Finding a good Halloween costume can really put the pressure on. It should be clever, funny, scary, ironic, culturally relevant or in recent years and much to my confusion, sexy. I mean, why does a cat, nurse, bank teller, nun or ninja have to be sexy? We’ve come up with ten Halloween costume ideas to get you started. After that you’re on your own, you naughty bus driver, you.

10 Halloween costume ideas for 2013

1. Play on words: Take a common phrase or word and turn it into a costume. Common ones I’ve seen are “God’s gift to women” (wrap yourself in wrapping paper with a tag: From: God, To: Women); “Quarterback” (tape or glue quarters, or a large picture of one, to your back); “Cereal/Serial Killer” (tape single serving size cereal boxes and plastic knives to your shirt, splash red paint all over like blood); and my personal favorite and 2006 costume, “Gangrene” (get a group of friends and dress as an all green gang).
2. Famous Couples: Grab a friend or spouse and dress as a well-known couple from history or the recent news. I’m guessing Kim Kardashian and Kayne West (plus baby North) will make an appearance this year along with Prince William and Kate Middleton, Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke, Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong Un and Anthony Weiner and…well there’s a lot of material there.
3. Technology: With the ever changing, ever upgrading tech world we live in, this category is full of material. You could dress as one of the new brightly-colored iPhones, 3D TV, a bowl of Google Fiber, an Angry Bird or a Google Glasshole.
4. New vs. Old: New Robocop vs. Old Robocop; Michael Keaton Batman vs. Ben Affleck Batman; Original Tonto vs. Johnny Depp Tonto; Classic VW Beetle vs. New VW Beetle; Normal Tom Cruise vs. Crazy Tom Cruise. It seems like everything is coming back new and improved, so come up with your own new twist on an old favorite. Grab a friend to partner with, or dress one half of your body old and the other half new.
5. In the News: Watch CNN or scroll MSN.com for 5 minutes, and you’ll have plenty of costume ideas based on current events. Popular topics from 2013: NFL star Aaron Hernandez in an orange jumpsuit; Miley Cyrus or Amanda Bynes and a wrecking ball; the Twinkie; the royal baby; grumpy cat; Paula Deen; horse meat scandal; George Zimmerman trial; the Obama’s new dog.
6. Books: Whether you are an avid reader or are waiting for the movie version, books are making a comeback in the media. 50 Shades of Grey, The Great Gatsby, The Hunger Games, Orange is the New Black and Lean In are packed with characters and costumes. Check out The New York Times Best Sellers List for more ideas and titles.
7. Turn on the TV: Dressing up like your favorite TV show or personality can get really creative. Don a yellow jumpsuit as Walter White from Breaking Bad; slap a Band-Aid on your head and throw on a suit and wreak Allstate Mayhem; pull out your white gloves and serve afternoon tea like Carson from Downton Abbey or coordinate some camo and grow a beard like a member of the Duck Dynasty family.
8. Power in Numbers: Going to a party with a group of friends? Dress accordingly! Think sports teams, your favorite band, or pick a celebrity like Oprah and have everyone interpret her differently. The best group costume I’ve ever seen was six friends, three in blue soccer uniforms and three in red uniforms. Each pair of three connected themselves in a line with broomsticks, and each line faced each other. They went everywhere together in this formation. Can you picture what they were? A foosball team! The possibilities are endless!
9. Go Big or Go Home: Are you crafty? Then why not make your own costume?! Check out Bargain Babe’s list of 47 Halloween costumes to make at home and go all out this year!
   
10. Oldie but a Goodie: Everyone loves throwbacks. Dress up as a classic horror movie icon that we haven’t seen in a while. While everyone else will be thinking current affairs, you’ll be resurrecting the dead. Freddie Krueger, Jason, Carrie, Dracula, Frankenstein, Beetlejuice, the clown from IT, Edward Scissorhands, or the Leprechaun are all iconic characters with a haunting twist.

 

What is the best Halloween costume you’ve ever seen?