Sorry, Christmas: Halloween is officially the best time of year. If you need a costume idea, why not dress up as one of your favorite book characters? The following YA-inspired ideas can all be as elaborate or as low-key as you like. Happy Halloween!
Lara Jean Song Covey
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
You can match the book cover pretty easily with a white cardigan, jean shorts, and white floral headband. But because the film adaptation instantly made Lara Jean a style icon, you have a lot of options to choose from. Probably the most iconic outfit in the movie is the pink floral dress and pink bomber jacket combo when Lara Jean and Peter seal their deal (don’t forget the ponytail!), but Lana Condor wears so many pitch-perfect looks that you honestly can’t go wrong. Here’s a handy list of all the outfits she wears in the movie!
Zélie Adebola
Children of Blood and Bone
The most important elements are the white hair and striking red and blue head scarves + beads. For extra authenticity, here’s a handy primer on the “lavish iro tops and long buba skirts” mentioned in the book, which are traditional Nigerian (specifically Yoruba) clothing. Also, if you can carry around a staff and stuffed lioness — er, lionnaire — you should definitely carry around a staff and stuffed lionnaire.
artwork by Shea Standefer
artwork by Kat Adara
Linh Cinder
Cinder
To be The Lunar Chronicles’ resident cyborg mechanic, all you need is a white tank top and cargo pants, grease smudges on your face and arms, and either one robot hand or, since Cinder often covers it up, work gloves. Alternate: dress as “cyborg Cinderella” at the ball in a ball gown — but remember to keep the oil stains.
artwork by Kevin Wada
Inej Ghafa
Six of Crows
I assumed this one would be easy to break down because there are handy official illustrations of the Six of Crows characters, but when I looked at the one of Inej, I discovered there are actually a lot of pieces going on here! Gah! But you don’t have to be 100% accurate. Just make sure to wear the black hood over head-to-toe black. Wear your hair in braids and carry a fake knife or two and bam! You’re The Wraith!
Camellia Beauregard/The Belles
The Belles
Channel Orléans opulence in either a long white dress or a white blouse plus long skirt with a red sash tied around your waist (the French cover shows the full dress). But you can probably get away with any pretty dress, because the more important thing is to go as ornate and dramatic as you possibly can with makeup and hair flowers (see: Beyonce’s Vogue cover or Tessa Thompson and Danai Gurira’s gorgeous looks for Rodarte for inspiration). Bonus: if you have a pretty train case or something similar, it can be your beauty caisse!
artwork by Marie Lu
Emika Chen
Warcross
As with Cinder, Emika’s hacker-chic style is pretty easy to emulate — it can be as simple as a tank top or black hoodie over dark jeans. The kicker, of course, is Emika’s rainbow hair, which you can rock using either a wig (maybe this one?) or if you’re on a budget, hair extensions. Optional accessories: a tattoo sleeve or gamer goggles (and if you want to go the extra mile, Asian mouth masks go for pretty cheap.)
What are you dressing up as for Halloween?
