Halloween Costumes from Thrift Stores

For us, thrift stores are gold mines. We have a few favorites that affiliate with local nonprofits, so discovering treasures also supports good causes. Which is a huge win. Along the way, we’ve learned to look beyond expectations to see how to transform clothes into characters. A little creativity goes a long way. Here are a few favorites that we’ve put together through the years to inspire you. And we’ve discovered themes that make costumes easier to find and modify.

None of these ideas came from a Halloween collection.

And we don’t often replicate a character exactly like a movie or animated version. Instead, we create our own interprestation of recognizable characters. This gives us a lot of freedom. And it’s super successful when we wear them in public places.

We often find dresses on the formal-wear racks. And we have a lot of good luck in the weeks after prom. We do save dresses through the year, but you can find them around Halloween as well. We rarely find dresses that fit perfectly. We either sew a few stitches to cinch, or use a binder clip to hold them in the back. The binder clip trick works great for photos. If you need to wear it as a costume for the evenng, handsewing the sides with a few stitches is easier.

Onto the inspiration!

The Red Queen with Anika Vodicka | Photo by Lenka Vodicka

The Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland

All that the Red Queen really needs is a red dress and a crown. The crown can be picked up in a accessory store if you don’t see one in a thrift story (they’re a little harder to find). We have discovered numerous red dresses that can show a Red Queen. The crown above was found in an accessory store on the clearance rack. It was meant for a pagent winner. And worked perfectly for the Red Queen. If you would like more contect, a stuffed bunny could be the White Rabbit :)

Modern Witch Costume Inspired by AHS with Anika Vodicka | Photo by Lenka Vodicka

Modern Witch

This inspiraion came when we had a photo opporutunity at a local haunted house. Turns out our colors matched the doll room perfectly. This dress appears in a few other costume ideas here. The main find was the felt wide brim hat. It reminded us of the witches in Coven on American Horror Story. We added to the collection with another dress that from our own closet (even more affordable, yay).

Modern Witch Costume Inspiration from Thrift Stores with Anika Vodicka | Photo by Lenka Vodicka

Modern witches can think outside the traditional “pointy hat”. We did use a black parasol for a few images which also added to the story. If your friends are fans of AHS, they’ll appreciate this inspiration.

"Mad" Homecoming Queen by Anika Vodicka | Photo by Lenka Vodicka | Costumes from Thrift Stores

“Mad” Homecoming Queen

If a formal dance goes terribly wrong, madness may follow. Or perhaps the homecoming queen is responsible for the “terribly wrong” dance. Modern terminology isn’t sensitive to mental health challenges, and by no means do we support stimitizing anyone that needs support. Our story for this inspiration was the same haunted house as shown in Coven, where teens went after the dance, and she wasn’t the victim of the mirror maze. Instead, she was the one luring visitors into her domain of shattered mirrors.

We do like to multitask locations and outfits :)

A dance gone wrong can inspire many costumes. From an undead prom queen (or king) to ghost prom queen (or king) to a dystopian prom queen or king. The idea of a cultual high point, like a formal dance, becoming the lowest of the low gives room in many different directions for many different interpretations. And all you need is some formalwear and imagination!

Monster Girl by Anika Vodicka | Photo by Lenka Vodicka | Costumes from Thrift Stores

Monster Girl

Last one in the series at Scandia, we used the same dress from abovwe for a monster theme. The small buildings helped of course :). But the concept works even without the background context. This interprestation was inspired by favorite monster movies. In this case, we used slippers that from home for the look, and they remained cozy, popular slippers throughout the winter. Multitasking finery :)

Fairy Princess

Another idea with plenty of interpretation is a Fairy Princess (or queen or prince or king). In this case, we added a flower crown and a masquerade mask to add to the story. This could be created just as easily without the mask. And any outfit works just fine. It’s all in the interpretation of a story :)

Belle with Anika Vodicka | Photo by Lenka Vodicka

Belle

Belle is a character that we found often within a few months. This dress was the first we saw that inspired us. We added to it with a book and silk rose for photos. Carrying a a silk rose makes any cream color or yellow dress into an interpretation of Belle. Reading stories to children while dressed as Belle is an extra-special treat.

Modern Belle

Speaking of Belle, this interpretation of Belle was easy-peasy and perfect for cold climates. Yes, this is a real place with real snow. All this took was a jacket with mustard or yellow colors. And the silk rose. We found this jacket in a thrift store. And it’s a current favorite throughout the winter (another win when Halloween costumes can be used for everyday wear).

Red Riding Hood by Anika Vodicka | Photo by Lenka Vodicka

Red Riding Hood

This Red Riding Hood was inspired by the basket found in a thrift store. It reminded us of carrying a picnic through the woods to grandmother’s house. We looked for a red jacket or (ideally) a cloak to complete the look but it was kind of perfect to remember that we already owned a red sweatshirt with a hood. Of course! Red Riding “Hoodie” :). We probably turned the sweatshirt inside out for the outfit. If I remember correctly, it was a Flash Sweatshirt. Sometimes necessity, and not finding what you want, leads to invention. Most sweatshirts these days have logos. Turning them inside out works wonders.

Cinderella

Shoes can be whatever is comfortable, of course! This cinderella dress was discovered at a thrift store. It’s not the typical baby-blue of Disney Cinderella dresses, but once we added the ribbon headband (bought cheap at the fabric store), everyone recognized her. We adapted this dress because it was slightly too big with a lot of sheer material over her shoulders. We layered with a decorative tank top underneath that provided more coverage. Sometimes it’s not about finding the perfect outfit. It’s making the outfit work for you.

When looking through thrift stores for costumes, it’s important to look for potential more than perfection. Imagination goes a long way when looking for costumes at thrift stores.

I actually have a lot more to share so this may become a series. Next up, our interpretations of kingdoms in Avatar :)

We hope that you’re able to explore safely in your town and that you find plenty to inspire imagination throughout the year.