Welcome back to our Costume of the Day series! From now until Halloween, we’ll be posting new unique costume ideas daily, all created out of items found at Buffalo Exchange. We’re brewing up some scary good ideas for you guys, so be sure to check back regularly! Now that you mention it…we actually really enjoy coming up with costumes. So need a hand? Stop by your local Buffalo Exchange! We have designated Costume Stylists on hand daily to help you make your Halloween dreams a reality. Just look for an employee wearing a Costume Stylist name badge.
Keep It Fresh!
Take some fashion inspiration from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and dress up as the Banks Family for Halloween. Get together a few of your friends, pick up some 90s gear from Buffalo Exchange Costa Mesa and be sure to practice the theme song! “In West Philadelphia, born and raised. On the playground is where I spent most of my days…”
Spice for Life
Another take on the Spice Girls from Buffalo Exchange Florida! You really can’t go wrong with this 90s group costume. Bust out some group choreography to really make an impression this Halloween!
To Be or Not to Be
Still don’t know what to be this Halloween? Then take a page out of the old bard’s book and dress as Hamlet or any renaissance character. Find a poofy sleeved shirt for men and be sure throw on those tights! Accessorize by carrying around a skull like we did at Buffalo Exchange Bellingham. Romeo and Juliet also makes a great – but tragic – couples costume.
The Coven
Channel your American Horror Story fandom into a simple – but effective – Coven look this Halloween. To create these looks at Buffalo Exchange New Orleans, we threw on as much black as possible – dresses, tights, hats and boots – and then posed in front of the genuine Coven house. It may not be quite as easy to find a sweet old mansion if you live outside of NOLA, but guaranteed you can put one of these monochromatic looks together in no time.
Rocky Horror
What’s Halloween without Rocky Horror Picture Show? Make it a monster mash this Halloween by getting a group of friends together and going as Frank N. Furter (pictured front and center), Magenta (right) and Columbia #1 (left). The best part is, you can keep it to this classic trio, like we did at Buffalo Exchange Atlanta.
Ziggy Stardust
Ground control to Major Tom – we’ve figured out what to be this Halloween. Honor one of the world’s most influential musicians by dressing up as David Bowie’s alter ego Ziggy Stardust! The main aspect of this look from Buffalo Exchange San Diego (Hillcrest) is the lightning face paint – for the rest, throw on a few sequins and you’re ready to rock.
David Bowie, Take Two
These looks from Buffalo Exchange Seattle (Ballard) show you how many different ways you can make this costume work. It’s as simple as locking down the signature hair-do and adding a little glam!
Be a Star
Prince offers us endless inspiration for being a rocker! At Buffalo Exchange Minneapolis, they got in to the groove with a great purple jacket to mimic Prince’s iconic look.
Addams Family Values
The Addams Family – a true Halloween classic. This can be a group costume, like we did at Buffalo Exchange Dallas, or you can be any character on your own. The best part is you could add in Fester, Debbie or Cousin Itt and make the family as big as you want. Each costume is pretty simple on its own – just dress in black and keep up the the Addams Family attitude!
Grease
If you want a group costume that goes together like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong, this is it! Grease has quickly become one of our go-to Halloween costumes this year. For one, because we would definitely wear these looks from Buffalo Exchange Pittsburgh after Halloween. For two, because we can definitely put them together at the last minute with items we already own. And for three, because it gives us the excuse to sing some pretty fantastic songs all night.
Backstreet Boys “Millenium” Album Cover
Backstreet’s back, alright! This idea from Buffalo Exchange Sherman Oaks makes for the ultimate group costume…if you grew up in the 90s and kind of have a thing for boy bands, that is. For this look, all you need is white on white on white, a few stick-on mustaches/goatees and a pair of shades. Major bonus points if you memorize a verse, complete with choreography, to bust out at every Halloween party you walk into.
The Breakfast Club
Who doesn’t love brunch? If you feel like the best part of waking up is a mimosa in your cup, then show your appreciation by getting a group of your besties together to go as a literal Breakfast Club this year. Eggs, bacon, avocado toast, bloody mary’s…the possibilities are endless! These breakfast basics courtesy of Buffalo Exchange Hawthorne. Just a side note: Space Egg is definitely one of the most hilarious and unique costume ideas we’ve seen so far.
Twiggy
Flashback to Andy Warhol’s 1960s as Twiggy this Halloween. The key components of this look are a swingin’ 60s dress (we found this one at Buffalo Exchange Tucson), knee socks and heavy, heavy eyeliner. If you don’t already have short hair, part your longer locks on the side and then pull them back into a low bun to mimic the look.
