This Year’s Most Anticipated Halloween Costumes

2022 Halloween Costume Inspo

Cover Photo by Simi Iluyomade on Unsplash

Halloween is one of the few times of the year when you can express yourself in any way possible. There are endless possibilities of costumes, yet every year it always seems hard to think of the perfect one to wear. With October 31st falling on a Monday this year, it’s possible you’ll even have an entire weekend beforehand that you’ll need multiple costumes for. 

There are many great pop culture and media moments from this past year that you can emulate in your Halloween costume and put your own spin on if you’d like! You could also take popular costumes from years past but update them or make them more up-to-date so you can reuse old costumes. 

As a note, it’s important to look into the type of event you’re attending and determine what your comfort level is. If you’re going to a house party but aren’t comfortable showing skin, you’ll need to be sure to stick to your boundaries from the beginning. Without defining the limits of your own comfort level, you’ll have a hard time pinpointing what kind of costumes you’re interested in. Read on below for our list of pop culture moments that have some of the year’s most anticipated halloween costumes.

1. Royalty

With the Royal Family being in the news often, and especially with the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth the Second, it’s possible that this may be the most anticipated Halloween costume of the year. Popular costumes will likely include couple costumes such as Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip or Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Different eras of Queen Elizabeth the Second are also a great possibility-see Netflix’s The Crown for great examples of ways to do this. Not into dressing up as real people? Royalty from popular media is also a great possibility. The Queen of Hearts or the “White Queen” from Alice in Wonderland are great examples of getting this theme to work for you. More general ideas for the royalty theme would be to dress as an ice queen, a princess, or even a prom queen! These basic ideas can easily be elevated by using inspiration from popular media or popular culture such as the British Royal Family. 

Image Retrieved from ABC News

Image Retrieved from Front Row Features

2.Stranger Things

With the long-awaited, highly anticipated return of Netflix’s Stranger Things, it is with absolutely no doubt that this will be an extremely popular costume this year. One of the most popular characters to dress up as will likely be Eddie, a new character from the fourth season that made a huge impact to viewers, especially on social media. His hair is one of his most stand-out features, and will likely make it a more interesting and recognizable costume. A somewhat easy costume to replicate, with the “Hellfire Club” tee, leather jacket with a jean vest on top. 

Going with a different character such as Eleven gives an opportunity for a variety of costume ideas. As the main character since the first season, Eleven comes with many different types of looks, such as her new laid-back California style. Other easy costumes to emulate include Dustin’s “Thinking Cap”, Christy’s cheerleading uniform, or Lucas’s basketball uniform. If you’re not totally sold on following an exact costume, Stranger Things vibes could be replicated in an 80s outfit. Looking for something a little more spooky? Dressing up as Vecna, as a human or from the Upside Down would also be a great look, and would be sure to scare many children. 

Image Retrieved from Cinema Blend

Image Retrieved from Forbes

3.Marvel 

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) continues to grow, with  Marvel Comics bigger than ever before, many costumes from this universe will be seen this Halloween. Last year, with WandaVision being such a hit television show, the different eras of both Wanda and Vision were very popular costumes. With the release of Doctor Strange: The Multiverse of Madness earlier this year, it’s very likely these costumes will be just as popular as the year before, with even more possibilities with the new character development.  Other recent releases include Thor: Love and Thunder, which introduced The Mighty Thor and a new villain named Gorr. 

New Marvel television projects such as SheHulk or Ms. Marvel invite possibilities of dressing up as brand new, more diverse characters, making it easier for people to see themselves in popular media. Now, children are able to look up to a character such as Kamala Khan from Ms. Marvel and see a character that may look just like them.  Marvel costumes are a type of popular costume that is perfect for a variety of different occasions and can be used as group costumes, couple costumes, family costumes, etc. There are so many different ways to do these costumes, whether it be a play on the character or dressing up as them exactly. It’s a costume category that will likely be immediately recognized and could be re-used over the years.

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Image Retrieved from Den of Geek

4.Euphoria

Many fans were extremely excited to see the return of  Euphoria, after a long hiatus, with season two streaming on  HBO Max. This may be an easier costume category to copy than others, as many of the clothes worn by characters on the show can be easily found in your closet or accessible places such as thrift stores. 

Image Retrieved from The Dipp

Rue is a somewhat easy costume to emulate, as she spends the majority of the two seasons in a burgundy zip-up hoodie or a variety of comfy clothes. Copying her outfit from episode three, you can get away with wearing all black with a blazer and walking or biking around with a suitcase in hand. 

One of the stand-out characters of the season, Cassie, also sported a number of unique outfits that would be instantly recognizable. Her Oklahoma! inspired look is one of the most popular and attention-grabbing of the season, and could be done in a number of colours or patterns as long as it’s done with the right hair and styling. 

Image Retrieved from BuzzFeed

Maddy, who is often seen as having the best style and makeup on the show, can be emulated through her new year’s eve dress, a black cut-out dress with long black gloves. A similar dress and gloves would definitely do the trick, with a pulled-back long ponytail and similar makeup. 

Faye, a new character this season, has some of the most interesting and unique Y2K-inspired outfits. This might be easy to work with and find at thrift stores or in your closet. When speaking of Euphoria, no one can forget about the fun makeup involved, and any costume within this category would be incomplete without it. 

There are so many possibilities of potential costumes for this Halloween season and with the holiday fast approaching, it’s important to get started soon. These anticipated costumes may be very popular this season, but different variations could make them more unique. Not into any of the costumes mentioned above? Let us know what ideas you’re thinking of doing this year. What was your favourite costume from years past? Let us know in the comments! Happy Halloween!