Thrift stores are a gold mine for originality. Here’s a few costume ideas to get you started.

By Daryn Wright

When planning a Halloween costume, there are several elements that must be taken into consideration: affordability, uniqueness, and accessibility. Year after year, the thrift store proves to be the Holy Grail of costuming. They’re generally cheap and filled with odds and ends from grandmother’s attics from across the region. Instead of ravaging through musty trunks or buying vacuum-sealed, stiff plastic costumes, go to your local thrift store and dig around. Here’s a few costume ideas to get you started:

1. Kid wearing his dad’s suit at his high school prom

Thrift stores are brimming with suits that are too large in the shoulders and flow like waterfalls over your feet—perfect for the scrawny 16-year-old attending his first prom in his father’s borrowed suit. Find a button-up shirt (preferably one that clashes horribly) and pluck a pink carnation from mom’s garden for a boutonniere to complete the look. Make sure to part your hair and apply appropriate amounts of Brylcreem for shine.

2. Beheaded Marie Antoinette

The used lingerie section may seem a tad creepy, but that’s why washing machines exist. Find a lacy slip and camisole for the main body of the dress. Check out the section of formal dresses and gowns too, as these can be a gold mine for weirdly ornate and lacy bodices. A large tulle skirt and a long sleeved lacy blouse work well underneath the lingerie to add volume and make the dress seem more period appropriate. Pile your hair up high (as high as you can get) and powder both hair and face with baby powder. Add a large beauty mark for extra class. The best part: make a line of fake blood around your neck to give the appearance of severance.

3. The Press

This is a fun one for couples or two people. One person can go as a newsboy: find a little plaid newsboy cap, suspenders, a satchel of rolled up newspapers, and smudge your hands with ink. Don’t forget to shout out “Extra! Extra!” excessively throughout the evening. The other can go as the press: key items here include a trench coat, fedora (with press passes tucked into the band), large old camera or note pad, and a cigarette hanging limply from your mouth. Extra points if you talk with a Humphrey Bogart accent the whole evening.

4. Mime

This one’s a good last-minute costume. Find a pair of black pants or bottoms and a stripy shirt — black and white is the most important here, but the more stripes, the better. Use white face paint and black face makeup to exaggerate your features. Add a little black bow tie and a bowler cap for extra originality. Don’t forget to mime being trapped in a box the whole night; this move will surely have some people sighing in exasperation.

5. Gogo Yubari

The key item for the little Japanese, ball and chain-wielding character from Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill is a plaid schoolgirl skirt. To complete the look, hunt down a navy blue school blazer and white blouse, both common thrift store finds. Add some knee-high white socks and a red bow around your neck to tie it all together. If you can, wear your hair dark and straight, or find a cheap wig. Don’t forget to drag around the ball and chain all evening (easily found in the Halloween section at most Value Village locations, or you can get crafty and make one from papier-mache) and maintain a cool and deadly expression.