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Finally, it's time to get your Halloween costume ready—because, before you know it, the spookiest day of the year will be here. If you’re anything like me, you’ve been keeping a running list of ideas for your 2023 Halloween costume since November 1. But if you’re not as crazy enthusiastic about Halloween as I am (totally understandable!), you may need a little inspiration to get the ball rolling. And what better way to get inspired than by turning to iconic movies and TV shows?
Whether your grand plans for October 31 include bingeing scary movies or attending a fabulous costume party, dressing up as one of your favorite TV or movie characters for Halloween is a low-lift way to pretend you're someone else for a night. Below, we’ve rounded up our favorite options for your 2023 Halloween escapades, inspired by characters from movies and TV shows. Not only do these costumes make great conversation starters, but almost all of these “costumes” double as (mostly) practical and stylish additions to your closet (need I remind you of all the Halloween costumes a little black dress can inspire?). Once you've decided which movie or TV character you'll be channeling this Halloween, all that's left is to pick a spectacular Halloween eye makeup look.
(Image credit: Alamy)
Ariel from 'The Little Mermaid'
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Wanda from 'WandaVision'
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Barbie from 'Barbie'
(Image credit: Warner Bros)
Shiv Roy from 'Succession'
(Image credit: Cinematic Collection / Alamy Stock Photo)
Jennifer from 'Jennifer's Body'
(Image credit: Alamy)
M3gan from 'M3GAN'
(Image credit: Maximum Film / Alamy Stock Photo)
Fran from 'The Nanny'
(Image credit: Netflix)
Nami from 'One Piece'
(Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)
C.J. from 'Baywatch'
(Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)
Cassie from 'Euphoria'
(Image credit: AJ Pics / Alamy Stock Photo)
Alice from 'Closer'
(Image credit: Netflix)
Amy Lau from 'BEEF'
(Image credit: Movieshare Collection / Alamy)
Casey from 'Scream'
(Image credit: Maximum Film / Alamy Stock Photo)
Mia from 'The Princess Diaries'
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Gwen Stacy from 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'
(Image credit: Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo)
Joy from 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'
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Ahsoka from 'Ahsoka'
(Image credit: AJ Pics / Alamy Stock Photo)
Satine from 'Moulin Rouge!'
(Image credit: Scott Everett White/ABC via Getty Images)
Principal Ava from 'Abbott Elementary'
(Image credit: Allstar Picture Library Limited. / Alamy Stock Photo)
Carrie from 'Carrie'
(Image credit: Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo)
Juliet from 'Romeo + Juliet'
(Image credit: HBO / Good Banana / Album)
Rhaenyra from 'House of the Dragon'
(Image credit: HBO Max/THA)
Alicent from 'House of the Dragon'
(Image credit: Hulu)
Sydney from 'The Bear'
(Image credit: Entertainment Pictures / Alamy Stock Photo)
Meredith Blake from 'The Parent Trap'
(Image credit: c Touchstone Pictures/Entertainment Pictures)
Vivian from 'Pretty Woman'
(Image credit: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu/THA)
Mabel from 'Only Murders in the Building'
(Image credit: New Line Cinema / Warner Bros. Television / Amazon Studios)
Galadriel from 'The Rings of Power'
(Image credit: PictureLux / The Hollywood Archive / Alamy Stock Photo)
Marie Antoinette from 'Marie Antoinette'
(Image credit: AJ Pics / Alamy Stock Photo)
Lizzie McGuire from 'The Lizzie McGuire Movie'
(Image credit: BFA / Alamy Stock Photo)
Cassandra from 'Promising Young Woman'
(Image credit: AJ Pics / Alamy Stock Photo)
Leeloo from 'The Fifth Element'
(Image credit: Alamy)
J. Robert Oppenheimer from 'Oppenheimer'
(Image credit: AJ Pics / Alamy Stock Photo)
Sally from 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'
(Image credit: Maximum Film / Alamy Stock Photo)
The Mask from 'The Mask'
(Image credit: Beth Dubber/ Hulu)
Elizabeth Holmes in 'The Dropout'
(Image credit: Photo 12 / Alamy Stock Photo)
Sailor Scout from 'Sailor Moon'
(Image credit: Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo)
Olive from 'Easy A'
(Image credit: LUCASFILM/JAK PRODUCTIONS / Alamy Stock Photo)
Padme from 'Star Wars: Attack of the Clones'
(Image credit: AJ Pics / Alamy Stock Photo)
Neytiri from 'Avatar'
(Image credit: Maximum Film / Alamy Stock Photo)
Trinity from 'The Matrix'
