It's hard to beat a really clever DIY Halloween costume. But making your own can sometimes cost more than premade. To prove that you can make an awesome costume with a $20 budget, we challenged some of our team members to be as creative as possible for $20 or less.
Check out their frugal costumes below and add a comment sharing which is your favorite — you and the winning designer could each win $100! We will award the saving savvy costume designer with the most votes by 5pm on Friday (10/25) $100 to stock up their Halloween wardrobe. We will also randomly draw one commenter to get an additional $100! (See details at the bottom of this post.)
Job title: Digital Marketing Coordinator
Favorite Halloween movie: Hocus Pocus
Favorite Halloween candy: Candy Corn!
Favorite Halloween costume as a kid: Meg from Hercules
Costume Cost: $19.14
Fabric used to make the cape with hood: $13.63
Plain white mask: $1.48
Felt that was used to top of the mask: $2.58
Already owned:
White shirt
White skirt
Black boots
How to make this costume: I made my costume using 1.5 yards of white fleece fabric and this tutorial I found online. I took a large safety pin and decorated it to fasten the cloak together. I overlaid pieces of felt on top of my white mask and used this mask as my inspiration.
Job title: Learning & Development Consultant
Favorite Halloween movie: Hocus Pocus
Favorite Halloween candy: Reese’s Pumpkins
Favorite Halloween costume as a kid: Wicked Witch of the West (Green face and all!)
Costume Cost: $17.75
Sunglasses w/popped out lenses: Dollar Tree $1.00
Red shirt: Walmart clearance: $3.50
Foam poster board: Walmart $1.50
Felt: Walmart $0.25
Iron on letters: Walmart clearance $2.50
Beret: Amazon $5.50
Fishing wire: Walmart $2.50
Blue marker: Walmart $1.00
Already owned:
Pants
Shoes
How to make this costume: Use foam board to cut out a frame and bubble sign. On the back of your frame, poke a hole on each side about halfway from the bottom and tie one piece of fishing wire to each side to create a headband in the back so that your frame will hang around your face. Here's the link where I got the idea, which has more instructions.
Job title: Interactive Designer
Favorite Halloween movie: Monster Squad
Favorite Halloween candy: Mini snickers
Favorite Halloween costume as a kid: Old timey card dealer
Costume Cost: $20.00
6 rolls crepe paper, assorted colors — Party City — $6
Tunic tank top — Academy Sports — $4
Wig — Amazon.com — $9
Curling ribbon — Dollar General — $1
Already owned:
Paper (for cone hats)
Shoes
Belt
Makeup
How to make this costume: My costume was made just by hot gluing rows of crepe paper to a tunic. I used this tutorial.
Job title: Event Specialist
Favorite Halloween movie: Hocus Pocus
Favorite Halloween candy: Candy corn
Favorite Halloween costume as a kid: Red devil
Costume Cost: $17.07
Yellow blouse — Goodwill — $4.99
Blue vest — Goodwill — $3.99
Plaid skirt — Salvation Army — $2.14
Headband — Michael's — $1.79
Black tie — Michael's — $0.99
Patch (made of felt and gold fabric paint) — Michael's — $1.87
Already owned:
White knee highs — easy substitute with men's socks
Shoes — MKG wears a million different shoes
Glasses — I could have gotten a pair for $2.50 at Salvation Army, but worked with what I already had!
How to make this costume: I thought about key pieces of my daily wardrobe that I could reuse to save money first (like my glasses). Then I did a quick Google search for homemade costumes that were a huge hit, and settled on Mary Katherine Gallagher because I could reuse a staple of my own and the rest of the outfit seemed relatively easy to find at a local thrift shop. It took me all of one and a half hours to pull this costume together, including shopping and making the patch!
Costume Cost: $17.48
How to make this costume: The heartbreaking thing is, at the time it seemed like a good idea. My friend and I, yes there was an accomplice to this crime of fashion, began with the intention of making an astronaut costume. We left Goodwill thinking we'd got ourselves a “Space Cyborg David Bowie.” When in truth we had the ingredients for something more like “Foppish Robot Sultan.” You do not want to know how to make this costume.
Job title: Technical Support Manager
Favorite Halloween movie: Ernest Scared Stupid
Favorite Halloween candy: Snickers
Favorite Halloween costume as a kid: Ninja Turtles
Costume Cost: $16.00
Suit coat — Goodwill — $9
Shirt — Goodwill — $5
Makeup — Walmart — $2
Already owned:
Pants
Shoes
How to make this costume: It’s a lot more complicated to “just burn half a suit coat” than you would think. This took some time to plan out. I found the best way was to cut around where you want your “burn” marks to be and then burn around those edges with a lighter. Have some water handy and be careful! Nothing got out of hand, but you never know. I also suggest shaving off your beard, for anyone who decides to give this one a shot.
Costume Cost: $18.00
How to make this costume: This is a simple, fun costume, pulled together on a budget while still managing to embody the Halloween spirit. Tip: Be bold with your makeup! I just did a Google image search for "scary doll costume" and referenced those for ideas.
Wow, right? We work with some creative people!
Also, don’t miss our 7 tips to save on homemade costumes.
