If you love the ‘80s and ‘90s, then surely you must be considering a Halloween costume this year dedicated to your favorite decades! Having trouble coming up with something amazing? No worries, we got you. Below, we’ve compiled some of our favorite pop culture costumes that you can buy and feel totally stylin’ for this year’s spooky season. And, if you want to get the next generation in on the ‘80s and ‘90s fun, you’re almost 100% sure to find a child-size version of any of these costumes as well. Pass on the love, you know you want to.
But enough talk, let’s get to some of our favorite 2021 Halloween costume ideas!
The Sanderson Sisters - Hocus Pocus
It’s just a little hocus pocus…. get witchy as one of the iconic Sanderson sisters. Winnifred, Mary, or Sarah, the choice is all yours! Depending on your price point, there are some very fancy versions that look really legit.
Ghostbusters
Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters! That’s right, you can dress up as one of your favorite ghostf-fighters in a variety of different options for adults and kids alike.
Saved by the Bell
Hang out at Bayside High as one of your favorite characters from Saved by the Bell. Work at the Max or just talk on a giant cell phone to get that SBTB vibe.
Loved Saved by the Bell? Check out our articles:
The Most Awesome-est Episodes of Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell’s Very Special Episodes – Ranked
Back to the Future
Go back in time with some of your favorites from Back to the Future. Or, if you want to go forward in time, you can get costumes from Back to the Future Part II – everyone loves a hoverboard.
Beetlejuice
Get ghoulish as one of your favorite characters from Beetlejuice — whether as the ghostest with the mostest himself, or as Lydia in her iconic red wedding dress.
Madonna
If you ever wanted to be an iconic ’80s pop star, look no further than these costumes that’ll get you looking like the Queen of Pop herself – Madonna!
The Legend of Zelda
Maybe video games are more your style? No worries – you can dress up as Zelda and Link from The Legend of Zelda series.
Super Mario
If you love video games but Zelda isn’t your thing, then you can always go with a true classic – characters from the the Super Mario world! Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi… the options are almost endless!
A League of Their Own
Maybe you’re more of a sports fan? Then how about dressing up as your favorite baseball players from A League of Their Own? Just remember: there’s no crying in baseball.
Where are... Carmen Sandiego and Waldo
If you want to be the more elusive type, then you could go for one of our two favorite missing people — Carmen Sandiego and Waldo (aka Wally).
Check out our articles:
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Everywhere!
Where’s Waldo? All Over the World Since the ’80s!
The Addams Family
If you want to get the whole family involved, then how about dressing up as one of the most Halloween-appropriate families around? Yep, we’re talking about The Addams Family.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
If you’re a big fan of ’80s John Hughes, then you can dress up as one of our favorite school skippers with these costumes from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Ferris, Sloane, and Cameron would make a great Halloween trio!
WandaVision
Okay yes, WandaVision may be a totally recent show, but the show was really a celebration of the history of television. And their Halloween episode in particular had everyone dressing up in retro versions of their costumes, so we couldn’t resist including them here.
Are you going to dress up for Halloween? Let us know your 2021 Halloween costume ideas in the comments!
- Dressing up in costumes was once done as a way to try to hide from ghosts. People wore masks when they left their homes after dark so the ghosts would think they were fellow spirits.
- Prior to the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween costumes were pretty scary, and usually homemade. It was in those decades that pop culture figures started to be licensed for costumes, including such figures as Popeye, Olive Oyl, Little Orphan Annie and Mickey Mouse.
- Trick-or-treating became a widespread practice in the 1930s, with the first U.S. appearance of the term in 1932, and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939.
- Though the idea of trick-or-treating comes from Scotland and Ireland’s “guising,” kids there didn’t start widely using the term there until the 2000s. Instead, children would say, “Help the Halloween Party” when going door to door.
- In a traditional Celtic story, a man named Jack tricked the Devil. After Jack died, the Devil made him roam the night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the piece of coal in a carved-out turnip, a common vegetable in Ireland, and became known as Jack of the Lantern. When Scottish and Irish immigrants came to America, pumpkins were more prevalent, so that’s how they came to be known as jack-o-lanterns.
- Dressing up in costumes was once done as a way to try to hide from ghosts. People wore masks when they left their homes after dark so the ghosts would think they were fellow spirits.
- Prior to the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween costumes were pretty scary, and usually homemade. It was in those decades that pop culture figures started to be licensed for costumes, including such figures as Popeye, Olive Oyl, Little Orphan Annie and Mickey Mouse.
- Trick-or-treating became a widespread practice in the 1930s, with the first U.S. appearance of the term in 1932, and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939.
- Though the idea of trick-or-treating comes from Scotland and Ireland’s “guising,” kids there didn’t start widely using the term there until the 2000s. Instead, children would say, “Help the Halloween Party” when going door to door.
- In a traditional Celtic story, a man named Jack tricked the Devil. After Jack died, the Devil made him roam the night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the piece of coal in a carved-out turnip, a common vegetable in Ireland, and became known as Jack of the Lantern. When Scottish and Irish immigrants came to America, pumpkins were more prevalent, so that’s how they came to be known as jack-o-lanterns.
