I need a Halloween costume ASAP (difficulty: hates dressing up)

October 29, 2015 12:55 PM

I work in an elementary school and apparently I need to wear a costume to school tomorrow. I'm not too upset about it, but I have *always* hated dressing up for Halloween. Even when I was a kid I hated it! (I just wanted candy and scary movies!) I have no idea what I can throw together in 24 hours!

I just want a costume that would be really easy to throw together. I can go to a party/costume store for accessories, if needed. I don't own many clothes that could be considered costume-y, my own wardrobe is pretty boring in that sense.

If these details help with ideas I'm in my late 20s, tall, blonde hair, glasses, etc.

I'd prefer something "cute" to something gory. I'd rather not paint my face or wear lots of makeup.

posted by modesty.blaise to Grab Bag (36 answers total)

Best answer: Where's Waldo is pretty easy. Red and white horizontal-striped shirt, cap with pompom, glasses.
posted by xingcat at 12:56 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Normal clothes and zombie make up?

Plain clothes detective zombie.
posted by taff at 12:58 PM on October 29, 2015

Best answer: Go as a tree. Brown pants, green shirt, affix leaves to shoulder area.
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:59 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If you have a graduation cap and gown from high school or college, I think that's always a good option, especially with students. Another easy option is to run by a costume store for some cat ears, and pair with a matching color outfit (i.e. black slacks, black sweater, black cat ears). If you want to get really fancy, pick up a tail and maybe some cat-paw gloves --there should be multiple kitty accessories to choose from, just avoid the "sexy" once obviously!
posted by rainbowbrite at 1:00 PM on October 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Chambray shirt, jeans, and hair tied up in a red bandana - Rosie The Riveter.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:01 PM on October 29, 2015 [5 favorites]

You should be able to find a pair of black cat ears somewhere, then wear black pants and long-sleeved sweater. I leave it to you whether you add black fingerless gloves or paint whiskers on your cheeks.
posted by zadcat at 1:01 PM on October 29, 2015 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Not the most original, but simple and to the point, especially for elementary school: Cowgirl - plaid shirt, jeans, cowboy boots, bandanna around neck, hat (obviously no gun), maybe a silver badge?
posted by NoraCharles at 1:01 PM on October 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Tall, blonde hair, no make up - are you a woman? Because you could pull off Ellie Sattler from Jurassic Park with just a tad bit of thrift store shopping or even your own closet.
posted by barchan at 1:02 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I threw together a "costume" for a friend last week. I took his orange shirt, and made a pi symbol with white duck tape on it. Voila - Pumpkin Pie! People seemed to appreciate it at the Halloween party we went to.
posted by hrj at 1:05 PM on October 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Best answer: The Paper Bag Princess! So cute and pretty easy.
posted by superlibby at 1:05 PM on October 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Baby.

Wear pajama-type clothes, put your hair in pigtails, buy a pacifier and keep it around your neck on a lanyard, carry a bottle and a teddy bear around (or keep them nearby). Optional: draw 3 freckles on each cheek with eyebrow pencil.
posted by peep at 1:06 PM on October 29, 2015

Best answer: Cat ears and black clothes, or panda ears and black clothes, or one of those witch hat headbands from the drugstore and black clothes are pretty low-effort-but-sufficient-effort-to-show-you're-a-good-sport costumes in my experience.

However, my favorite low effort costume is a black coat, red tie, hat with a cut out apple hanging off the brim.
posted by crush-onastick at 1:06 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Or browse the costumes on Take Back Halloween. A lot of their costumes are just a matter of winding or pinning a bedsheet around yourself, and having a prop or two. Aside from the sheets, Artemis just needs a bow and arrows, and you could probably get away with a silver headband made out of tinfoil; or Athena you just need the helmet, shield, and/or spear, and a toy owl.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:06 PM on October 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Also, I have been Olivia the pig and Harriet the Spy in the past. Both fun.
posted by superlibby at 1:07 PM on October 29, 2015

Did you ever play a sport? If you've got sports gear, you can go as "soccer player" or whatever fits the gear you have.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:11 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The single best work costume I have ever seen was a woman wearing cat ears that were skillfully bobbie-pinned into her hair, plus some spirit-glued whiskers. I think I've told this story here before, but I (a chronic science fiction reader) half-consciously thought to myself "Oh, that's good, they've started hiring some of those cat people now"....before I remembered that cat people don't actually exist.

Cat ears and "cat colored"/neutral clothes get my vote. Everyone loves cat ears, even though they're a very low-effort costume.
posted by Frowner at 1:12 PM on October 29, 2015 [19 favorites]

I was the Willy Wonka Golden Ticket one year when my other costume didn't work out. I wore a gold dress I had, printed out the golden ticket, glued it to another piece of paper so it was more stable, and wore it around my neck with gold and glitter makeup.

You could easily do it with a yellow or gold shirt and a bit of glitter with the ticket printed out.
posted by Crystalinne at 1:12 PM on October 29, 2015

Another zero-effort one I've seen is basically, sleepy person (bathrobe, slippers, pillow) - and this could be tied to any story the kids know that features bedtime/dreaming/etc
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:18 PM on October 29, 2015

Best answer: the sleepy person above is great! so easy to just wear pj's and a robe. and when the kids ask what you are, you say "I'm tired. tired of you kids always asking me questions!"
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:21 PM on October 29, 2015 [9 favorites]

Best answer: 20something, tall, blonde hair and glasses sounds pretty perfect for Supergirl, and it's very timely since the series just began. All you have to do is go grab a T-shirt with the Superman/girl logo from Walmart or Target or anywhere, and wear it under a button down shirt, with enough buttons undone to see the top of the logo, at least.

