Halloween isn't until next month, But if you’re still at a loss for a costume, don’t wig out — er, actually, that’s exactly what we want you to do! Because basic wigs are all it takes to build out an Insta-worthy costume on the fly.
Once you have the rainbow-colored hairpiece in your hold (chances are, you own one from Halloweens past, but even if not, you can grab the real deal from any costume shop for as cheap as $10), it’s all about pairing it with easy-to-find pieces that will round out your look.
DIY Costume Wig Ideas
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your closet or athrift store, or order from Amazon Prime to get just in time for the big day. With just a little pop culture brainstorming, you won’t believe all the ways you can wow in these wigs from head to toe.
Blue Wigs
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First up, my personal favorite, the bold blue wig. Here are our versions of Cookie Monster, Katy Perry, Sailor Mercury and Sexy Marge Simpson.
1. Cookie Monster Costume
An all-time classic and the best possible outfit for the gal who wants to have an excuse to pretty much wear a snuggie out for the evening.
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2. Katy Perry Costume
A beauty that has inspired SO many Halloween costumes over the past several years. We chose to veer away from the infamous cupcake bra version and tap into a more sophisticated look that’s still obviously the one and only KP.
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3. Sailor Mercury Costume
If you’ve never seen the TV show Sailor Moon before but love this look, here’s the 411: you’ll pretty much be dressed up as a badass anime cartoon who’s in a girl gang of other ladies similarly named after planets who take over the world and also happen to be really hot!
What You Need:
- Sailor costume
- Boots
- Teal ribbon
- Gold head piece
- Blue gem
- Hot glue
This little lady is easy to recreate with a simple basic classic costume you can find anywhere and by simply adding a few embellishments. For the headband, I used a gold necklace that has a solid structure (you could even use a gold ribbon if you wanted to) that has a blue gem hot glued to it. The ribbon is just an added piece to tie around your neck.
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4. Sexy Marge Simpson Costume
The sexy Marge! You know the episodes where she decides to let her hair down? The tall beehive hair is obvious but this is SO much more fun, not to mention easier to manage all night.
What You Need:
- 1 yard of green spandex fabric
- Sewing machine
- Red beaded necklace
- Heels
The dress, seriously the easiest thing to make EVER. Simply get a yard or two of the lime green stretch spandex fabric, measure around your body, sew inside out and voila, you are her! The beaded necklace you can make in a pinch if you can't find one — we scored and found this one at Goodwill!
Now, moving onto our yellow wig costumes. We tapped into a couple more Pop Stars: Miss Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga, an Angry Bird and a crazy Pop Art Comic Book Gal.
Yellow Wig
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5. Lady Gaga Costume
This crazy lady is definitely among the leaders in sporting brightly colored hair as a fashion statement. For this costume, we went with an actual Gaga dress and topped it off with a pair of shoes that are NO JOKE!
What You Need:
The shoes! This is not a necessity, but with the dress being so inexpensive, we decided it may be worth the splurge to commit to the investment in the shoes. The dress comes with eyewear, but these glasses truly take this costume to a more glam look that seems less out of the bag.
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6. Nicki Minaj Costume
We went with yellow-haired Nicki, but in all honesty you could literally wear any of these wigs for this chick — she wears 'em all! The key is exuding her sex appeal in combination with her sometimes crazy eyeball face topped off with not taking yourself too seriously. But this jam packs more punch if you go for being funny rather than sexy.
What You Need:
- Tight leopard print dress or leotard
- Black eyeliner
- Heels
- Gold bling
Definitely go with a dress size slightly smaller than what you would ordinarily wear. Then, feel free to stuff your bra with a little tissue paper to get those signature Nicki curves. Throw on a few gold chains and heels, and have a friend draw on her arm tattoo with eyeliner. I have to give it up to Miss Minaj, trying to copy her crazy eye look is REALLY hard.
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7. Angry Bird Costume
We've seen this costume before, but this look is still too dang cute to pass up. Especially when the list of what you need to make it happen is this simple!
What You Need:
- Yellow outfit
- Red, white, yellow and black felt
- Black Sharpie
- Hot glue
- Headband
- Flash tape
You could go with any shade of yellow really, I happened to have this little getup in my closet (just for the record, the shirt and skirt are from H&M and the sweater is from Target). Draw out the face onto the proper colored felt and cut it out. Glue the head piece to the headband. Everything else can be taped to the wig.