Mad Max: Fury Road
We all know that the future costume contest trophies belong to the mad, so channel your inner Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa this year. For the base of this costume, styled by Buffalo Exchange Santa Monica, start with a white tank top, a black wrap-around scarf, black skinnies and black or brown boots. Then, add several brown belts and wrap a studded belt around your thigh. Complete the costume with a pair of Goggles and this Mad Max hair and makeup tutorial. The best part about this costume? We love how it incorporates everyday staples you can easily wear throughout the rest of the season.
Cirque du Halloween: The Ringmaster, The Lion, The Bearded Lady and The Mime
Ever wanted to run off and join the circus? Now’s your chance! Get a group of your besties together and dress up as a crew worthy of Barney & Bailey fame. You can pretty much find all the pieces you need secondhand. In fact, we put this whole group costume together using items from Buffalo Exchange Tempe. First up is the ringmaster and her menagerie. To create a ringmaster look, you’ll need a top hat and a whip. For the rest of the costume, simply stick to a black, white and red color scheme. Find a red tuxedo-style blazer and layer it on top of a black bodysuit or else wear a long-sleeved red top under a black vest for a similar effect. On the bottom, throw on fishnets or black skinnies and tall boots.
For the lion, all you really need is some face paint for the nose, a lion’s mane (the hood of a parka works well or you can DIY your own) and lots of beige and brown. We used a brown overcoat and some fun slippers to complete this look!
Next up is the bearded lady and her mime friend. To create your bearded lady costume, throw on a fun dress, add a beard and voila! Instant carnival attraction. For the mime, you’ll need striped everything, a beret, white gloves and suspenders. If more of your friends want to hop on board the circus wagon, add a muscle man, a clown, a fortune teller, an elephant or a monkey.
Pennywise the Clown from It
This may not be one of the year’s most unique costume ideas, but it’s certainly going to be one of the most popular. Don’t miss this chance to seriously creep your friends out as Pennywise the Clown. We put this version together at Buffalo Exchange San Francisco (Haight St) with a clown suit, clown makeup and, OF COURSE, an ominous red balloon! If you can’t find a traditional clown costume or don’t want to purchase one, no worries. You can DIY your look by hot gluing some colorful poms on a white tee and colored jeans.
Pennywise Goes to Paris
We are absolutely loving this couture take on Pennywise the Clown, styled by Buffalo Exchange Brooklyn (Williamsburg). Instead of using a traditional clown costume, put together a look that is scarily chic using a few layers of Victorian frills and a couple of statement poms. Top the outfit off with heels, a signature red balloon and some creepy teardrop eye makeup.
Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf
Any Grimms’ Fairy Tales fans out there? This idea from Buffalo Exchange NYC (East Village) makes for the perfect couples costume! For Little Red Riding Hood, you’ll need a dress and a red hooded cape. Simple as that! Bonus points if you want to add a wicker basket.
For the wolf, aim for Northwest style (i.e. flannel and boots), then add on wolf ears and face paint or a wolf mask. To really have fun with it, swap the Northwest wardrobe for a granny nightgown and a kerchief.
The Sock Hop Set
Here’s a look that makes us want to say shooby-doo-wop! When you feel like taking a stroll back in time to the days of soda shops and sock hops, get together a group of your friends for a 50s-themed group costume. Go grease lightning in a matter of minutes simply by slicking back your hair and throwing on a white tee, black leather jacket, red bandana and jeans. For a more feminine look, simply swap the jeans for a circle skirt and switch up the hairdo. These sock hop stylings are so easy to put together that they make for totally cute last minute costumes. We styled this look almost entirely from items found at Buffalo Exchange Berkeley.
Spice Up Your Life
So tell me what you want – what you really, really want. A Spice Girls costume? Yeah, that’s what we were thinking at Buffalo Exchange Eugene, too. This is already proving to be one of the most popular group costumes of the year, so if you wanna be a Spice Girl, you gotta get with your friends! Pick your flavor – Sporty, Baby, Ginger, Posh or Scary – and get costuming.
For Sporty, think Adidas track pants, a crop top and a high ponytail. To create a Baby Spice look, wear a light pink dress and put your hair up in pigtails. If you’re more the Ginger type, you’ll need to wear all red – British flag accents encouraged. To perfect your Posh, wear your hair straight and throw on a slinky black dress. Finally, you can put a Scary Spice look together with leopard print everything and her signature space buns.
