10 YA-Inspired Halloween Costumes
Halloween is two days away, which means it’s time to get your costume sorted if you haven’t already. And what could be better than dressing up as one of your favorite YA characters? Making decisions is hard, though, so I’ve assembled this list of costumes (supply list included), ranked by how much effort you’re willing to put in. Trick or treat! (Or just stay home reading a book. In costume.)
Easy:
Eleanor (Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell)
What You’ll Need: a flannel shirt, safety pins, baggy jeans, random scraps of fabric, crazy hair (red, preferably).
Eleanor is tough and fierce and amazingly cool, and luckily, her look is pretty simple: a sort of general bulky casual, plus random tidbits of fabric and yarn, and a Walkman if you’ve got one. Bonus points for talking about ’80s bands and comic books all night.
Hazel Grace (The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green)
What You’ll Need: this shirt, jeans, a copy of Peter Van Houten’s An Imperial Affliction.
Hazel Grace is another easy YA costume; just buy (or make) a c’est ne pas une pipe t-shirt, grab a book and make a fake An Imperial Affliction jacket cover for it, and talk about metaphors and oblivion for hours. Plus, since this one’s actually been made into a movie, there’s a decent chance people will recognize who you’re supposed to be.
Wolf (The Lunar Chronicles, by Marissa Meyer)
What You’ll Need: grey sweatpants, a loose t-shirt, military boots, fake werewolf-type teeth, and a Sharpie.
There are two definite advantages to dressing up as Wolf for Halloween: one, you’ll look totally cool, and two, you’ll be completely comfortable. You get to wear sweatpants all night! And you can skip the military boots and just go barefoot, if you’re not worried about stepping on miscellaneous Halloween remnants. Just write “LSOP962” on your left forearm with the Sharpie and you’re set. Drawback: people might assume you’re just a lazy werewolf.
Medium:
Simon Snow (Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell)
What You’ll Need: grey pants, white button-down shirt, a green and purple tie, floppy blonde hair, and a vague smoky scent.
Simon loves his uniform so much, he’s pretty much always wearing it. Just get the Watford colors (green and purple) and you’re good to go—and if you walk past a woodfire on your way out the door, you’ll have Simon down to a T. (We’ll give you extra nerd points if you wear wings and a tail. Or carry around a buttered scone.)
Celaena Sardothein (Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas)
What You’ll Need: black pants, black shirt, black boots, lots of knives.
Who doesn’t want to be a super-powerful, threatening assassin for Halloween? Just dress yourself all in black, strap on 5 to 10 knives of varying length (Fake ones, okay? Because you’re probably not as skilled with them as Celaena), and see if you can dig up a long blonde wig somewhere. All that’s left is to glare at everyone who walks by like you’re going to kill them (because Celaena just might).
Gansey from The Raven Cycle, by Maggie Stiefvater
What You’ll Need: khaki pants, a button-down, a sweater with a raven on it, glasses, and an orange Camaro.
The only difficult thing about dressing up as Gansey might be getting a shirt with a raven on it—if you’re struggling, just print one out and safety pin it to your shirt (or hand-stitch it, if you’re an over-achiever). And you’ve already got that half-broken-down Camaro sitting in the driveway, right? For extra authenticity, see if you can find some mint leaves to chew on, and maybe carry an Epi-pen for safety’s sake.
Nimona (Nimona, by Noelle Stevenson)
What You’ll Need: green dress, pink tank top, brown boots, brown belt, and a shark head.
Nimona’s a shapeshifter, so you could go as pretty much anything and technically look like her. But to really get her style, layer a pink tank top and brown belt over a green dress and run around yelling, “I’m a shark!” and you’re pretty much there.
Hard:
Jem Carstairs as a Silent Brother (The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare)
What You’ll Need: hooded brown robe, chalk, Sharpie.
If you’re looking for a creepier YA-themed costume, the Silent Brothers are for you. The difficult part about this costume is all of the time you’re going to have to spend drawing Shadowhunters’ runes onto your body, not to mention the stitches over your eyes and mouth. But, once you’ve got it down, just chalk a white streak into your hair and you’ll look very creepy.
The Girl on Fire (The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins)
What You’ll Need: fireproof dress, fire, hardcore fearlessness.
Being Katniss in her girl-on-fire getup is the pinnacle of YA-centric costumes: it’s gutsy, it’s difficult, and it’ll look totally awesome. I’m not sure about the actual physics of a burning dress (maybe you should consult a qualified expert on that), but you could always layer lots of orange and yellow tissue paper/tulle over a black dress, if you’re not feeling the flame thing. Toss in the bow and arrow, and you’re instantly iconic.
Bonus last-minute costume:
A Book (any book)
What You’ll Need: poster board, string, paint.
This is one you can probably do without even leaving the house. Just track down a cardboard box or some spare poster board, pick a favorite book cover, and start drawing. Once you’ve re-created the jacket, tie the front and back around your body, and head out! Bonus: you definitely won’t have to explain what you are to anyone.
What’re you dressing up as for Halloween?