Deciding what to dress up as for Halloween can be hard, but coming up with the perfect costume idea for you and your best friend, significant other, or partner can be nearly impossible.
This year, we’ve decided to make things a little easier for you by pulling together 27 of the most iconic pop culture duos across television and film. Before you RSVP to all those Halloween parties, take a look at our couples costume ideas below.
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Or, should we say, alleged-slash-debunked affair? Either way, it can’t be denied that the drama between Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and his colleague Kristin Cabot was the stuff of messy legend back in July, so if you want to relive that golden era of gossip, grab someone who’s not your spouse and grind to “Fix You.”
Okay, this costume is really more suited for the throuples out there (we see you, polyam fam!) than the couples, but it’s still fun for anyone with an ample wig closet and access to approximations of a cute Belly-esque bob, Jeremiah’s floppy ex-frat-bro curls, and Conrad’s lank depression hair.
These demonic, furry little toys have been absolutely everywhere (including in fashionable people’s closets) all year, so why not turn them into Halloween inspiration for you and your sweetie? A leftover Monsters, Inc. costume from the aughts, some plastic fangs, and you’re all set.
To the married girlies among us: this is your chance to dust off your wedding dress and call it a Halloween costume. Get your man a gold tooth and some mutton chops, and you’re ready to wander the moors (or at least the neighborhood of your Halloween party, looking for parking).
All you need to impersonate perhaps the most powerful celebrity couple out there is a Chiefs jersey, a blonde wig cut to Swift’s hair length, and a convertible to drive away from the big game in. Extra points if you remember the giant ring!
This costume pretty much always works, but it’s especially apropos this year given that Showgirls just turned 30. Ver-SAYCE forever!
Let’s go, lesbians! And/or repressed Texan bisexuals who own a lot of guns and really bad wigs!
This one, too, is for the lesbians among us only! Time to put that age-gap relationship to good use on Halloween eve—assuming the younger partner can convince the older partner to sign on for a big, spooky night out, of course.
This is not…dissimilar from a Holland Taylor and Sarah Paulson costume (both would require at least one blonde wig), just with more sartorial bisexual energy and withering disdain. (JK, they’re besties in real life, which we love!)
If you still own a “the Rachel” wig from the ’90s, dust it off and convince your costume-mate not to shave so that he can approximate Jim Curtis’s appealing stubble. Then ask him to read your mind all night and get mad when he can’t anticipate what drink you want from the bar. Sorted!
Nodding to Casablanca this Halloween couldn’t be simpler—just pick up a fedora, belted trench coat, white shirt, and tie to cosplay as Bogart’s Rick, and a crisp white blouse and practical skirt suit to play Bergman’s Ilsa.
There are several online stores selling Stranger Things costumes, but you could create these looks from any thrift store. For Eleven, a pink dress, tube socks, and blonde wig are all you need, with a dirty face and bloody nose for makeup. Dustin needs a trucker hat on a curly wig, a T-shirt, and a bomber jacket. If you can find someone to play a giant evil alien organism to trick-or-treat with you, all the better.
If you have somewhere fancy to go on Halloween night, this Gone With the Wind-inspired costume is a swoon-worthy option. Wig-wise, dark curls for Scarlett are a must, while Rhett needs a debonair mustache. A hoop skirt and a double-breasted suit might be hard to come by in your wardrobe, but if you can hit a costume shop, this couple look is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
Sometimes the best couples costumes are the ones that stray furthest from convention. If that statement resonates with you, you can stray no further than Pennywise from It and a little child he lures into the sewers. Pennywise is a pretty easy costume to make with a red wig, red nose, white makeup, and a very, very evil face. The kid is even easier—all you need is a yellow raincoat with a hood—and a child’s innocent love of clowns.
If you’re still working on your night cheese, a mousy brown wig paired with square glasses, a hoodie, and a pair of jeans will make you an insta-Lemon. For Jack, all that’s required is a suit—and that you carry around a glass tumbler of whiskey all night long. (The piercing blue eyes of a Siberian Husky are optional.)
