Halloween costumes for 4 (2 m, 2 f) with nerdy/pop culture flavour.

September 30, 2008 8:50 AM

Seeking recognizable group Halloween costume suggestions for four (2 guys and 2 girls), preferably with a pop culture/nerdy bent.ha

Last year, my fiancée and I teamed up with another couple and rocked TMNT costumes. It was absolutely fantastic (and it's clear that Donatello is the most popular). We're trying to think of something similar for this year, but haven't hit on anything yet. Ghostbusters has been considered, but the cost may be a little much.

The overall cost should be pretty low (~$25/each max) and shouldn't take more than an evening's worth of work to put together. I saw a couple of other costume suggestion threads, but none with a 2 m, 2 f split. Thanks!

posted by Nelsormensch to society & culture (31 answers total)

ABBA.
posted by box at 8:59 AM on September 30, 2008

Fred, Shaggy (with stuffed Scooby), Velma and Daphne?
posted by justkevin at 8:59 AM on September 30, 2008

I did a Mario, Luigi, Peach and Daisy one year, which was kind of a hit. Somewhere there's a picture of me, dressed up as Luigi, fighting Hannibal Lector.

Mario and Luigi are easy and cheap, the toughest part is probably the hats. The princesses could probably be done with tiaras and a run through thrift shops for a couple ugly bridesmaids dresses.

Grow your own mustache for extra authenticity.
posted by The Man from Lardfork at 9:04 AM on September 30, 2008

McCain/Palin, Obama/Biden
posted by nitsuj at 9:04 AM on September 30, 2008

McCain/Palin, Obama/Biden ... only when they were younger.

POW/Beauty Queen, Basketball player/???
posted by nitsuj at 9:05 AM on September 30, 2008

Princess Bride?
Choose from:
Dread Pirate Roberts, Wesley, Inigo Montoya, Six-fingered Man, the "Inconceivable!" guy, Andre the Giant, Princess Buttercup, the old hag witch lady, and ROUS if you're creative. Good luck!
posted by Grither at 9:06 AM on September 30, 2008

What about the two duos from Revenge of the Nerds? Stan Gable and Betty Childs, plus Louis and Judy (the Omega Mu)?

Suits + rubber masks = Dead Presidents

You could go as Amy Winehouse, Sarah Palin, Corey Feldman and David Hasselhoff, and wait for people to get your commonality (which of course is "trainwreck celebs").

I like justkevin's Scooby Doo idea.

My best foursome costume ever was the three Heathers and Veronica (a color-coordinated croquet mallet for each)... but that would only work for your group if the lads don't mind drag.
posted by pineapple at 9:07 AM on September 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

My wife, 13-year-old daughter, and I are going out as the Goth family. Cheap, easy, instantly recognizable.
posted by MrMoonPie at 9:12 AM on September 30, 2008

Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, Joel Madden, Benji Madden

Props for the girls - huge handbags, starbucks cups, rhinestone-encrusted cell phones, chihuahuas, baby, keys, Kitson shopping bags (they have to hold all of these things at once).

The guys don't have any props. They just wear lots of black and weird hats.
posted by iconomy at 9:15 AM on September 30, 2008

Don't the guys have to look like they just robbed a Hot Topic?
posted by box at 9:24 AM on September 30, 2008

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:25 AM on September 30, 2008

Devo!

My boyfriend and I were Devo last year - even though it was just the two of us, we were a hit. Four people would look even better! The hats took a bit of time to make, but weren' t difficult. We got all the materials from a party store and Home Depot. I think we spent about $30 for both costumes.

