5 on Friday: DIY Halloween Costumes

Pickle Mustache Man is always an option too.

Halloween is only three short weeks away, and it’s time to get costuming! If your local Halloween store is like mine, costumes are expensive and poorly made. Not really something I want to spend my money on. Plus, you may show up at the party in the same costume as someone else! The solution? DIY your Halloween costume. Here are five costume ideas that are fun, cheap, and geeky to get you started.

1. Tetris Blocks – We all have piles of cardboard laying around from Amazon. Cut it into Tetris shapes and pull it over your head. Bonus points for if you get your friends in on it and can make a row.
2. Memeify Yourself – Don’t have enough cardboard for Tetris? Take a single sheet, add a background and funny text, and you’ve become a meme!
3. 404 Costume Not Found – Oh the trademark costume of the “I’m only here because someone asked me to be.” The costume not found t-shirt has been a fall back for me several times.
4. Iconic Characters – Denim shorts and paint yourself blue, Tobias Funke. Orange sweater and red skirt, Velma. Overalls and red t-shirt, Mario. So many iconic pop culture characters have simple outfits out of stuff you may already have (or can get at Goodwill). Look to them for inspiration.
5. Instagram – From the app used by hipsters, to the app everyone uses but says its for hipsters. Instagram has come into it’s own. Go with the stereotypical image of a hipster (break out your flannel!) and then put makeup on to make yourself look “instagrammed.” Bonus points for carrying around a border.

Personally, my standby costume is Hermione (after borrowing some of Claire’s things). Claire has her Claudia from Warehouse 13, Katniss Everdeen, and Ramona Flowers costumes. Do you have a favorite standby?