You can easily transform yourself into the Broad City best friends with clothes you already have in your closet. Abbi’s Soulstice uniform can be recreated with an exercise top, leggings, and a matching sweatband; if you’re feeling crafty, you can use a permanent marker to write the logo on your top. The ultimate Ilana costume is equally easy: It consists of cutoffs, a bare midriff, a pair of sneakers, and some wildly teased-up hair.
No heinous crimes need to take place for you to pay tribute to Law Order: SVU. Formal work clothes paired with badges and holsters will have the guilty parties cowering at any Halloween party you attend.
Who says you can’t celebrate Motherboy on Halloween? Re-live the ultimate uncomfortable pageant by donning sailor suits to celebrate Lucille and George Michael’s awkward attempt at winning the annual mother-son dinner dance in Arrested Development.
Fight evil the best way you know how this Halloween by dressing as the hottest couple of the ’90s, courtesy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy’s key wardrobe pieces are a strappy tank and tight pants with a wood stake in hand, and all that’s required for Angel is a leather jacket and a hell of a lot of hair gel.
If you’re still singing “Peeno Noir” at the top of your lungs and clapping your hands at the simplest technology, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’s Kimmy and Titus are the way to go. For Kimmy, her signature outfit of a floral shirt, pink pants, a yellow sweater, and a backpack will make you stand out from the crowd. And there’s no way you’ll blend in as Titus: For that costume, reach for the most outlandish color combination you can find in your wardrobe (or, if you’re fancy, a silk kimono) and a boa wrapped around your neck.
Anyone born in the late ’80s or early ’90s will tell you Doug was an enormously important figure in their upbringing. Live out your childhood dreams by emulating Patti with a yellow wig, a blue shirt with pink spots (drawn on, sewn on, whatever you’re capable of!), a dark skirt, and pink flats. For Doug, a white shirt with a green vest and a pair of cargo shorts will leave no question as to who you’re meant to be. Both cartoon characters wear sneakers with high socks, but we’ll make that element optional.
There are few films as haunting as Black Swan, even 15 years later. Costumes for both Nina and Lily can be composed of tutus, feathers, and tiaras—just maybe decide ahead of time who gets to be the white swan and who gets to be the black one.
Are you and your BFF diehard Clueless fans? All you have to do this Halloween is find plaid skirt-and-jacket combos: in yellow for Cher and in dark blue with a fancy-looking hat to top it off for Dionne. If you need outfit inspiration, take a note from the fans who showed up in costume for Beverly Hills’s first annual Clueless Day earlier this year.
There are two Mean Girls-inspired options here: Sexy Santa costumes in honor of the Plastics’ legendary dance routine, or tank tops (boob holes optional) and miniskirts in shades of pink, if you’re feeling more like hangin’ out with the Burn Book at Regina’s place.
You can transform into Dunder Mifflin’s most famous couple with some simple work clothes. For Pam, pull your hair back halfway and put on a modest skirt, a white blouse, and a pink sweater. For Jim, it’s all about that floppy hair and a button-down with an optional tie. Don’t forget to gaze lovingly at each other every now and again.
Kick your nostalgia up a notch and go as the toys you cherished most both as a kid and every time you watched the tear-jerker that is Toy Story. All you need is a cowboy sheriff kit and some sort of robot costume with wings, and you’ll be singing “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” in no time.
“You’re standing on my neck” remains one of the strangest theme song lines of all time, but that doesn’t mean MTV’s sarcastic-yet-fabulous Daria stars aren’t the perfect Halloween go-tos. For Daria, you’ll need a dark red wig, a green army jacket over an orange shirt, a pleated skirt, huge glasses, and combat boots. And for her goth BFF, a short wig, a black V-neck shirt worn with shorts over leggings, and a light red coat with clunky black boots will have you snarking all night long.
