ahh, the blueprint. The keeper of t-boy swag. The Boss. Channel your inner New Jersey with a sleeveless denim or flannel shirt of any color/shade and tight —and I mean TIGHT— denim jeans. Any shoe will do, really, but if you have a work boot for pretty boys who don’t actually work blue collar jobs, that’d be perfect. Top it off with a bandana wrapped around your hairline. Alternatively, you can totally do a wife please or a really worn slutty tee shirt.
Kendrick Lamar from Super Bowl Halftime Show
Can you believe that was THIS YEAR? Kendrick’s halftime performance wasn’t just iconic for the message he was sending to the millions watching or even for calling Drake a pedophile on live television, but also because of the FITTTT. Listen, with how much time you have to put together this costume, you’re not going to land on something as iconic as the exact fit, but you can get pretty close. You’ll need a plain black tee shirt under a big leather jacket, if you can manage blue and black, that’s great. But the most important part is getting Y2K bootcut jeans, which I think you can do. The shoes are less crucial because your bootleg jeans will mostly cover them, but aim for white and black sneakers. Accessorize with black gloves, a black fitted cap worn backwards, and multiple long silver chains.
Mr. Milchik from Severance (The Music Dance Experience)
Sure, you could be Milchik or any of the other male characters from Severance so long as you have a suit, tie and lanyard. But what’s really fun is dressing up as Milchik specifically from Season 1 Episode 7 where we see him in a muscle-tight white turtleneck, black slacks, and dress shoes. Of course, completed with a blue lanyard.
Freddie Mercury
Will you be the only Freddie Mercury out and about that night? Likely not, but worse comes to worse, you and the other Freddie Mercury at the party go home together and duet to Bohemian Rhapsody even though it’s not really a duet song. I know you have a white wife pleaser and light wash jeans (so long as they’re tight enough), but the question is, do you have a black studded belt or could you get your hands on one asap? Probably! Lucky for you, Adidas Samba’s have come back in a huge way, so throw those or some other kind of flat sneaker on and you’re good to go.
Alex Dempsey from Wayward
Mae Martin specifically created this TV show and released it with ample time before Halloween just so transmascs around the world can step out into the world in a gray wife pleaser and call it a costume. Lucky for us, Alex is hardly ever actually in his police uniform, so we can just go ahead and forget that this is technically a cop costume. Instead, focus on the gray wife pleaser, jeans, small/thin chain, and boots. It’s really that easy. Pro tip: Mae Martin contoured their arm muscles for filming, so you absolutely can, too.
Shit Bruce Springsteen is a great idea, I may have to do that.