28 Best Pop Culture Halloween Costume Ideas For 2023

"Barbie" is an obvious pick for Halloween this year. The instantly iconic movie has given us plenty of amazing costume options to choose from, but Barbie and Ken's cowboy-themed outfits from the "real world" will make for an immediately recognisable, impossibly fun couples' costume.

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You might not have to look too far to find what you need to dress as the "father of the atomic bomb," J. Robert Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy in Christopher Nolan's biopic. To embody the film's titular physicist, you'll want to obtain Oppenheimer's signature brown fedora as well as a vintage, professorial suit or trench coat. If you want to make an "Oppenheimer" costume into a joint effort, Albert Einstein also makes for a fun and easy choice — just locate a flowing white Einstein-style wig and you're all set.

The year kicked off with the release of Prince Harry's sensational memoir, "Spare". Why not get creative and cut out some cardboard to attach around your head? Wear a grey shirt, use wash-in-wash-out red spray for your beard and hair, and simply add the title underneath. Creative and easy!

Put yourself into the centre of the action with a Maverick costume. For this costume, you'll want to acquire some type of green bodysuit, which you can either purchase or throw together with green pants, a green jacket, and some patches. A helmet will also pull things together, and don't forget your shades.

You might not have time to acquire Michael B. Jordan-level abs before Halloween, but you can still dress up as Adonis Creed. Grab a pair of flag-printed shorts and some white boxing gloves. You'll also probably want a robe if you plan on going out into the autumn chill.

In a show full of memorable characters, Portia and her outfits on "The White Lotus" season two stood out and made quite a stir while the show was airing. Few of her looks were more memorable — and more throughly maligned — than an ensemble that consisted of a colourful, striped cutout-sleeve sweater, a zebra print-bikini, and white shorts. Grab a champagne glass, try out your best freaked-out expression, and you'll be all set.

In the year of the King's Coronation, pay homage to the occasion by dressing in regal attire. Bag a cape, an orb, and a crown and dress as the monarch for the evening. Thrones optional.

Halle Bailey dazzled as Ariel in Disney's "The Little Mermaid" live-action remake, and her look also makes for a perfect Halloween costume. A tight, shimmery green skirt and a purple bikini top are ultimately all you need here — though you could also incorporate as many "mermaidcore" elements as you'd like.

Wednesday and Enid may be polar opposites, but that makes them ideal characters to dress as this Halloween. For Wednesday, you'll want to adopt her signature plaits and an all-black look, whereas for Enid, you'll want to break out the sparkly makeup and nail polish. Their school uniforms make for an easy option — Wednesday wears a black blazer while Enid wears a blue one — but you could get creative and put your own spin on the characters. (Just make sure that Wednesday sticks to black while Enid is wearing anything but.)

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Live out your 1970s rock star dreams with a "Daisy Jones & The Six"-inspired look. For Daisy, you'll want to opt for a white lacy crop top and jeans or a flowing, sheer coverup over short shorts and a tight top. A red wig will help tie things together. For Billy, opt for a button-down and black jeans, and don't forget your acoustic guitar.

If you want to freak people out a bit this Halloween, the mysterious Antler Queen from "Yellowjackets" makes for a genuinely creepy costume. You'll need a mesh veil, a face covering, a white cloak, and of course, that signature antler headpiece.

Kendall Roy's time on "Succession" may be over, but Kendall as a concept will definitely live on. For this costume, you'll definitely want to opt for the fanciest-looking suit and dress shoes you can get your hands on, but you can make the look a bit more recognisable by adding Kendall's signature black sunglasses and grey trench coat — and adopting a thoroughly miserable-looking expression.

Timothée Chalamet might be gearing up to star in "Dune 2" and "Wonka", two massive, sure-to-be-blockbusters, but he gives a remarkable performance in A24's muted horror-romance hybrid, "Bones and All". Chalamet plays Lee, a cannibal who tries to avoid eating people — until hunger gets the best of him. Lee's most recognisable look is a long-sleeved, flowing pink shirt over cutoff shorts, and you could also adopt his orange-fringed hairstyle to complete the look.

Not all Halloween costumes come complete with a TikTok dance, but this one most definitely does. As the titular doll from "M3GAN," you'll need a blonde wig, white tights, ballet flats, and a long-sleeved striped shirt worn under a beige dress. Just don't forget her signature large striped bow, and be sure you have those dance moves down.

Despite the fact that his best disguise consists of only a baseball cap, Joe Goldberg continues to evade consequences for his actions on Netflix's "You." As Joe, you may not be able to blend in or avoid scrutiny as well as he can, but fortunately, a Joe costume is quite easy to put together. Just adopt a tweed jacket if you're going for his professor era from season four and grab an old book of some kind, and don't forget his signature cap.

Kylie Jenner's decision to bring out a gigantic lion's head to Schiaparelli's Paris Haute Couture Week show in January was a unique fashion choice, to say the least, but it also makes for a creative Halloween costume. Grab a lion plushie and wear a sleeveless black dress and a high ponytail for this look.

Elvis and Priscilla Presley's love story has also been at the centre of not one but two major recent movies — Austin Butler's "Elvis" netted him an Oscar nomination in 2022, and the forthcoming biopic "Priscilla" will share Priscilla's side of the story. The pair are, therefore, a perfect pick for this Halloween, and their timeless style just might work for certain occasions year-round.

For Priscilla, you'll definitely want to copy her elevated '60s style hairdo, either on your own or with a black wig. You'll also want to locate a retro short wedding dress or any sort of semi-formal, chic '60s-style dress or outfit you can find in your closet, and whatever you do, don't hold back on the cat eyes. For Elvis, a bedazzled bell-bottom jumpsuit, any kind of flashy, bejeweled suit jacket, or a simple leather jacket over black pants with shades will do, and don't forget to grab some grease and hairspray and copy his coiffed, slicked-back locks.

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If you're looking to freak people out this year while also not putting too much work into your costume, Billy the Puppet from the Saw movies is a good balance of scary and simple. You can just grab a hoodie, suit jacket, white gloves, red shoes, and a red bowtie for the costume, and then use some white face paint and lipstick to draw those red circles on your cheeks. You could also be more creative by making your own mask and acquiring a tricycle.