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11 pop-culture DIY Halloween costume ideas for 2016

Click to play video: 'Halloween costumes for adults'
Halloween costumes for adults
Fashion and lifestyle journalist Laurence Trépanier talks to Global's Laura Casella about this year's top choices for Halloween costumes – Oct 25, 2016

Halloween is filled with lots of scary things, but you don’t need pricey costumes to be one of them. With so many out-there events taking place in 2016, there’s no shortage of possibilities — including inexpensive ideas that you can create yourself.

Check out these 11 DIY options for costumes that can be creepy… or cute.

Angry Beyoncé

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, as Beyoncé made clear this spring with her visual album, Lemonade.  It’s time to bypass that Single Ladies costume by taking any look from her visual album and making it your own.

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For your Angry Beyoncé look, you’ll need:

  • Baseball bat with “Hot Sauce” written on it
  • Lots of yellow tissue paper
  • Ruffled yellow dress
  • Gold accessories
  • Hair crimper
  • Red nail polish
  • Lemon juicer

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How to act: Be jealous and crazy while bent on revenge.

Harley Quinn & The Joker

After the release of Suicide Squad in August, people who’ve never picked up a comic book, video-game controller or watched a single animated Batman production now know who Harley Quinn and The Joker are. Grab a friend and go out together as The Joker and his deranged, dangerous girlfriend.

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For your Harley Quinn look, you’ll need:

  • A pair of blue and red shorts
  • A baseball tee that reads “Daddy’s Little Monster”
  • A pair of black-and-white heeled sneakers
  • A baseball bat
  • Black fishnet stockings
  • Suicide Squad Harley Quinn wig (blue, blonde and pink)
  • A studded belt
  • Makeup
  • Blue and red jacket, ‘property of Joker’ on back

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How to act: On the verge of insanity. Constantly talk about your “Puddin’.”

READ MORE: Justin Bieber drops his mic, storms off stage because of fan screaming

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For your Joker look, you’ll need:

  • Black tuxedo suit
  • White tuxedo vest
  • Black tuxedo shoes
  • Boutonniere: white colour with a lapel flower design on it
  • White tuxedo gloves
  • White dress shirt
  • Tuxedo spats (easy to use, snap tabs on the side)
  • Light pink bow tie
  • Temporary green hair dye

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How to act: Contort your mouth, say insane things and let out an ear-piercing laugh every now and then.

A Presidential Candidate

With the U.S. presidential election quickly approaching, you can decide to dress up to Make America Great Again or show everyone #ImWithHer.

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For your Donald Trump look, you’ll need:

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  • Golden-coloured Trump wig
  • Polyester suit
  • “Make America Great Again” cap
  • Red tie
  • Trump button
  • Or just opt for a ready-made Donald Trump costume and mask

How to act:

READ MORE: Clown costumes banned at Fort McMurray public schools this Halloween

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For your Hillary Clinton look, you’ll need:

  • A coloured pantsuit
  • A white necklace
  • A Clinton button
  • Gold brooch
  • Lipstick
  • Short blonde wig
  • Black sunglasses are also an option

How to act:

Rey, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Rey, played by Daisy Ridley in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is the next generation of Jedi, and you can join her too.

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For your Rey look, you’ll need:

  • Beige cropped pants
  • Sleeveless beige top
  • Curtains or cotton gauze for the draping that goes over the shoulders, criss-crosses in front and hangs down
  • Leather pocketbook with a long strap for a belt (or just use a leather belt)
  • Knit or UGG-style boots
  • Large wooden broom stick — which can be spray-painted to copy the weapon she carries

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How to act: Fight like a trained Jedi. Of course.

Pikachu

Did you join the Pokemon Go craze this year, scattering to every location to “Catch em’ all”? Don’t let the fun stop there! Become your favourite Pokemon this Halloween.

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For your Pikachu look, you’ll need:

  • Yellow shirt and leggings, or unitard
  • Sewing machine or needle and thread
  • Yellow and brown paint (Two dark brown horizontal stripes on Pikachu’s lower back)

For Pikachu’s face:

  • Pieces of yellow cloth for ears
  • Red and black permanent markers
  • Old socks
  • Yellow beanie or headband

Take the pieces of cloth and roll them into two conical shapes. Sew them and stuff them with the old socks. Once you’ve set up the ears, paint the tips black. Sew them to the beanie. Use the permanent markers to draw Pikachu’s face.