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8. Pop Art Comic Gal Costume
There are SO many versions of this look out there in the cyber world to choose from. Here is our take, where the outfit is pretty simple and it really comes down to the makeup.
What You Need:
- Comic leggings
- Graphic t-shirt
- Ben Nye Color Creme Pods in a blue, white, yellow and purple
- Electric Pallete by Urban Decay
- Black gel liner
- Fine-pointed synthetic makeup brush
Pop on the leggings and the top and then all that's left to tackle is the makeup. And once you have the right makeup on hand, it's not all that hard to achieve this head-turning look. The dots are all about precision — use a pencil eraser or tip of a makeup brush to apply the cream dots consistently all over your face.
Now for our orange wig costumes. We went with Leeloo Dallas (the hottie from The Fifth Element), a pumpkin, Fraggle Rock and the Mad Hatter.
Orange Wig
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9. Leeloo Dallas Costume
Channeling this sci-fi film icon is a really fun way to tap into a more sexy look while maintaining a quirkiness that keeps it fun. Truth: this teeny tiny outfit has indeed been my Halloween costume in the past — join the ranks this year!
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10. Pumpkin Costume
Okay, this may be really, really basic, but it is a Halloween staple. Plus, it’s the one time of year you can wear all orange all the time. #goGIANTS
What You Need:
- Orange top
- Orange bottom
- Black felt
- Hot glue
- Green foam
- Orange fabric
This look is all about orange everything! Orange leggings, an orange pumpkin t-shirt and that orange wig. Turn yourself into a pumpkin by pairing a green cone with an orange doily, and you're good to go.
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11. Red Fraggle Costume
One of the leading faces from the kooky '80s TV series can surely help bring back the nostalgia this Halloween. It's sure to put a BIG muppet-style smile on your face in this getup.
What You Need:
- Red turtleneck
- Nude leggings
- Orange yarn
- Bobby pins
- Tail
Score a turtleneck from your local thrift store like we did. For the headpiece, grab a skein of orange yarn, cut it in half, tie each side off and attach to either side of your head with bobby pins. Grab any tail (this is from a lion costume kit) and add orange yarn to it too.
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12. Mad Hatter Costume
We're going with the Johnny Depp version, obviously!
What You Need:
- Top hat with ribbon added
- Jacket
- Cream colored blouse
- Spools of thread
- Scarves
- Gloves
- Pants
As you can see, I purposely left out super descriptive details from each garment. The thing is, as long as you get the gist of the color scheme down and the general silhouette, this costume is so easy to replicate. Every clothing item is from my closet. I made the thread holster by stringing thread spools onto yarn and draping it over my shoulder. The makeup is a an understated version inspired from the original, but really easy to recreate. And yes, those are fake eyelashes as eyebrows!
Last we have our costume picks using a pink wig. These were our selects: Strawberry Shortcake, a unicorn, Jem and Frenchie from Grease.
Pink Wigs
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13. Strawberry Shortcake Costume
Another '80s classic that can be played down with a pair of white sneakers or sexified by wearing a pair of t-strap pumps.
What You Need:
If there is an option to wear flats, I say TAKE IT! How cute are these gifts to carry around as a fun accent piece? This costume definitely errs on the quick and easy side of the spectrum, so the hand-wrapped gifts make it feel a little more DIY! For your makeup just add some freckles using either black or brown eyeliner.
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14. Unicorn Costume
Real talk: I just wanted an excuse to dress up like a unicorn. The pink wig is just a bonus.
What You Need:
This costume is so comfortable and super cute! You can also add glitter or do your makeup really crazy if you want to take it to the next level.
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15. Jem Costume
Clearly, we are as obsessed with our '80s cartoon characters as we are with wig costumes. For bright pink tresses, Jem is an absolute must!
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16. Frenchie From 'Grease' Costume
“Beauty school drop out, go back to high school” — the tune never gets old. Typically the go-to Grease costume is the lovely Sandy, but let’s think outside the box and use this opportunity to channel the sweetest pink lady and her accidental pink hair. If only she knew how trendsetting she was back in the day!
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