(Image credit: Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo)
Catwoman from 'The Batman'
(Image credit: Maximum Film / Alamy Stock Photo)
Giselle from 'Enchanted'
(Image credit: Photo 12 / Alamy Stock Photo)
Jessica Day from 'New Girl'
(Image credit: Alamy)
Poison Ivy from 'Batman & Robin'
(Image credit: ScreenProd / Photononstop / Alamy Stock Photo)
Lara Croft from 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'
(Image credit: PictureLux / The Hollywood Archive / Alamy Stock Photo)
Moira Rose from 'Schitt's Creek'
(Image credit: STEPHANIE BRANCHU/NETFLIX)
Emily Cooper from 'Emily in Paris'
(Image credit: Disney)
Cruella De Vil from 'Cruella'
(Image credit: LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX)
Daphne Bridgerton from 'Bridgerton'
(Image credit: Apple)
Keeley Jones from 'Ted Lasso'
(Image credit: PHIL BRAY/NETFLIX)
Beth Harmon from 'The Queen's Gambit'
(Image credit: Netflix)
Lara Jean from ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’
(Image credit: Philippe Antonello / Netflix / The Hollywood Archive)
Midge Maisel from 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'
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Regina George from ‘Mean Girls’
(Image credit: Robert Viglasky/Netflix)
Young Queen Elizabeth in 'The Crown'
(Image credit: Diyah Pera/Netflix)
Emma Green from 'Away'
(Image credit: Neon)
Yeon-Kyo from 'Parasite'
(Image credit: Columbia Pictures/Wilson Webb)
The March Sisters from 'Little Women'
(Image credit: BBC)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge in 'Fleabag'
(Image credit: Focus Features)
Emma Woodhouse from 'Emma'
(Image credit: YouTube)
Beyoncé and Jay-Z from the ‘Apes**t’ Music Video
(Image credit: A24)
Lady Bird from 'Lady Bird'
(Image credit: Walt Disney Studios)
Hellen Parr (Elastigirl) from ‘Incredibles 2’
(Image credit: Buena Vista Pictures/Alamy)
Margot Tenenbaum from ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
Harley Quinn from ‘Suicide Squad’
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Dorothy from the ‘Wizard of Oz’
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Winifred Sanderson from ‘Hocus Pocus’
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Holly Golightly from ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’
(Image credit: Fox Searchlight)
Nina from ‘Black Swan’
(Image credit: Fox Searchlight/Alamy)
Billie Jean King from ‘Battle of the Sexes’
(Image credit: Archive Photos/Getty Images)
Claire from ‘The Breakfast Club’
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Carrie from ‘Sex and the City’
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Blair from ‘Gossip Girl’
(Image credit: DreamWorks Pictures)
Penny Lane from ‘Almost Famous’
(Image credit: Comedy Central)
Ilana from ‘Broad City’
(Image credit: Alamy)
Pearl in 'Pearl'
(Image credit: MGM)
Elle Woods from ‘Legally Blonde’
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
Daisy Buchanan from ‘The Great Gatsby’
(Image credit: Alamy)
Princess Peach in 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie'
(Image credit: Walt Disney Studios)
Belle from ‘Beauty and the Beast’
(Image credit: AA Film Archive/Alamy)
Jackie O from ‘Jackie’
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Meredith from ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
(Image credit: Alamy)
Charlie in 'Poker Face'
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Mia Wallace from ‘Pulp Fiction’
(Image credit: New Line Cinema)
Allie from ‘The Notebook’
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Sandy from ‘Grease’
(Image credit: Paramount Pictures/Getty Images)
Cher from ‘Clueless’
(Image credit: NBC Universal)
Rachel from ‘Friends’
(Image credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images)
Cleopatra from ‘Cleopatra’
(Image credit: Netflix)
Maeve from 'Sex Education'
(Image credit: Earl Theisen Collection/Getty Images)
Marilyn from ‘Love, Marilyn’
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Princess Leia from ‘Star Wars’
(Image credit: Alamy)
Daisy from 'Daisy Jones and the Six'
(Image credit: Netflix)
Wednesday from 'Wednesday'
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Priscilla Presley from 'Priscilla'
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Bella Baxter from 'Poor Things'
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Gracie Hart from 'Miss Congeniality'
(Image credit: Alamy)
Lydia Tár from 'Tár
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Belly from 'The Summer I Turned Pretty'
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