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READ MORE: Pokemon Go a new distraction for drivers: study

For Pikachu’s tail:

  • Scissors
  • Cardboard
  • Paint
  • Staples

Draw the zig-zag shape of the tail on the cardboard with a pencil and cut along. Paint the lower part of the tail — the one that’ll be closest to your body — in dark-brown paint and the top part in yellow. Staple the tail to the back of your costume.

https://twitter.com/quackerjac/status/660284281705467904

How to act: Become electric to make sure you’re completely in character.

Minions

Despicable Me’s spinoff film Minions has rooted these little adorable characters firmly into our pop culture, with much of the Minions’ spread tracing back to marketing partnerships with big-name brands. “Minion Yellow” is even its own colour now.

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For your Minion look, you’ll need:

  • Yellow t-shirt
  • Denim shorts or pants
  • Black suspenders
  • Black gloves

For the goggles:

  • Black headband
  • Plastic foam cups
  • Pins
  • Black and silver markers
  • Scissors

To make the goggles:

Start with your black headband, plastic foam cups, pins, and silver and black markers. Cut the cups about 1 inch to 1-1/2 inches from the bottom all the way around the cup.

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Colour both the outside and the inside of the cup silver to resemble the metal of the Minion’s goggles. Take a black marker and draw a black circle in the centre of the white surface to look like the pupil of the Minion’s eye. Take your pin and put it through both the centre of the black circle you just created and through a part of the black headband.

How to act:

Stranger Things Wall

The famous wall of lights from Stranger Things was used by Winona Ryder’s character, Joyce, to communicate with her son, Will, who is trapped in the Upside-Down or the Other Side, and is one of the most iconic parts of the show. It’s also a very easy costume to make.

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For your Wall look, you’ll need:

  • A floral blouse
  • Black fabric paint (to write out the alphabet in capital letters: ABCDEFGH goes on one line, then IJKLMNOPQ, then RSTUVWXYZ)
  • A set of coloured Christmas lights (battery-operated)
  • Hot glue gun (if you’re worried about the lights not staying up)

Here’s a list of different variations of the costume.

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https://twitter.com/matt_boyd_smith/status/771891814781575169

How to act: Prepare to be used as a communication device for those caught in the Upside-Down.

Taylor Swift’s Boyfriend Squad

Taylor Swift has dated a very attractive batch of bachelors, and she famously wrote songs about the relationships after they ended. Get a group of friends together and become Taylor Swift’s boyfriend squad.

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Take your pick, you can be:

Tom Hiddleston (June 2016 – Sept. 2016)

Calvin Harris (March 2015 – June 2016)

Harry Styles (Dec. 2012 – Jan. 2013)

Eddie Redmayne (Oct. 2011 – Jan. 2012)

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Jake Gyllenhaal (Oct. 2010 – Jan. 2011)

John Mayer (Dec. 2009 – Feb. 2010)

Taylor Lautner (Aug. 2009 – Dec. 2009)

Joe Jonas (July 2008 – Oct. 2008)

READ MORE: Taylor Swift, Tom Hiddleston split after three months together

Make sure you have a Swift with your crew. That person will need:

  • White crop top
  • Circle skirt
  • Pair of heels
  • Sunglasses
  • Short blonde wig
  • Red lipstick
  • A microphone (optional) to top off the look

How to act: Act like any of her exes. (Watch the video gallery, below, for some examples.)

Clown

This Halloween, it’s suggested that you stop clowning around and pick a different costume idea already.

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Reports of clowns haunting many locations have put people on edge this year. This epidemic is spreading across Canada and the U.S., leading to arrests, school warnings and police investigations. But if your dream is to be a clown for Halloween and nobody is going to stop you, here’s how to achieve that.
Reports of clowns haunting many locations have put people on edge this year. This epidemic is spreading across Canada and the U.S., leading to arrests, school warnings and police investigations. But if your dream is to be a clown for Halloween and nobody is going to stop you, here’s how to achieve that. GIPHY

For your clown look, you’ll need:

  • Colourful striped tank top or t-shirt
  • Red foam nose
  • Oversized bow-tie
  • Clown wig
  • Clown face makeup

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How to act: Try to be the funny version of clown instead of the petrifying, terrifying-children kind.

 

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