This time last year, I shared my recommendations for the most fun and flirty solo Halloween costumes for vintage fashion and media lovers. This year, I’m back with a twist: group costumes.
While solo costumes are sometimes the most iconic, it can be fun to participate in a group costume. If you are lucky enough to have friends or a partner who have the same old-fashioned interests as you — or are generous enough to indulge your nerdy interests — Halloween is a perfect time to celebrate together.
So, grab your partner, your bestie or even your situationship, and give these ideas a try.
Join the kickline: Taylor Swift’s “showgirl” with a vintage twist
I’m sure we’ll see a whole lot of Vegas showgirls this Halloween, thanks to Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” If you love the showgirl aesthetic but want to stand out from the crowd, try a look from the Ziegfeld Follies, the iconic series of Broadway revue shows that birthed the modern musical.
This is the perfect costume for large friend groups, because the Ziegfeld Follies popularized the image of a long kickline of beautiful chorus girls. Dressing up as a chorus girl is way more fun when you have a chorus of friends surrounding you.
Plus, there are more than two decades’ worth of shows that you can pull specific costume ideas from. If you don’t like the perfectly uniform chorus look, each friend can pick their favorite costume from one of the many elaborate Follies’ revues and still coordinate with the group.
You can check out the 1945 film “Ziegfeld Follies” if you need clearer reference images to pull from. The film was made over a decade since the last actual Follies show ran, so the image quality is much better, and the shots are understandably more zoomed in.
The movie also offers costume inspiration of its own. One of the posters from the original theatrical release features a gorgeous illustration of Lucille Ball in a glamorous red bodysuit with black evening gloves and a large feather headdress. It’s an iconic image that would make the perfect modern-meets-vintage Halloween costume.
For those with a song in their heart: Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love
While I tend to focus on pre-1980s fashion and culture in my column, the popular definition of vintage is anything between 20 and 100 years old. So, yes, fashion and media from the 1990s are considered vintage — and who better represents the decade than grunge sweethearts Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love?
I’ve seen this costume done time and time again by Hollywood “it” couples and layfolk alike, but for good reason. Cobain and Love are arguably one of the most recognizable Hollywood couples of the past 50 years. Plus, their looks are easy to replicate with clothing items you probably already own.
For Love, think babydoll dresses or slips with the rattiest fishnets you can find and a chunky pair of boots. Love is one of the originators of Kinderwhore, a style and subculture that subverts traditional femininity by marrying soft, girlish aesthetics with dark elements of grunge fashion.
To recreate Cobain’s iconic look, try a pair of ripped jeans and a faded T-shirt with a fuzzy cardigan and a pair of good old Chuck Taylors on your feet. You can add a leopard print coat and a vintage trapper cap if you’re worried about the weather — or really want to drive the Cobain look home.
A sequel to last year: the full “Valley of the Dolls” trio
Last year, I recommended Jennifer North’s iconic poolside look from the 1967 film “Valley of the Dolls” for those independent Halloween goers. However, I’d argue that the beauty of “Valley of the Dolls” is its exploration of the ebbs and flows of female friendship. Why not celebrate that fact by dressing up with your two best friends?
The costumes the leading ladies wear in the film’s promotional materials are simple and easy to replicate. The hardest part of this costume is deciding who gets to dress up as each character.
For Anne Welles, try a preppy long-sleeve pink dress, preferably belted and made with eyelet fabric. If you can’t find a dress in the right bubblegum pink hue, Rit fabric dye is a relatively cheap and easy solution. For Jennifer’s look, go for a slinky white sleeveless maxi dress. The one she wears has a faint snakeprint-like design, but a simple white or beige fabric will do the trick just as well.
Lastly, for Neely O’Hara, don your favorite pale-colored trench coat. Whatever you wear under is up to you. You can go for accuracy and recreate a different outfit of Neely’s from the film, or simply wear a fun bodysuit that makes you feel your best.
Will they, or won’t they: Some honorable mentions from the 1960s for the situationships
If you are in that awkward space between “more-than-friends” and “not-a-couple,” these two musical duos from the 1960s are perfect for you. These costume ideas are easy to recreate and perfectly capture the tension of your undefined relationship.
The first situationship pick is Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. Between the decades of swirling suspicions about their relationship title and the tumultuous end to their partnership, what dynamic would be better to replicate with your situationship? Simon and Garfunkel were just friends — or so they say — so this costume might be less awkward to suggest to your situationship than an actual couples costume.
The second situationship pick is Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood. While some of their songs may suggest otherwise, Sinatra and Hazlewood were never a couple. For Sinatra, wear a white mini dress and her iconic go-go boots. For Hazlewood, the most identifiable items are a swoopy brown wig and a big fake mustache.
No matter what costume you pick for Halloween, make sure to be conscientious about where you are sourcing your pieces from. While it may take more time to scour the thrift store than search Amazon for the perfect piece, it’s worth it to make sure your outfit is just as perfect for you as it is for the planet. Besides, what’s more fun than thrifting with friends?
