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23 Highly Memorable DIY Halloween Costumes

Got one of your own? Show us your stuff.

Alanna Okun
by Alanna Okun

BuzzFeed Staff

1. Deer

Candace Lowry

"I was a deer last year for a Halloween party with my roommates, and followed this tutorial. People loved it and all it required was bronzers, white eyeshadow, sticks, a headband and tan/nude colored clothes. It also made a fun holiday cover photo for Christmas."

Candace Lowry

2. Spider

Rosie Gray

"This is the awesome spider costume my mom made me when I

was in preschool. When I lifted my arms up, all the legs would spread

out! I was (and am) obsessed with this costume."

Rosie Gray

3. Mickey Mouse

Tracy Clayton
Tracy Clayton

"I was Mickey Mouse! Not MINNIE Mouse, as people kept yelling at me; girls can be Mickey Mouse too! I got the idea for this costume after I saw a red Mickey Mouse skirt somewhere online. It was sold out, so I made my own by finding a cheap red skirt at a local store and sewing two white felt ovals. I also bought some cheap black $15 platforms from Target and spray painted them bright yellow. The gloves and tail came from a local costume store and at $20 were the most expensive part of the costume. I put my curly hair into two pigtails for ears, and voila!"

4. Unicorn (x 2)

Summer Anne Burton
Summer Anne Burton

"My mom made ALL our Halloween costumes when I was little and just fulfilled my every childhood desire — from 'Bunnicula, the vampire bunny' to 'koala.' My favorite, looking back, was this deceptively simple-looking unicorn costume, which consisted of white tights, a white leotard, and a hood and tail made out of rows upon rows of cast off lace and ribbon in shades of ivory, as well as a handmade horn. I loved it so much that 20 years later, I recreated/updated the costume as an adult."

5. Loofah

Macey Foronda / Via Emmy Favilla

"My inspiration for this was actually a BuzzFeed post (!) about best friend/couple costumes that included a pic of someone dressed as a loofah next to someone dressed as body wash. I just thought it was cute and so I found a tutorial on someone's blog, went to Michaels to buy some tulle, elastic, and rope, and voilà. No sewing needed — just a scissor! (+ decorative bar of Dove soap at top right)."

6. Janelle Monae

Heben Nigatu

"One year I went as Janelle Monae because her spirit and energy are just so goddamn delightful."

7. Batman and Robin

Alejandro Alba

"It literally cost me $10 to $15 to do this costume. My coworkers and I wanted to be the Batman cast from the '60s and we made our costumes from clothing we already had. All we needed was some extra time and a sewing machine. Oh, and lots of tape."

8. Little Miss Muffet

Sandra Allen

"My mom made both costumes: I was Little Miss Muffet and my brother was a spider. You can't really see it but he's got six extra arms."

9. Mortal Kombat

Austin Hunt

"​Fabric via Hobby Lobby + ski masks from Wal-Mart = $15 and a bunch of dancing Mortal Kombat ninjas."

10. My Little Pony (ish)

Megan Paolone

"This is me when I was 4 or 5 as a 'Magic Meadow Pony,' which was my DIY-loving mom's (far superior) version of My Little Pony (also pictured). I wore a purple sweatsuit and my mom crafted me this magnificent horse head out of paper bags that she spray-painted purple to match; I still remember sitting around our old kitchen table with her as she painted these big blue-glittery eyes with curly construction paper eyelashes to 'match my eyes,' she said. She stuck metallic cellophane inside my little boots as 'hooves,' and wove me an actual mane and tail (which she just shoved in the butt of my sweatpants — LOL) out of a ton of rainbow yarn.

Best part of this costume though? On Halloween, my cousin Cat, who was also 4 or 5 and dressed as Belle, rode on my back — like I was her actual horse — around my grandma's living room, and probably around the neighborhood when we trick-or-treated too."

11. Katy Perry Circa 2010

Rachel Zarrell

"I sewed plush cupcakes I got from Amazon onto a blue sports bra and wore pink fishnets and a blue wig. Plus a nude leotard so I didn't feel too naked. It was 2010 so Katy Perry was having a serious ~moment~ with California Gurls, and my friend went with me as Ke$ha. It was a weird night."

12. It's Kind of a Long Story

Alanna Okun

"My college had what amounted to a DIY porn website while I was there; students would submit pictures of themselves/their bits, and a fun game was to try and guess who was who. I printed out 15 or so of my favorite pictures (hovering over the color printer in the library the whole time lest somebody see what I was up to) and then glued them to a sheet. I wore the whole thing over a turtleneck and boots and was the coziest girl in the whole school.

Oh, and at one point a drunk dude ran up to me and yelled 'HEY, THAT'S MY JUNK!' but I'm not sure if he was lying or not?"

13. Broccoli

Moriah Okun

This is my little sister. That is her winter coat and a green wig and a really excellent source of vitamin K.

14. '90s Dreams

buzzfeed.com

"This was in 1994 and my mom decided to grant my sister and I our wish to be a Kool-Aid Pack and a Crayola."

15. Peacock

Lianna Salva @LiannaSalva

@BuzzFeedDIY @BuzzFeed My mom as a peacock. She glued the feathers to her arms. #DIY #Halloween

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16. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy

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17. The Sanderson Sisters

buzzfeed.com

"Last year was pretty awesome. We made (and by "we" I mean the wonderful woman in the blonde wig - I styled hair and did paint work) the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus. They were super fun to wear. A little warm, though."

18. Elliot

19.

buzzfeed.com

"My biggest DIY triumph was this Super Nintendo controller I made entirely out of felt, puff paint, hot glue, and an XL American Apparel tank worn as a dress. I went out with a large group all dressed as Mario Bros. characters. The best part was I found an old Game Boy carrier at Goodwill to use as a purse!"

20. Minecraft

lulu. lu @syndeelu

@BuzzFeedDIY @BuzzFeed

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21. Bob and Louise Belcher

buzzfeed.com

"This was my boyfriend and I last Halloween as Bob and Louise Belcher. We had two other people who dressed as Gene and Tina; unfortunately we couldn’t get anyone to be our Linda. I made a simple A-line dress out of green cotton and the hat was built off a set of bunny ears on a headband I got from the dollar store. Out of all the costumes I have made (I’m a costumer for theatre and film), this has to be the simplest and my most favourite :)"

22. Crow-Nuts

23. Piñata

Got a DIY Halloween costume you're especially proud of? Add it in the comments!