Here are 10 creative costume ideas inspired by books that are fun to put together and even more fun to wear!
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Halloween is getting closer, and there are only a couple weeks left to go until that much anticipated day!
Halloween is absolutely one of my favorite holidays, for so many reasons- you get to carve a fun pumpkin and put up spooky (or cute!) decor, eat chocolate, and, of course, dress up!!
Well, we put together a post of costumes that I (Cenzia) wore over the years that were inspired by books, movies and more! These costumes are easy to replicate, and are fun, fast and frugal!
You can find the items for many of them at local crafts stores, consignment shops/sales or use things you already have.
10 Fun Halloween Costumes for Girls Inspired by Books!
We had a great time at the drive-in watching Dora and the Lost City of Gold a few summers ago and it was a fun throw-back to my days as a fan of Dora and Boots!
This was a fun and super easy costume to put together that was cute, comfy, and I was able to wear again!
Dora the Explorer Costume:
Dora's Backpack: We purchased mine at a local toy store, but here is one just like it!
Dora's Shirt & Shorts: Pink top and orange shorts: we purchased mine at Target.
Sneakers/Socks: Any sneakers will do and I doubled my socks to have both pink and yellow!
Want to see the movie? Break out your favorite treats or break into that Halloween candy and enjoy Dora and the Lost City of Gold!
2. Flower Fairy
A sweet rather than spooky costume, this is a magical outfit that's perfect for pictures!
This was during my Disney Fairies phase and was inspired by Rosetta, the Garden Talent Fairy - a friend of Tinkerbell's!
Flower Fairy Costume:
Flower Fairy Dress: We used a flower girl style dress that we found at a consignment sale for $6, but any pastel dress, or a pastel colored top and tutu would work.
Fairy Wings: We searched for the perfect color and found a set on eBay; any fairy dress-up wings would work, such as this pair.
Flower Crown: We made my flower crown it by weaving craft store flowers and two different ribbons (light green and pink) around chenille sticks-bend or tape the ends so you don't have sharp edges.
Here's a super pretty one if you need some inspiration!
3. Disney's Sleeping Beauty - Aurora
I loved the Disney princesses and wanted to be a princess for many years! I also adored reading stories about Belle, Ariel, Rapunzel and Aurora!
Here's one of many great Disney princess books that are well-loved!
(If you have a reader that loves fairy tales, check out our 10+ Fairy Tales with a Twist post for some fabulous books!!)
Given that I was a huge fan of Disney Princesses, I of course dressed up as a princess more than once for Halloween!!
The above adorable thrift-store dress got a facelift for Halloween, and we found the rest of the supplies in our own house!
Sleeping Beauty (Aurora) Costume:
My Sleeping Beauty/Aurora Dress: This was a consignment sale find for a mere $3.00!! We found the rose embellishments at JoAnn's and sewed them on.
Royal Accessories: I already had a tiara, scepter, and the shoes, but you can use any 'royal' footwear! Here's a royal set if you want to add gloves and earrings to the costume!
4. The Little Mermaid
I know... two princesses in a row! For any mermaid fans reading this, The Little Mermaid costume is a perfect way to pay homage to the movie or book, so channel your inner fins and get started!
The Little Mermaid:
Ariel's Mermaid Costume: we purchased mine online, here's one that's similar.
The Cape: Our friend loaned us the cape, which we lined with some fleece from Joann's to make it a little warmer.
Tiara: I had mine already, and if you don't already own a good fitting tiara, this one is very pretty!
Looking for more mermaid stories? Here is one of our faves! Jan Brett's The Mermaid is a feast for the eyes! Visit our post featuring this gorgeous book and a fun craft to go along with it!
5. Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz is an iconic film with the some of the best movie shoes ever, so we wanted to do it justice!
Dorothy's costume:
Dorothy's Dress: A friend of ours sewed this amazing Dorothy dress, which is pretty accurate to the movie! Here is one that we love too!
Ruby Red Slippers: We purchased my ruby red slippers locally and they're readily available (thanks to Dorothy!!) online as well! Here's a perfect pair to round out your Dorothy costume!
Dorothy's Basket: A generous neighbor supplied me with a cute flip top basket, but any basket you have work! Use a plush dog you already have, or some other stuffy could be a stand-in!.
Hair Ribbons: We purchased a spool of ribbon at JoAnn's and cut the right length for ribbons. My hair was long, so a couple of braids was an easy style!
If you are interested in doing a more elaborate braided hairstyle, here is the place to visit!
6. Disney's Minnie Mouse
Well, there are plenty of books out there featuring the humble mouse! Whether it's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Chalk and Cheese, Beatrix Potter's mice and of course, Disney's Minnie and Mickey Mouse!
