Zombies! Thirft Store Costume Made Easy
How could I forget zombies? Zombies are one of the easiest thrift store costumes out there. You can use thrift store, or old clothing in the closet, for zombie attire. We always wash clothes before wrecking them just to be safe so we recommend that when bringing zombie clothing home.
And, actually, for the example above, we didn’t even wreck clothing. “Fresh” zombies can use clothes that return to regular use the day after zombification.
If you are interested in raising your zombie game, find thrift store clothes that you can distress (wreck). For Halloween, we found these sweatshirts (because we knew evenings cool down quickly).
Anika Vodicka and Jessica S
We found the shirts on clearance in a thrift store (even cheaper, yay). The Santa Cruz sweatshirt had some stains already which make trashing it easier. As a banana slug alumni myself, part of me wanted the sweatshirt for everyday use, but it was ready for a new zombie life. We didn’t find two sweatshirts, so a solution was a wrecked shirt for Jessica over a long sleeve that she had in her closet. And we didn’t distress that shirt so it stayed part of her wardrobe afterwards.
Our inspiration was recent zombies wearing everyday clothing. Of course, you can create a zombie in any genre- formalwear or everyday or retro or vintage. The only limit is your imagination.
We brought home the shirts and washed them. Then the teens spent a day ruining them. We used red craft acrylic paint* (about $2-$5 at the craft store). Anika and Jessica slashed fabric and smeared red paint in an effort to look wounded or dangerous.
They painted with something under the paint, or on the grass since the fabric can be pourous. You don’t want acrylic paint seeping onto a counter or table. They had a fun creative day distressing the outfits.
The other effect that we tried with success was liquid latex* to make wounds on their face. The cheek was an easy palette that they could tinker with on their own face. We did test techniques in the week before Halloween so Anika could try different techniques.
When we did our local zombie photoshoots, she created smudges and scratched with makeup. Dark and red eye shadow for the scratch and bruising. Recent zombies don’t need all the decaying makeup effects of a long-term zombie.
In fact, with recent zombies, the danger is that they look human enough that you may not realize the danger until they get too close.
The final touches were leaves and sticks in the hair. Creating zombies is one of our fun adventures when browsing thrift stores for ideas. We used leggings because we didn’t find pants or a skirt in our budget to wreck, but of course, you can extend the costume to an entire outfit. The good news about the recently undead is that you can use a wardrobe from your closet that returns to everyday wear afterward. Just don’t put acrylic paint near anything that you want to return to the closet. It doesn’t wash out.
Zombies are a great way to create without the pressure of an extensive agenda.
And if you’re making a fun photoshoot zombie day (as we have done a few times) you can add to the zombie effects with PicMonkey*. The website lets you add gray tones, veins, scars, sunken eyes, and grisly effects to add to the zombie images.
It sounds strange to say that zombies are a fun costume idea, but we really do have fun creating these scenes and looking for locations to photograph zombies. Anika and Jessica volunteered at a Haunted House with their zombie costumes, which was a lot of fun for them. Teens may look for ways to stay involved with Halloween while recognizing that trick-or-treating isn’t quite as entertaining as it was when they were smaller. These creative invitations with lots of opportunities for self-expression inspire many different interpretations of the classic zombie lore.
However you make your zombie costume, have a good time putting it all together. Happy creating!
*this link is an affiliate link. If you visit and purchase, or decide to upgrade from the free version, I receive compensation for helping you discover the product or service. Your price remains the same. Thank you so much!
