Internationally, Halloween is celebrated on October 31st every year, wherein it is believed that the lines between the worlds of the living and the dead gets blurred that night and the spirits of the dead return to earth. People in ancient times would light bonfires and wear wild costumes and frightening masks to ward off ghosts. Over the decades, Halloween has become more of a fun fest where friends and family gather for a good time, all dressed up as different characters. People actually do a lot of planning to chalk out their creative best looks in order to surprise everyone at the Halloween party.
There are two ways of approaching a Halloween party :
a) Taking the easy way out by carrying a simple prop or a robe to fit into the Halloween theme.
b) Shocking everyone by going all guns blazing and killing it with your creativity. Ciceroni will help you to effortlessly glide into the daredevil category B. Read on for some serious inspiration and tips on how to nail your Halloween look this year without going crazy.
- Horror characters from Movies and Television shows
Be it the possessed doll Anabelle or the intense damsel Wednesday Addams, scary characters are a huge hit at Halloween parties. A collared dress, two braided ponytails and a psychopath look is all you need to nail these scary-as-hell characters. Pennywise from IT has been the most googled Halloween costume this year according to Google’s annual Halloween report and all it takes is a good makeup tutorial to transform into this scary clown that could give anyone a nightmare! Characters from shows like Game of Thrones and Riverdale are also quite popular this year and extremely manageable for all you last minute risers.
“This year has a lot of TV show and film franchise endings so you’ll see a lot of Stranger Things and IT cosplays. Like any Joker ever, Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is also a popular choice. Halloween releases will be a focus too. The Addams Family is getting a new movie so there will be Wednesday Addams cosplays as well. Pennywise is hit but female Pennywise is lit,” says Tanzim, a cosplayer from Mumbai.
2) Witches and Vampires
You can never go wrong with this one! If you are someone who likes to play it safe, go for these cult classics. Whether it’s the quintessential chiselled cheekbone look of the evil witch Maleficent, the oh-so-popular teen witch Sabrina or the brilliant wizard Hermoine Granger from Harry Potter, donning a witch is a sure shot way to make an impression at any Halloween party for kids as well as adults. What makes this look so popular is that it calls for minimum amount of efforts and guarantees a dramatic output. A black robe, cone hat, messy hair, crooked nails and some ugly makeup, is all you need to take off on the broom and make it a night to remember!
Another popular look is the scary vampire. All you need is a white face paint, some jet-black paint for dramatic eyebrows, some dripping red paint around the mouth and Voila! You have just won the scariest costume award! “Halloween make-up can be done with make-up you already own. Rogue is just bruise marks waiting to happen and eyelash glue is just low-cost fake scars. Did you know you can use fake nails for fake teeth? Get your purple, red and black eyeshadow out and you’ll only need your angled brush and contouring brush as tools. If you don’t have face paint just use coloured eyeliners or lip liners, it all doubles up as cosplay make-up,” adds Tanzim.
3) Superheroes
If scary spooky stuff is not your thing and you want to opt for something more fun and attractive this Halloween, it’s time to unleash that superhero in you. From wonder woman to Spiderman and from the Incredibles to captain America, pick your alter egos and own that party like a true boss! “Gender-bent costumes are big this year,” says Tanzim. Whether you wish to assemble the look yourself with what you have in your closet or choose to just buy the outfit from the party store near you, these costumes are the easiest to source as well as to execute.
4) Glamorous Iconic characters
And for all those fashionistas who just can’t take out the glamour quotient out of their party look and are looking for some fancy dress up ideas where you could make an impression without looking ugly or scary, fret not! You don’t have to necessarily look like a crooked witch, a possessed doll or a psychopath killer to turn heads at a Halloween party (No, that still does not allow you to dress up as sexy cat woman! Please give it a rest, will you?)
Think of iconic super stylish characters like Frida Kahlo, Cleopatra, Audrey Hepburn and the recent addition marvellous Mrs. Maisel. Channelize the style goddess in you and rock these characters with oomph and sass!
5) Viral trends
If there’s something that Katy Perry and the MET gala taught us, its how to walk into the coolest afterparty dressed up like a cheeseburger and look like a snack (like literally!) If going mainstream isn’t your thing, think out of the box and catch on these weird viral trends that are surely going to be a sure shot hit this Halloween. From food items like sexy burger, fries, avocado toast, pineapple or strawberry to lame puns like copy-cat, social butterfly, Instagram and Facebook, these PUNNY looks can win over any crowd!
“Lazy people can google ‘Jim Halpert Halloween Costumes’ and you will not be disappointed. You can be three-hole punch Jim from ‘The Office’ or Facebook by just writing ‘book’ across your face. Get medical gauze and wrap yourself up to be an undead mummy. If all else fails, just show up dressed up as sexy burgers which seems to be the viral trend this year. It’s going to be hilarious to see how that turns out,’ exclaims Tanzim.
Funny, scary, intense or geeky, whatever may be your style, this Halloween make sure you kill it with your look and give everyone jump scares while you have the time of your life! So what are you dressing up as, this Halloween?