Minnie Mouse Costume:
Minnie Mouse Dress: We purchased mine new on Ebay- the bow came with it so I pinned it to the ears!
Minnie's Ears: I had a pair already, but you can purchase a pair if you need them-they were one of my favorite costume accessories!
7. Jewelry Box Ballerina
My Jewelry Box Ballerina costume was so much fun to make! It looks fancy, but is deceptively easy to create!
How We Did It:
Ballerina Tutu: Former dance recital costume; if you don't have one of these in the closet, check with a neighbor or friend. They are also readily available at consignment sales, through eBay, or Poshmark for usual
The Jewelry Box:
First, we found a big cardboard box that fit around me. Then, we did the following steps:
Secure the edges/corners that need a little more support with whatever tape we could find.
Attach two lengths of sturdy grosgrain ribbon that we had lying around to the box on each side to mimic a backpack-type straps. You have to play with this a little bit to find a decent balance for the ballerina. We cut slits in the box and tied one to each side. Knot it well and secure the cardboard around it if needed with strong tape.
Wrap it in pretty pink satiny fabric that we bought from JoAnn's (love those coupons!)
Hot glue the fabric to the box. I think we also used glue dots for those spots that needed extra!
We had some frilly lace ribbon in the house and glued that around.
Found some cute heart stickers in the house and stuck those on.
Decorative craft papers and buttons were added to be the drawers.
Found costume jewelry and pinned it to the corners and arranged it to 'spill over.'
Voila! Have your ballerina put on her tutu and you're good to go!
8. Holly Golightly from 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'
My mom and I are Huge Audrey Hepburn fans, so when we got this costume idea into our heads, there was no turning back! It was a lot of fun to find all of the items and recreate a little Audrey style!
How We Did It:
Audrey Hepburn's 'Little Black Dress': Another consignment sale find! I lucked out and stumbled across it before I even decided on a Halloween Costume, and at 50% off, it cost just $3.00.
Gloves and Sunglasses: One of the moms at my dance class heard I was going to do this costume and loaned me a pair of her gloves! I just used a pair of oversize black sunglasses of my mom's.
The Jewelry: I apparently never run out of tiaras! This one was from a ballet recital, but another jeweled tiara/comb would be perfectly Holly!
I made the necklace, stringing pearl beads onto jewelry cord and attaching an oversize brooch in the middle.
Shoes: I wore heeled shoes that I had worn to a wedding - any fancy footwear would do!
9. 1920s' Flapper
The Roaring 20's always seemed so glamorous, and I was thrilled to be able to wear this fun flapper look again! (I already had costume this from a dance recital!)
How We Did It:
The Flapper Dress and Headband: We had purchased previously for a dance recital. We really like it when we can reuse dance costumes! If you don't have a flapper dress in your closet, you can find one here.
The Boa and Necklace: I already had both of these from my costume stash! Boas are available at JoAnn's and sometimes dollar stores as well. The necklace is another item that can be found at craft or dollar stores!
Hair: I actually have very long hair! My mom looked up how to do a faux bob and basically you roll sections of hair around your fingers and then bobby pin it underneath to the other hair!
I curled it a little first and we sprayed it a bunch to hold it for the night!
Visit this site for a full tutorial on how to create 'bobbed' hair for your flapper look!
10. Jackie O (1960s' Chic) & Melody from American Girl
Jackie O will forever be one of my favorite style icons, and this look is sooo simple to put together, and looks very Jackie-esque!
American Girl fans will love learning about this time period through the eyes of Melody Ellison
We made the pillbox hat, and were so happy with how it turned out and held up!
How We Did It:
The 1960's Jacket and Skirt: The jacket was a Forever 21 find on Ebay, and the black skirt I already had in my closet.
Pearls, and sunglasses: Use a faux strand of pearls, and some oversize black sunglasses.
Jackie O's Pillbox Hat: Find out how to make your own here. It was a lot of fun to make and the materials were very cheap!
The Bag: I covered a bag I bought from a neighbor's yard sale (actually, I think she gave it to me!) with black satin and attached a brooch (JoAnn's - coupon!!), or use a bag you already have.
Jackie O's Hair: I wanted my hair to be the same as Jacki O's (it's very long!) So, just like for the flapper costume, I looped my hair underneath itself and then used bobby pins to hold it in place.
It wasn't quite as elaborate as the flapper curls, so it was definitely easier to do, but it needed more bobby pins to hold it in place!
Hope this list gave you some ideas and inspiration for costumes!
Can't wait for October 31st!!!
Trick-or-Treat!
Cenzia :)
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Updated: 10/18/22