Purple Rain
Let your inner rock star shine this Halloween! For this costume at Buffalo Exchange Los Angeles (Santa Monica), we paid tribute to Prince in a yellow, embellished jumpsuit. This look is more about attitude than anything else, so keep an eye out for bright colors like turquoise, purple and yellow, glitter and studs, then mix and match everything together for a stage-ready look.
Hop on the Magic School Bus!
With a new Magic School Bus now available on Netflix, it’s the perfect time to take chances, make mistakes and get messy with your Halloween costume! That’s right – we’re talking about the one and only Ms. Frizzle. To create this look from Buffalo Exchange Phoenix, start with a dress in a wacky print – space is a popular choice, but anything science-themed will work. To DIY it, pick up a blue dress, felt in colors like white, red, yellow, orange green and blue and a hot glue gun. Use the white to create stars and moons, the red, yellow and orange to make suns and Saturns and the green and blue to make Earths. For an extra touch, glue a couple of stars or moons onto your shoes. Oh and don’t forget your reptilian friend! To finish off the look, pin a stuffed lizard (or a printed photo of one) on your shoulder.
That 70s Show
Hello, Wisconsin! For this group costume from Buffalo Exchange Ventura, we took a trip back to the psychedelic 70s as Kelso, Jackie, Fez, Eric, Donna and Hyde. Since 70s styles are so popular right now, you may already have a few pieces in your closet that you can use – think flared denim, vintage band tees, Levi’s jackets and plenty of plaid.
Marie Antoinette
This is one of those unique costume ideas that’s going to have everyone asking, “Where did you get that?!” To which we would reply, “Buffalo Exchange NYC Chelsea, thanks for asking!” If you want to recreate this look yourself, you’ll need a Victorian wig, gloves, pearls and a frilly full-length dress – Gunne Sax gowns work perfectly. To complete the costume, we highly recommend handing out cupcakes and saying, “Let them eat cake!” all night.
Disco Darlings
If you’re looking for a Halloween costume idea that you’ll definitely be able to wear again, think Boogie Nights! We put together these disco darling looks at Buffalo Exchange Portland (Downtown) by piling on the glitter, velvet and fringe – all pieces we would be excited to wear again to a holiday party or just a night out on the town. The more glitz and glam, the better. Definitely use this as an excuse to paint your nails with glitter polish and/or buy that body glitter you’ve been wanting.
Can You Do the Can-Can?
When it comes to unique costume ideas, everybody can-can! At Buffalo Exchange Austin, we took inspiration from Moulin Rouge for these can-can dancer costumes. To put one of these looks together, stick with a classic color scheme of black and red and look for items like corsets, crinolines, top hats and fancy gloves. Oh, and start stretching – you’re definitely going to want to bust out some high kicks at least once during the night.
Squad from Outer Space
Need a fun and easy group costume idea? Take a trip to outer space! Grab a couple of alien masks (or paint your face with green and black) and go for silver metallic everything, like we did for these costumes at Buffalo Exchange Fullerton. Because metallics are so popular right now, this is a great excuse to add a little shine to your wardrobe.
Jinkies! It’s Velma!
We’ve done it! We’ve solved the mystery of what to be for Halloween this year: Velma from Scooby Doo. To put this look together at Buffalo Exchange Albuquerque, we found an orange turtleneck sweater, a darker orange skirt, specs and a magnifying glass. You’ll also want to pick up a wig (or just use this as an excuse to get bangs again!), orange knee-high socks and red shoes. Even better, get a few of your friends to go as Shaggy, Daphne and Scooby Doo himself!
My Little Unicorn
Who doesn’t love unicorns? To transform into this most mystical of all creatures, you only need one main component: a unicorn horn. We found these at Buffalo Exchange Boston (Somerville), but you can also DIY your own. From there, get creative with your look! Rainbow hair colors and bright, colorful outfits highly recommended.
It’s in the Cards!
Now here’s a truly original – and potentially quite spooky – idea! Pull out your favorite tarot deck and take inspiration from the cards. There are tons of options, but at Buffalo Exchange Brooklyn (Boerum Hill), we recreated the Empress, the Magician and the Lovers. To really sell this costume, of course, go around predicting fellow partygoers’ futures all night!
The Glow Up
If you’re a fan of the popular Netflix series Glow, show your friends that the glow-up is real by dressing as a lady wrestler for Halloween. To put together these looks at Buffalo Exchange Seattle (U-District), we basically went for an 80s workout video vibe with spandex, leotards and high shine. Ready to rumble!
