Costumes on deck for Halloween 2022

This Halloween, students should expect to see costumes based on recent movies, rising stars, and typical go-to’s. Students will also face the all-too-familiar challenges that come with the holiday: Cute or funny? Scary or seductive? Will enough people get this reference or will it be too niche? These impossible questions are all just extra obstacles for the most difficult task of all: being original.

Halloween at Syracuse is one of the most highly-anticipated nights of first semester. Once the weather cools off by a few degrees, students across campus start scouring Pinterest and TikTok for the perfect costume ideas. Because the holiday falls on a Monday this year, students need costumes for both weekend events and the day-of, so creative costumes are more necessary than ever.

Here is what you can expect to see this Halloween. Use it as inspiration, or, if you like a challenge, as what not to wear so as to avoid being one of a dozen Elvises, per se, roaming Comstock on Halloweekend.

Based on recent movie releases:

• Top Gun: Maverick – One of the easiest ideas for this year because it only requires aviator sunglasses and a mustache.
• Elvis – Elvis and Priscilla Presley will make for a stellar couples costume.
• Don’t Worry Darling – Even though the movie just came out this month, Harry Styles fans will want to recreate his character, or others, for Halloween.

Based on TV shows:

• Breaking Bad – With the long-anticipated finale of Better Call Saul released this year, Walt and Jesse will definitely be popular costumes.
• Stranger Things – Every year since the first season of the show, Eleven and the rest of the cast have been Halloween staples.
• WandaVision – Despite the fact that this show came out last year, its impact has kept it popular and its iconic costume design makes it a highly demanded look.
• Gossip Girl – With their trademark Upper West Side outfits, Serena and Blair are always a fun costume. XOXO.

Based on social media trends:

• Greek gods/goddesses – TikTok lately has been saturated with videos of cute couples dressed up in these easy-to-make costumes.
• Skeletons (makeup) – Halloween is a great excuse to go all-out with a bold makeup look, and tutorials are everywhere.
• Seventies – Gogo boots and disco attire are typical fallbacks for a reason, but they’ve been all over the Internet recently.

Based on classic favorites:

• Angel/devil – All you really need is a red or black dress and someone to match with.
• Scooby Doo – Large friend groups struggle with finding a costume that incorporates lots of characters, so this is a great option.
• Mean Girls – Between Cady, Regina, Gretchen and Karen, with this movie, you can guarantee someone will get the reference.
• Lifeguards – A versatile costume that works alone or with a group. Wendy Peffercorn and Squints from The Sandlot give the theme a cult-classic element and an opportunity for a couples costume.
• Cat/other animals – Though they may be basic, these last-minute costumes have held up over years for a reason.