Shoot me an email if you want more instructions!
posted by Nutritionista at 9:33 AM on September 30, 2008 [3 favorites]

I got a lot of mileage out of being half of American Gothic (the creepy painting). Perhaps pick a piece of artwork that your social circle recognizes?
posted by bilabial at 9:37 AM on September 30, 2008

Oooh, Devo is a good one. You could also do the Ramones. Or zombie Ramones.
posted by abirae at 9:45 AM on September 30, 2008

Any of the Addams family. Instantly recognizable as a set, multiple males and females to pick from, and fairly easy costumes.
posted by oddman at 9:46 AM on September 30, 2008

You could each be Tetris pieces and spend the evening assembling and disassembling yourselves. The costumes are fairly easy to pull off with cardboard boxes and black duct tape to create the illusion of separate squares.
posted by Alison at 9:53 AM on September 30, 2008

More nerd than pop culture -- DNA. We did this with t-shirts and iron-ons (big letters on the front, and molecular structure on the back).

cross dressed Scooby gang

Scooby Gang Buffy style - Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy (or sub in Angel and Oz if you want to go coupl-y)

Grease - Sandy, Danny, Rizzo, Kenickie

Some combination of superheroes/ines

Find a fifth and go as the Planeteers (or a 6th and add Captain Planet)
(This randomly happened at a party I was at once. A group of people came as the Planeteers, and someone independently came as Captain Planet -- awesome!)
posted by natabat at 10:08 AM on September 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

Blake Fielder, Amy Winehouse, Pete Doherty, Kate Moss (you'll need lots of fake blood and ballet slippers)


Don't the guys have to look like they just robbed a Hot Topic?

Haha....yes. Perfect.
posted by iconomy at 10:12 AM on September 30, 2008

team zissou!
posted by kidsleepy at 10:18 AM on September 30, 2008

If you can get a few more people and a horse, you could be the Evil League of Evil!
posted by you're a kitty! at 10:22 AM on September 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

Archie, Reggie, Betty, Veronica
posted by nineRED at 10:32 AM on September 30, 2008

Two friends of mine did The Flinstones, which was easy - he didn't shave, and got an big orange beach towel he drew black spots on. She (a red head) put her hair up with a bone, did a similar towel thing for a dress, and had a ping pong ball necklace. The other couple could be Betty & Barney.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 10:34 AM on September 30, 2008

Brock, Dr. Venture, Molotov Cocktease, and Dr. Girlfriend.
posted by Bernt Pancreas at 10:47 AM on September 30, 2008

Four David Bowies: Alladin Sane and Ziggy Stardust (or Bowie in the Jazzin' for Blue Jean video) could be pulled by women, and Let's Dance Bowie and Early Bowie for the men. Or a Bowie entourage: Klaus Nomi and Iman for the women, and Iggy Pop and Bowie for the guys.
posted by Bernt Pancreas at 11:01 AM on September 30, 2008

When I was in college in the late eighties a bunch of our roomates dressed up in white and applied some red duct tape and went as the stock market crash -- basically depicting a graph with the duct tape that went down down down. It was especially cute that the group assembled in terms of height so the shortest person was at the end/bottom of the graph.

So you could go as the financial crisis of 2008. Does not make use of your male/female ratio, but can make use of different heights if you have them. Good luck!
posted by onlyconnect at 11:08 AM on September 30, 2008

Like box, my first thought was of ABBA. Looks like all you'd need for this one is a Costco sized box of aluminum foil and a homemade Swedish flag! Have fun!
posted by Lynsey at 11:15 AM on September 30, 2008

KISS
posted by Metroid Baby at 11:27 AM on September 30, 2008

The obvious nerd theme would be Futurama related:

Dudes: Bender, Fry, Farnsworth, Hermes.
Women: Leela, Amy, Mom.
posted by spiderskull at 2:02 PM on September 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

Depending on your demographic, you could go as two teams from Legends of the Hidden Temple. All you need is a skateboard helmet (spray painted gold) and team t-shirts. (Elbow/knee pads if you want to go all out.) I guarantee everyone from the ages of about 18-25 will know who you are.
posted by cosmic osmo at 2:28 PM on September 30, 2008 [2 favorites]

If you go with cosmic osmo, please go with the silver barracudas. They were always the best.

I'm nthing ABBA. Pick up some bright spandex and learn some Swedish and you're set.
posted by papayaninja at 4:55 PM on September 30, 2008

Peter
& Lois
& Meg
& Stewie
posted by softlord at 5:53 AM on October 1, 2008