A gray-and-blue Dorothy. A pair of supermarket contestants with an enormous ice cream cone in their cart. Someone dressed as Peter Pan's shadow. The photos below take familiar Halloween ideas and change a detail you might not think of first.
There are 29 costume examples here, including solo outfits, pairs and groups. Some use a character's clothes; others depend on saying a name out loud. The original photo credits stay with the pictures, and three entries link to recovered creator posts. The crowd image above the examples is an AI-generated illustration credited to Midjourney in the archive. It isn't a photograph of a Halloween event.
1. Dorothy, Before and After the Color Arrives
Turn one way and this Dorothy is dressed in gray. Turn the other and the blue checks appear. The front view gives you both halves at once, with the change running right down the middle of the dress.
There are three views in the picture, which helps show off the work. This is still Dorothy's familiar outfit from The Wizard of Oz, but the color change has become part of the costume rather than something happening on a screen.
2. Supermarket Sweep Teammates
Blue sweaters, white collars and matching team numbers do most of the work here. Then there's the cart, loaded with groceries and an enormous pretend ice cream cone. The two contestants look ready for a supermarket game show rather than a haunted house.
If you're borrowing the idea, the numbered outfits can stand on their own. A cart adds a lot to the picture, but it's also something you'd have to move around all evening.
3. Blue and Magenta
These Blue's Clues costumes start with blue and pink clothing, then add floppy ears and darker spots. The shapes are large enough to read clearly without covering either person's face. They're dressed as the dogs, with no need for a full furry suit.
This is a useful approach if you and a friend want coordinated outfits but don't want to dress identically. Pick your colors, keep the same spot-and-ear design, and let your own clothes form the base.
4. A Group of M&M's
Blue on the left, red in the middle, yellow on the right. Each person wears a shirt with a white m across the front and a tutu in the same color. The white gloves are a nice finishing touch.
You could borrow the shirt idea for a group without copying the whole outfit. Agree on the size of the letters first, then let everyone choose a color. In this photo, the matching pieces stop well short of identical costumes.
5. A Garden Gnome on a Mushroom
A red pointed hat and a long white beard would already suggest a garden gnome. This costume adds the garden: a spotted mushroom surrounds the wearer's waist, with little dangling legs arranged above its stem.
Look at the placement of the pieces and you can see the illusion. The person seems to be sitting on the mushroom rather than standing in it.
6. Ariel Meets the Eleventh Doctor
One costume uses a blue skirt, black bodice and hair bow for Ariel's human look. The other brings together a tweed-style jacket, bow tie, fez and a handheld prop for the Eleventh Doctor. They share a photo, not a fictional storyline.
You don't have to force a matching theme when you dress up together. Here, the bow on one side and bow tie on the other make a pleasing visual pairing, even though the characters come from different worlds.
7. A Sim With a Pixelated Panel
The green diamond hanging overhead gives this costume its Sims reference. Below it, a large panel of skin-toned squares imitates the game's pixelated censor effect. You can see how the two pieces turn a simple outfit into a game reference.
The panel is a costume prop, so wear your usual coverage underneath. Think about how you'll sit down and move through doorways with it attached.
8. Lucy and Ethel, With Snacks
The grapes and chocolates help give this pair away. So do the full skirts, little neck scarf and very serious attention to the snacks. Lucy and Ethel have arrived.
Megan Zietz's original closet-costume post dates from October 2015. She identifies herself as Lucy and her friend Jackie as Ethel, then lists the blouses, skirts and shoes they used. That's a useful starting point if you're borrowing this look: check the clothes first, before buying a whole new costume.
9. A Cat and a Scratching Post
The cat has ears and whiskers. Beside her, the other costume turns a tall cylinder into a scratching post, complete with a broad square top. It's the second outfit that makes an ordinary cat costume into a pair.
There are a few more pieces to carry around with that post, so it helps to picture the whole evening before building one. The photo pose brings the two halves of the idea together.
10. The Cheetah Girls in Tracksuits
Four coordinated tracksuits bring this group costume together, with bright colors, headbands and a little plush dog in the foreground. The Cheetah Girls reference comes through in the shared styling rather than four identical outfits.
It's an option to consider if your group would rather wear trousers and zip-up tops than work around a large cardboard prop. You can choose a color for each person and agree on a few matching details.
11. Peter Pan and His Shadow
At first you see Peter Pan in a green tunic and pointed cap. Then the black figure behind him makes the idea click. The second costume is his shadow, matching the outline instead of adding another brightly colored character.
The paired photos show why positioning matters. Stand apart and you have two costumes; line up and you get the visual joke. If you try it, leave your face and vision clear rather than treating complete concealment as a requirement.
12. Spoiled Milk
The word on the white dress says milk. Shopping bags supply the other half of the pun: this milk is spoiled.
You can make the idea legible with a simple label and a few pretend shopping bags. There's no reason to buy designer items for a costume about having them. In the picture, the red stripes frame the lettering, so the dress still resembles packaging even before you notice the accessories.
13. Pumpkin Spice Girls
These two have put spice labels on red aprons and added small pumpkins as props. Cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice replace the pop group's stage personas. The wordplay is doing the work, with the aprons keeping the labels prominent.
It's a different direction from copying the Spice Girls' actual outfits. You could choose your own spice names if you're adapting it for a group.
14. Spinelli From Recess
That yellow hat is doing a lot of work. Under it are a dark jacket, red dress, orange-and-red striped tights and heavy boots. Put them together and you have Spinelli, with a hand on her hip to finish the pose.
