

I had an annual Halloween tea party for my local writer friends for many years. Due to the pandemic and a general diaspora of folks to other locations, we now hold the same get-together online and call it Zoomoween.
Hosting a party online is much easier than doing it in person. I don’t have to clean anything outside the camera frame, and I no longer need to make a big spread of snacks. However, I still have one lingering concern: I never know what to wear.
I worked in theatrical costuming in my youth, and when people find out, they tend to expect me to make outrageous, cinematic get-ups. But costumes — especially Halloween costumes — aren’t cosplay. They don’t need to be elaborate or expensive, and considering the sheer amount of textile (and plastic) waste that Halloween generates, they shouldn’t be disposable, either.
Maybe you’re also always stumped by the costume question and find yourself buying something flimsy from Spirit Halloween every year — or maybe you just give up and wear a t-shirt. Costumes are hard! I get it.
Unless you’re made of money, you’re probably not buying a made-to-order costume every year. Last-minute purchases are often next-day garbage, so that’s not a great plan. Rental costumes are super expensive and often booked months in advance. What’s a body with limited time and resources supposed to do?
Well, creativity beats consumerism every time. This year, try a COSTUME.

Choose a CONCEPT rather than a character.
It’s much easier to come up with a “vampire” costume than to recreate a specific look Nadja wore on “What We Do in the Shadows.” It’s simpler to put wound makeup on your neck and pour fake blood all over an old shirt than to dress up as a specific, trademarked monster. Years ago, when “Fringe” was still on the air, I went as myself… from the other universe. That started a lot of conversations! (My only expenses were a costume wig and a dress from the thrift store that year.) One year, instead of trying to hunt down every item needed for a Log Lady costume, I dressed up as the Black Lodge from “Twin Peaks.” I wore a chevron print mini-dress and a red stretch velvet cardigan. Only a handful of people immediately “got” my costume, but that’s how you find new friends!
Shop your OWN CLOSET first.
What clothes do you already have that can be repurposed for your costume? I sometimes let my wardrobe itself spark my costume idea. I once realized that one of my dressier frocks looked like Lucy Van Pelt’s blue dress, so we dressed up as Lucy and Charlie Brown that year. I stenciled a yellow t-shirt with a black zig-zag for Lennox (who also got a thrifted sheet with too many eye holes) and purchased saddle shoes on eBay that I continued to wear long after Halloween — and that’s more effort than I usually put in! (You may want to keep a bin of costume pieces to reuse and adapt in future years, too. That’s what we do.)
SIMPLIFY and SUGGEST rather than replicate.
This is where you can get really creative. Rather than exactly duplicating a look, you can use simpler elements that create the same feeling. Makeup is helpful here! I didn’t have a boiler suit handy when I decided to go as Rosie the Riveter, but I had a chambray shirt and jeans. Close enough, especially since my polka dot bandana was spot-on.
THRIFT or borrow missing details.
You don’t have to spend big money on those missing essentials. Ask around! One of your friends or family members may have the exact thing you need. You can ask on Buy Nothing groups, too. Failing that, you can find almost anything secondhand, especially if you start looking early. My mom borrowed a shirt and a prop knife when she dressed as Chucky, and just last year, I managed to find the perfect shirt for a costume for $6 at a thrift store.
UPCYCLE where you can.
Get crafty! What do you already have that can be tweaked for your costume? If you’ve ever spray-painted a shipping box or raided a scrap bin for the perfect detail, you know what I mean here. Going all the way back to my childhood, I remember my Grandma cutting out ruffles from an old bed sheet to tack onto a red sweatshirt for my Olive Oyl costume — and we wrapped my hair around a toilet paper roll to create her distinctive hairstyle!
MAKE new purchases sparingly.
Some details simply have to be purchased new (nobody wants used vampire fangs, ew), and sometimes you can’t find exactly what you need secondhand or through word of mouth. One year, I made a temporary toga from fabric I had on hand and dressed as Medusa. Though I tried to find snakes through other channels, I ended up buying a package of toy snakes to weave through my hair. I passed them on after Halloween, and I hope they ended up as someone else’s Medusa hair the next year! Try to avoid panic buying and try other sources first, but sometimes you can’t avoid a new purchase.
Be an EXAMPLE and start conversations.
It’s true: Sometimes, a concept costume goes over other folks’ heads. You may have to repeatedly explain your costume, but I think that’s a fun way to get people talking. It can also be an opportunity to explain how low-waste your costume is when your friends compliment it. Let them know how much fun it was to put your costume together. You don’t need to be preachy, but I find that people are genuinely curious about a unique look. Making your Halloween costume a little more sustainable can be a fun challenge that’s easier to explain than your search for the perfect 1990s knitwear on eBay. (Ask me how I know.) Be a low-waste example, and if your friends get enthused and want help designing their own costumes next year, offer to make your costumes together. It could become your new Halloween tradition!
I’m sorry to say that I still haven’t decided what to wear for Zoomoween this year, but I’ll be using the same guidelines I posted here, so there will be no panic buying or cosplay for me! I’ve pulled together decent costumes with less time. I once got a same-day invitation to an impromptu Halloween party. With six hours to go, I thrifted two black tees and bought two packages of polymer clay. I sculpted small horns from the clay, and while they were baking, I cut apart the tees and sewed pieces in irregular layers onto a black knit dress I already had. After my horns cooled, I made them into a headpiece I could lace into my hair. I added some dramatic makeup, put on my tallest boots, and voila! I had a devil costume ready to go with over an hour to spare.
Truth be told, I may just wear a spooky t-shirt and my best gothic eyeliner this time. That’s a valid choice! You don’t have to wear a costume at all. But if you do want to put together a great costume this year, I hope you’ll make some creative lower-waste choices. And send me pictures!

I’ve got a special Spooky Season treat coming for you next week, but that’s it for today. OKAY, BYE! 🖤