Halloween Costume Shopping On a Budget

Creating a great Halloween costume can become very expensive very quickly. Some people spend hundreds on a costume that they might only wear once, but it doesn’t have to be this way. However, there are ways to get a wonderful costume without causing yourself financial problems or having to forego the look you really want.

You don’t have to buy a costume, particularly if you know that it won’t get used for something else. Try looking around costume rental shops. Thrift stores and second hand shops are a great place to search, as well. You might be surprised what kind of interesting costume pieces you can find, from old military uniforms to Renaissance Faire pieces, and beyond. You can find old prom dresses that are perfect for any number of princess or horror movie character costumes, as well as accessories that will fit other costume possibilities. One of your best options might be do it yourself costuming, though, if you don’t have much money to go around.

Chances are, you can make adult women’s costumesright out of your own closet. If you want to go a little sexy with your costume, naughty secretary outfits and other varieties are very easy to create. A business suit can be temporarily altered to make it tighter and shorten the skirt. Include some glasses, a pen to chew on the end of, and a legal pad, and you have the perfect sexy secretary costume.

You can become a sexy nurse with an all white outfit. Wear a white shirt dress or a white skirt and top with white stockings, a red belt, and red heels. If you can borrow a stethoscope and find some rubber gloves, you can give the costume a touch of authenticity.

A great naughty cop costume can be put together on the base of a temporarily shortened, dark navy pencil skirt and a light blue button up blouse or shirt. Black stockings and black high heels take it a bit further. It can be finished off with a pair of aviator sunglasses and a toy handcuffs and badge set for just a few dollars.

For kids or adults either, a super hero costume is very easy to come by. A plain swim suit and a pair of long tights or leggings create the base of the costume. For a cape, use a small bedsheet – folded over or full length, depending on the height of the person being costumed – or even a piece of plain fabric or a large bath towel. Knot the corners at the neck or pin them to your shoulders. If you don’t mind altering the swim suit permanently, a cheap tube of fabric paint can easily create the super hero’s symbol on the chest, or you can paint it on a separate piece of fabric and pin or sew it in place to be removed later.

These might be some of the easiest, depending on which era you choose. Ask family members what kind of embarrassing old clothing they might have in their attics from the 50s to 80s era. Even if you can’t find anything authentic, chances are you can put something together out of your own closet. Turn into a flower child with braids, a pair of patched jeans, a blousy top, and a few bead necklaces. A long, flowing skirt, a tucked in blouse, a neat sweater, a high ponytail, and a pair of saddle shoes, and you’ll look like you stepped right out of the 50s.

Men can quite easily turn an everyday suit into an old fashioned mobster costume. Don your best suit and add gold jewelry, whether you borrow a few rings and chains from your girlfriend or getting some cheap costume jewelry items. Slick your hair back, add a gold watch, and tuck a toy gun into the front of your suit trousers. Put on a menacing glare and an accent and your mobster costume is perfect.

You don’t have to spend money that could go toward the things that you really need just to come up with a spectacular Halloween costume this year. Just a quick look around you can provide the inspiration to a head-turning costume that rivals those that others spent all year or a huge chunk of money to put together.