The tights are worth a second look before you assemble your own version. They add the stripes that would be missing from an ordinary red-dress-and-jacket outfit. Borrow the colors and shapes; the boots don't need a particular label.
15. Pigs in Blankets
Two pink snouts, two sets of ears, two blankets pulled around the shoulders. The people in this picture have taken pigs in blankets literally, leaving the sausages out of it.
You can still see the pink tops underneath the brown wraps. That's the combination to keep if you try this one. An oversized blanket might hide the pig outfit completely, and trailing ends would get in the way when you're walking.
16. Regina George After the Bus Scene
This Mean Girls reference chooses a very specific version of Regina George. The light dress, dark belt and homemade neck-brace-style frame point to her appearance after the film's bus incident. Flowers decorate the top of the structure.
The pictured frame is a costume effect. Use lightweight pieces that leave your head and neck free to move if you're borrowing the idea.
17. Two Google Maps Pins
Two enormous red location pins rise above map-covered shirts. One is marked A, the other B. Together they turn a route's endpoints into a costume for two people, with their faces visible through openings in the pins.
The map pieces add detail close up, but the red outlines are what you notice first. If you're making a version, check that the headpieces stay in place without blocking your view.
18. Bags of Jelly Beans
The Jelly Belly labels are nearly as wide as the wearers. Behind each one is a clear bag filled with big, colorful round shapes. Four people use the same idea here, so it looks as if a candy display has gone for a walk.
You could put the label and pretend sweets on a front panel over normal clothes. Keep plastic away from faces, especially with children, and leave yourself room to walk. The candy colors will still show.
19. Arthur, With the Meme Included
The little round ears sit above a pair of round glasses. Add the yellow top and jeans and you have Arthur, the PBS Kids aardvark. Here, the wearer has also brought along a framed meme image.
That frame changes the costume a bit. Someone who recognizes the clothes gets the cartoon character; someone who knows the image gets another reference as well. You can carry the frame for photos, then put it down without losing the basic Arthur outfit.
20. A French KISS
A striped shirt, black beret and baguette set up one half of the joke. Bold black-and-white rock makeup supplies the KISS reference. Put them together and you have a visual pun that doesn't need a complicated outfit.
The bread is a prop, not a requirement to keep replacing all night. A pretend version would do the same job in a photo. Choose products intended for the skin rather than using craft paint on your face.
21. The Emerald City
A city skyline sits on top of a green wig. Underneath are a green dress and a wand, so the wearer has brought the Emerald City along with her instead of dressing as Dorothy or the Wizard.
Look at the shape of the headpiece: the tall buildings are the clue. Without them, the green clothes could suggest a different Oz character. The little skyline keeps this particular idea about a place, even when the wearer is standing alone for a photo.
22. Drink Packaging as a Pair
One person wears a tall can-shaped costume; the other has an oversized bottle label and a cap-shaped hat. Together, the Red Bull and Jägermeister packaging explains the original drink-name joke. This is an adult party reference shown in the archive.
For a costume version, empty lightweight props can suggest both packages. There's no need to carry real bottles.
23. Bugs and Lola on the Tune Squad
Rabbit ears, basketball jerseys, white shorts and a ball set up this Space Jam pairing.
The matching uniforms tie the two outfits together, while the ears carry the cartoon reference. It's also an example of choosing clothes you can move in instead of building a rigid shell. If you're using the picture for inspiration, decide whether the ball is just for photographs or something you want to carry around the party.
24. A Copy Cat
CTRL+C sits on a white card hanging over a black top. Above it are cat ears, whiskers and a painted nose, with one hand held up like a paw. Read the sign after looking at the face and the pun lands: copy cat.
The card is the only piece that turns this into a different outfit from a regular black cat. You could keep the same ears and clothes for another event, then add or remove the sign for the photo.
25. A Cactus Collector
Cactus prints cover the robe, and two potted plants complete the look. Glasses and casually arranged hair give the outfit the feel of someone whose plant collection has followed them to the party.
For your own version, use pretend plants with soft surfaces. They can carry the same shapes without bringing sharp spines into a crowded room. The little pot and larger plant make a good visual contrast, although either would be an extra thing to hold all evening.
26. Taco Belle
Belle's blue-and-white village outfit meets a large taco costume in this pair. The joke is in saying the two names together.
This is a way to coordinate costumes without making two versions of the same thing. One person can take the character outfit while the other builds the food shape. Different colors and materials are fine, since the wordplay connects them. Stand together for the picture so people get both halves at once.
27. A Plug, an Outlet and a Light-Up Reveal
The two frames show the idea before and after the lights come on. One person wears an outlet-shaped panel, while the other has lights across their dark clothing. The plug-and-socket theme links the pair.
If you're adapting it, use a purpose-made battery costume light set according to its instructions, and keep the socket and plug as pretend props. Don't connect a wearable costume to household power.
28. A Campfire and a S'more
The campfire wears yellow trousers and orange shoes, with pretend logs and flames around the waist. Next to it is a s'more: white clothing between two square cracker shapes, with a layer of chocolate in the middle.
Aww Sam's original tutorial was published in October 2018. It lists foam, cardboard and paint among the materials, and shows how the pieces were put together. The flames are craft shapes, so the photo gets its campfire without anyone needing to light one.
29. A LEGO Minifigure Family
Four yellow heads, four different outfits. The big rectangular bodies give this family the proportions of LEGO minifigures, right down to the painted details across the fronts. One adult wears a suit and red tie, while the others bring different colors into the picture.
Mommy Shorts featured this family and credited @radroxx in its original roundup from October 2014. The heads make a striking group portrait. For walking around, an open-face version would let you keep the blocky shapes without covering your view.
