Hiya!

I was actually in the middle of writing something totally different for this week when I realized that it was Halloween! That’s one of the problems when you live in a country that doesn’t really recognize the scariest holiday of the year and decides to decorate the streets and malls for Christmas three whole months earlier than it should. While I don’t really like all of the spooky stuff involved with the holiday, I honestly want to celebrate Halloween and all of its goofiness of dressing up in costumes and all that. Unfortunately, you can’t really get any good costumes here in the Philippines because we kinda do a halfhearted acknowledgement that Halloween even exists, despite most people here who say they love horror movies and such.

Anyway, as I just realized it’s the scariest time of the year and the most excusable time to play dress up, I decided to write something about what costumes you can put together at the last minute. I know someone here already wrote something like this… but that doesn’t mean I can’t cook up five more quick costumes, right?

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Ryu and/or Ken from Street Fighter

Most of the outfits from Street Fighter are really elaborate and will take some time to really get right. Even Zangief, who basically just wears wrestling tights/swim trunks/red underwear, you still gotta get the beard and the mohawk as well as all the scars on his body. And while Cammy should be easy as she’s just wearing a glorified green one-piece swimsuit, you still gotta have the long, braided blonde hair, the red arm guards and the beret.

The easiest costume is, of course, the Shotokan trained, fireball tossing, Dragon Punching duo of Ryu and Ken.

What you would need should be available at any reputable sporting goods store. Ryu might be a little easier than Ken as white karate outfits or gis are much easier to come by than red ones. If all else fails, you can dye a white one red in a pinch. You should be able to find sparring gloves there as well. If you’re going for Ryu, all you would need is a strip of red cloth for the headband. The only real problem would be maybe if your hair is a different color than Ryu or Ken’s black or blonde tone. You can always get some hair dye, right?

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Offred from The Handmade’s Tale

Blessed be the fruit.

Sure, the show does get rather depressing at times but the story is just so darned interesting. I loved The Handmaid’s Tale series because of the overall atmosphere of the post-apocalyptic world. They make a great use of color to show the different classes and the costume designs are brilliant in their simplicity. This makes it very easy to pull off handmaid Offred’s ensemble together.

All you would need is a red dress with sleeves and that weird looking bonnet on your head and you’re good to go. If you really want to look the part, make sure you go out with an oversized red cape as well so you can cover your entire body. If you don’t have a cape, a huge red tablecloth or curtain would do well in a pinch. Honestly, I even think a guy can pull off this costume as long as he keeps the cape wrapped around his body and wear an oversized bonnet so that his face is obscured from view!

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Mario from Super Mario

If he’s not a plumber anymore why does he still look like one? No matter the reason, you can take advantage of Mario’s extremely simple look. Scrounging around for blue overalls should be easy if you have someone in your family or you know a friend who’s handy with tools. Okay, that sounds like a stereotype but it’s probably true. A red cap and white gloves should be available at your local department store or thrift shop. Don’t forget Mario’s long sleeved red undershirt as well.

The only problem you may have may be the letter “M” on Mario’s cap and the mustache but those things are still pretty easy as long as you have some handicraft skills. You should be able to make a relatively facsimile of Mario’s “M” by cutting out the letter out of red paper and pasting it on a circular white piece of paper. Or, if you’re really lazy, just get a red marker and write that “M” yourself! And even if you don’t have the ability to grow facial hair (like me), there are so many ways to make your own fake mustache. You can use black construction paper and just find a way to stick it on your face… or just use a whiteboard marker and draw it on your face

Or use a permanent marker… because you wouldn’t want it rubbing off before the night is done, right? (snicker)

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Bruce Banner returning from his Hulk form

Some people might confuse your outfit for “homeless bozo” or “zombie who didn’t bother to wear makeup” if you wear this, but I think this is still a clever outfit!

First off, I have no idea where the heck Bruce Banner got the idea that purple pants looks good on anyone! I honestly not sure if anyone actually makes purple pants but, if you have a pair and you don’t wear them anymore (and if you do, you should stop! Immediately), just rip them apart or cut them up so that they look really ragged. If you don’t have any purple pants, I guess any colored pair of pants will do. If you don’t like the idea of going around shirtless, get a while button up polo shirt and go to town on them with a pair of scissors.

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Sims from the Sims

This is probably the easiest costume you can put together. It may be a bit obscure but, since The Sims is one of the most popular video games in the world, you probably don’t need to explain to others what you’re costume is all that much. What makes this costume super easy is that you don’t even have to alter your appearance in any way! All you’re going to be doing is adding an accessory: the little plumb bob that floats over every Sims’ head you control! All you’ll need is a bit of paper and some way to get it to “float” over your head.

In fact, this is the costume I’m going to be wearing at the office during Halloween. Hey, I may like to play dress up and all that but not while I’m at work! I may speak Simlish the entire day as well!

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Have any other quick Halloween costume suggestions? Leave them in the comments section below!