On Halloween, We Wear Pink
This year, when someone asks you what you’re supposed to be, you can proudly proclaim, “I’m a mouse, duh!” Gather your best friends together and dress as the baddest squad of the early 2000s – Mean Girls’ Cady Heron, Regina George, Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith. We styled this costume at Buffalo Exchange Chicago using schoolgirl mini skirts, heels and plenty of pink, plus a 90s slip and mouse ears for Karen! We don’t know about you, but we suddenly have a strong urge to go watch Mean Girls again.
Last-Minute Looks: Strawberry and Rosie the Riveter
Here, we’ve got a range of last-minute looks from Buffalo Exchange Houston. How about the adorable strawberry on the left? For this one, take a red dress, cover it in dots with a sharpie, get some green fabric and cut yourself a collar. Throw on red tights and your outfit is complete! Or, go for Rosie the Riveter (pictured front right) with a red bandana and either a mechanic’s jumpsuit or some denim on denim. Instant costume!
Crazy Cat Lady
This woman, spotted at Buffalo Exchange Charlotte, loves her cats so much that she’s actually started turning into them! For a unique take on a crazy cat lady costume, go for cat print anything and add a cat mask (potentially available at your local Buffalo Exchange!). Animal masks are totally in right now, so represent your favorite member of the wild kingdom with a mask and street clothes for a look that is oh-so-cool and also totally easy to put together right meow.
Grease Lightning
For a costume that is systematic, hydromatic AND ultramatic, you can’t go wrong with Grease. To put together a group look like this one from Buffalo Exchange Philadelphia, throw on moto jackets, high-waisted denim and, if you can find it (or craft your own), a Pink Ladies bomber jacket! Don’t these guys just go together like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong?
Out of This World
The best part about these fashion astronaut looks from Buffalo Exchange Las Vegas is that you have a lot of room to get creative. Look for this season’s popular metallic and see-through plastic trends. Bonus points because you’ll look like you just walked off the 2018 runways when you wear these after Halloween. Then, DIY a space helmet to make your look complete!
Sailor Moon
In the name of the moon, we love these Sailor Moon costumes from Buffalo Exchange San Francisco (Mission). For Sailor Moon, you’ll need a blue skirt, a white tee and a red bow to put around your neck. Put your hair up in space buns and you’re ready to save the universe! For a matching Tuxedo Mask costume, you’ll need a black blazer, a cape, a top hat, sunglasses and a rose.
Sonny and Cher
It isn’t every day you have the chance to masquerade as the coolest couple of the 60s and 70s. To get you Sonny and Cher on this Halloween, it’s all about the hair styles. If you don’t already have Cher’s infamous locks, pick up a wig. For Sonny, add a moustache. After that, it’s all about going full-on 70s. For this look from Buffalo Exchange San Diego (Pacific Beach), we went with flares, suede, turquoise jewelry and denim on denim, but you can style this however you want!
Rocket Power
For anyone who watched Nickelodeon in its 90s hay day, the Rocket Power show makes a unique but recognizable throwback costume. At Buffalo Exchange Columbus, we recreated Reggie Rocket with camo pants and her signature tee. Skateboard definitely recommended. For her best friend Twister Rodriguez, we threw on Converse, cargo shorts, a blue tank top layered over a tee and a backwards cap. This is a great BFF costume!
Fairly Odd Parents
Ok, we just can’t get enough of 90s Nickelodeon, so we couldn’t resist creating a Fairly Odd Parents costume at Buffalo Exchange Boston (Allston). This is an easy last-minute costume because you mainly just need a pink and green wig or temporary hair dye, fairy wings and clothes from your own closet.
Saved by the Bell
If you’ve never seen Saved by the Bell, it’s time for a Hulu marathon with your main squeeze. When you’re done, get started on the perfect couples costume – Lisa and Screech. There are no rules for this one. To create this look at Buffalo Exchange Nashville, we just put together the most 80s outfits possible and threw on curly haired wig for Screech.
TLC
Don’t go chasing unoriginal costumes this Halloween – instead, go as iconic 90s girl band TLC! We created these T-Boz, Left Eye and Chilli costumes at Buffalo Exchange Washington DC by combining some 90 streetwear favorites like baggy overalls, flannels and bra tops.
Miss Piggy
Here’s one of those unique costume ideas that will guarantee you don’t run into anyone else with the same outfit on Halloween night. We used a Miss Piggy mask for this costume at Buffalo Exchange Astoria, but you could also get a pig nose or ears and then do your Miss Piggy hair and makeup. For the rest of the outfit, find a cute pink dress, fancy gloves and pearls and you’ll be muppet glam in no time!
The post Unique Costume Ideas for Every Spooky Occasion appeared first on Buffalo Exchange New & Recycled Fashion®.