But I have Supergirl on the brain since my daughter made me watch it three time this week, so consider my poor mental condition when considering this option.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 1:55 PM on October 29, 2015

Best answer: I see teachers dressed as scarecrows all the time. Denim top and bottom or overalls and plaid shirt, or some combo of denim and plaid. Bandana around neck. Straw hat, or hat with straw tucked into it. Do a super quick basting of "patches" onto various parts of the denim. Stick some black feathers in your pocket. You can print black feathers out on your printer or draw them on construction paper.
posted by the webmistress at 1:56 PM on October 29, 2015

Best answer: Whatever you chose to do for a costume, there's two things you'll need to remember: keep it simple and comfortable ---
*You'll be teaching all day, so having extra accessories to carry around will drive you nuts; you're going to want to use your hands, and you don't want to be constantly worrying where your bow & arrows or whatever went to.
*You'll be wearing this costume all day, so something that drags on the floor or just plain hurts (like trying to chase students while wearing spike heels!) will be a pain in more than just your butt, and something that's barely pinned together and risks falling apart could be more 'educational' than you'd like.....
posted by easily confused at 1:56 PM on October 29, 2015

Didn't read all the suggestions, however, a Beanie Baby is the easiest ever.
A big red posterboard heart with the white 'ty' in the middle.
posted by donaken at 2:27 PM on October 29, 2015 [4 favorites]

Old sweatpants, old t-shirt, bathrobe, slippers. Your costume is you on your day off.
posted by poffin boffin at 3:17 PM on October 29, 2015

Best answer: Last time this happened to me, I went to a costume store, got some pink pig ears, nose, and a tail (inexpensive kit), a gaudy costume jewelry necklace and bracelet, put on a shiny dress, and went as Miss Piggy.
posted by amtho at 3:43 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Human sushi: Dress in all white, tie a pillow encased in a deep yellow, or light red pillowcase on your back with a dark green sash around your abdomen.
posted by travellingincognito at 4:09 PM on October 29, 2015 [6 favorites]

I came in to say what zadcat says. Cat ears (cardboard attached to a headband works if you can't find ears to buy) and wear all black. You can do whiskers with make up if you want (I probably wouldn't because I hate dressing up too).

I'm in Australia where Halloween costumes are almost always witches/ghosts/cats etc.
posted by kitten magic at 4:26 PM on October 29, 2015

For school tomorrow, I'm wearing a sweater over a white button-down with a green tie, a school uniform-looking skirt, and green knee socks. I'm going as a Slytherin, obviously.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 5:16 PM on October 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

A few years ago I dressed up as "myself 20 years ago," and had Doc Marten knee-high boots, a short thrift store skirt and a black t-shirt. That might be too subtle for the k-6 crowd though.
posted by bendy at 5:59 PM on October 29, 2015

Best answer: I have seen Pater Alethias' exact suggestion ("Supergirl" mid-change) suggested in a listicle of "15 easy costumes for procrastinators and people who don't like to dress up", so it's better than he apparently thinks it is.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:01 PM on October 29, 2015

Oh! In Junior High one of my friends who had a reputation for being a little weird and wacky put on all her wildest, most attention-getting clothing - a Hawaiian shirt, purple shoes, etc. - and told us all she was going as "Herself' - meaning, the reputation she knew that she had with everyone else.

Or, you could do what Oz did on an episode of Buffy - he just got a "Hello my name is" sticker, wrote "God" on it and slapped it on. When challenged, he'd say, "well, does anyone really know what God looks like?"
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:04 PM on October 29, 2015

Also, I have been Olivia the pig and Harriet the Spy in the past. Both fun.

I was Harriet the Spy a few years back. Jeans, a hoodie, and a notebook and pen - couldn't have been any easier. : )
posted by SisterHavana at 7:30 PM on October 29, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks for your all your suggestions!!! I think I am going to go with the Paper Bag Princess. I am just getting started on making my crown!

I'll definitely be using more of your suggestions in the years to come!
posted by modesty.blaise at 7:55 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'll add the easiest costume (and dumbest joke) I ever made to the pile, just in case. I did this about 10 years ago and it proved to be a hit:

Black makeup around one eye.

A giant letter P on your chest, painted on a shirt or, if you like to roll hillbilly-style like me, on a piece of scrap cardboard hung around your neck on a string.

Do not tell anyone what you are. They have to guess.

You are a black-eyed pea.
posted by middleclasstool at 9:54 PM on October 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Probably too late for you, but for anyone else wanting a simple costume: Jake from State Farm. Red polo, khakis, name tag that says "Jake," optionally with a State Farm logo.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 4:28 AM on October 30, 2015

I saw a Spelling Bee in my office today. She was wearing a headband to which she'd added pipe cleaner antennae, and a collection of scrabble tiles glued to a ribbon as a necklace. And her regular office clothes, though she may have chosen the black shirt on purpose.
posted by aimedwander at 11:36 AM on October 30, 2015 [1 favorite]