How you and your boo can look stunning this Halloween
So, you have plans to head out to a Halloween party with your partner (or, perhaps more likely this year, stay at home watching a scary movie and hand out candy to trick or treaters). You figure, why not do a couple's costume?
Couple's costumes can look great, if you pull them off. However, it's also easy to run into mistakes. Here's a guide to help you create a frightfully good couple's costume this year.
Your costumes should work individually, as well as together. Unless you're planning on being glued to your partner's side the whole night, you're going to want a costume that still makes sense on its own. Consider beforehand: Is your costume recognizable if your partner is not there?
Your costumes should be comfortable. Unless you're both really invested in wearing a specific, uncomfortable costume, you probably want to ensure that your costume isn't going to make your night less enjoyable. Consider beforehand: What's the temperature going to be like? Are you likely to be on your feet a lot? Will you be eating or drinking? Is your costume tight or restrictive?
Your costumes should be appropriate. As with an individual Halloween costume, you should never wear a costume that's offensive or culturally appropriative. You also probably want to think carefully before going with a particularly crass costume that might make the people around you uncomfortable. Consider beforehand: Are you or someone else going to put photos on social media? Who are you potentially going to see while in costume? Are you going out in public?
You should both be happy/excited about your costumes. If one of you isn't invested or interested in doing a couple's costume, or about the specific costume idea you're considering, it may be better to ditch it. Halloween is a time to have fun, and that goes for everyone involved. Consider: Did you both contribute to the costume idea? Does your partner seem happy and excited about participating? Is your costume something that you both understand and are interested in? Are you equally comfortable in your costumes?
You should be in agreement about how much time and money to spend on costumes. This kind of goes hand in hand with being equally happy and excited. You should both be comfortable with the money and time that you're committing to putting these costumes together. It's something you should discuss beforehand – don't buy something without telling your partner and expect them to be happy to wear it. Consider beforehand: Are you spending a lot of money on your costumes? Are you asking that your partner spend a lot of time or money on costumes? Did you talk about it beforehand? Were you both happy with the time and money you're spending on this?
With those ground rules in mind, you may still be asking: What specifically should my partner and I dress as for Halloween? Here are some ideas:
Famous pop culture couples, best friends, or sworn enemies: Morticia and Gomez, Jack and Sally, or Harley Quinn and the Joker are all popular choices. You could go old school and dress as Ilsa and Rick from Casablanca, or keep it low-key and recreate Baby and Johnny's iconic looks from Dirty Dancing. You could get your cartoon on with Marceline and Princess Bubblegum or Cosmo and Wanda.
But maybe none of those couples are grabbing you, especially if one or both of the parties in your relationship are non-white or non-straight. Of course, you can race- or gender-bend characters if needed, but if you don't want to do that, you might have more luck dressing as a pair of famous best friends. Cher and Dionne from Clueless, Troy and Abed from Community (while they don't have a specific everyday look, you could recreate any of the costumes they wear onscreen), Velma and Daphne from Scooby Doo. Kirk and Spock, Sherlock and Watson, Goose and Maverick, Thelma and Louise, Lilo and Stitch – the list goes on.
Another option for famous pop culture duos is to go as a pair of sworn enemies (or enemies-turned-friends) like Blade and Deacon, Aang and Zuko, Buffy and Spike, or Dorothy and the Wicked Witch.
A classic costume, but personalized for each of you: This one is great for making sure your costumes work individually. Maybe you both want to be vampires, or pirates, or cheerleaders. Maybe you're a pair of 1920s gangsters, or two peas in a pod. Any classic individual costume can work as a couple's costume if you just both do it.
Another variation of this is to have two classic costumes that kind of go together, like a witch and a cat, or one classic costume and then a costume that adds a unique spin to it, like Pac Man and a ghost.
Two objects that go together: Salt and pepper, pen and paper, apples and oranges. You might want to get creative with something a little more abstract, like a literal interpretation of rock and roll or rhythm and blues. Smoke and mirrors, pros and cons, cloak and dagger, pins and needles, bed and breakfast – you may have to think outside the box a little, but there's lots of potential for fresh, interesting costumes.
To help you decide what costume is right for you, here's a short quiz.
The most important thing in any costume is that you have fun with it. You may not want to take any of these ideas – or you may wish to go against one of the guidelines, like having a comfortable costume. That's okay – just stay safe and have a good time.
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