Welcome to my annual post on Halloween Costumes For Book Lovers! Here are my top ideas for 2023: cheap and easy DIY costumes for Wednesday Addams, Daisy Jones, and Elizabeth from Lessons in Chemistry. Updated for 2025!
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Halloween Costumes From Books 2023
This post will contain:
Halloween Costumes Inspired by Popular Books of 2023 (and Popular 2023 Shows Based on Books)
And Halloween Costumes Inspired by 2023 Pop Culture Trends my Readers Have Loved!
Halloween Costumes From Popular 2023 Books
Need a costume for your book club Halloween party? Or do you just love referencing books in your Halloween Costumes? These are also Halloween Costumes Made From Normal Clothes – hooray – so you can shop your closet OR re-wear the clothes in your regular life. I’m all about saving the planet by limiting textile waste. Did you know that 64% of the garments produced in the US end up in a landfill?
Best Halloween Costume From Books 2023: Wednesday Addams
- Inspired by books and the Netflix show
- Easy to recreate from your own closet
- For a group costume, dress as the entire Addams family
- For a couples costume, dress as Morticia and Gomez
Created in 1938 by Charles Addams for The New Yorker, this macabre family has captured hearts for decades. Wednesday premiered on Netflix in November 2022, a second season came out in 2023.
This is an easy costume and you can shop your closet. Also, if you paid attention in 2019 when I told you the most versatile costume element you can buy for $10, you are READY to make this costume. If not, here you go: it’s a detachable white collar which you can grab for only $9. It’s a steal! I used the lace one for my 2019 options, but if you want a more tailored option, check out this two for $10 steal of a deal!. In 2019 I made three Netflix costumes using the collar:
- Betty Cooper from Riverdale
- Lara Jean from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
- Sabrina from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
If your kids have to Colonial Days at school or act in The Crucible, you can make a pilgrim costume out of it. You could also dress as the ghost of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Seriously, it’s $10 well-spent.
In any case, for the Wednesday costume can use the collar with a basic black dress. OR you can wear it with a tie, or a Dark Academia style school uniform jacket. This one is super cute and comes with a skirt. But you could hit your local thrift store and find a great jacket there, which is the most eco-friendly option!
Best Halloween Costume From Books 2023: Daisy Jones
- Daisy Jones & the Six is a book by Taylor Jenkins Reid that inspired the 2023 Amazon Prime Series.
- Easy to make this costume by shopping your closet
- For a group costume, add characters Karen, Camila, Billy, and Graham
- For a couples costume, dress as Daisy and Billy (or Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham)
The best part of this costume is that you can:
- Shop your closet OR
- Buy cute 1970s inspired pieces and wear them after Halloween OR
- Thrift some pieces OR
- Dress as Stevie Nicks, who is also having a moment this year! AND who is certain that Daisy Jones is based on her. She might be right!
Stevie’s looks are a bit more theatrical (think the cover of the Rumours album) but maybe that’s your jam.
In any case, for Daisy, you can do the peasant shirt and jeans look right out of your closet.
For Stevie, I found a few fab additions to buy. There’s this off the shoulder top with huge bell sleeves, OR this black shirt with sheer, dramatic lace sleeves, OR the most dramatic, this extremely long and sheer lace crocheted shawl. You can pair these with some stuff from your closet: jeans, a black shirt, boots. A top hat if you’re really extra. You can be a magician next year!
Best Halloween Costume From Books 2023: Elizabeth from Lessons in Chemistry
- Wear this costume to your book club Halloween party
- Shop your closet or thrift some great 1950s inspired looks!
So I didn’t read this favorite book club book, but I do plan to try the upcoming series on Apple TV+.
Elizabeth is a female chemist (and single mom) in the 1950s who can’t find work in her field, so ends up hosting a TV cooking show. For this costume, I’d pair a lab coat (which you can get for around $12 and re-purpose to be a mad scientist in the future) with a bright colored blouse underneath.
Maybe add some 1950s cat-eye glasses, like on the cover of the book. You could even re-create the cover with a bun, a #2 pencil, and some red lipstick.
Halloween Costumes Inspired by 2023 Pop Culture Trends
Well, I can think of two people having a MOMENT in 2023: Barbie and Taylor Swift.
Best Halloween Costumes of 2023: Taylor Swift at the Chiefs Game
Will Taylor still be dating that football guy in 2024? We will see! But for now, I’m picking that as a top costume for 2023. And YES you can shop your closet to make a Halloween Costume from Normal Clothes. Plus, hello … “Traylor” is a perfect couples costume.
For Taylor’s red and white outfit, you need three things:
- Black denim shorts (distressed for highest accuracy, but any denim shorts work). Try these cute ones!
- A white cami or tank top
- A red and white athletic jacket
How to get Taylor’s red and white game day look:
You probably have the shorts and cami already, but if not, here’s a cute white cami with buttons. Or try this white shirt or this white one.
The 2025 version of Taylor’s Chiefs jacket is here for $75. If you’re a Chiefs fan, go ahead and find another one. But if you aren’t a football fan or aren’t a Chiefs fan or wonder how Taylor can date a Chief without getting cancelled, just buy a red and white warm up jacket and you can wear it in regular life too. Check out this red track jacket. It’s $20 and goes up to size 5X.
Taylor also wore red and white New Balance sneakers, but wear whatever you have.
Then swipe on some red lipstick. Taylor reportedly wears this budget pick red lipstick OR this higher end red lipstick.
For the New York game, Taylor went all Reputation: urban chic, wearing an expensive pair of rhinestone bedazzled faded denim shorts, black knee-high boots, and a black leather (or faux leather?) shirt jacket.
You might have ALL these things already and just need the red lipstick.
How to get Taylor’s edgy game day look:
If you want everyone to KNOW you are Taylor at the Jets game, here are some bedazzled jean shorts and a black faux leather shacket that actually might be useful in real life.
She’s back! How to get Taylor’s black corset and miniskirt Chiefs-Broncos game day look
UPDATE: Taylor is back at another game, this time in a $3100 black Balenciaga corset (if you don’t have $3k to spare, just grab this square-neck black tank top), another ($90) red and white Chiefs jacket designed by Erin Andrews, a miniskirt, and Prada black lace up boots.
Head to your closet – you know what to do!
Best Halloween Costumes of 2023: Barbie Movie Costumes
- Barbie costumes are PERFECT for couples, duos, or groups
- Shop your closet (or thrift) to find all the great looks in the movie
I might have just purchased (from ThreadUp for $20) some Barbie costume elements. I found great stuff!
But let’s talk about two more unexpected Barbie Costume Ideas for 2023:
Allan! I didn’t know he was based on an actual doll.
Who loves scratchy, hot costumes? Not me! I love this Allan costume because it’s comfortable (yay!) and can be worn by any age, size, or gender. This shirt (pictured above) is a pretty close dupe of Allan’s striped polo from the Barbie Movie, but this golf shirt that you might wear in real life is a pretty close match too.
Why not be President Barbie? Search your closet or a thrift store for a pink prom dress and then buy a $10 custom made sash that says “President Barbie!” Or if you are crafty, make your own sash with an upcycled ribbon and a sharpie or some fabric paint.
Want more of my fabulous shop your closet costume ideas?
Here’s my Cheap and Easy Costumes From Netflix Shows post
You can also check out my post on Best Couples and Group Costume Ideas from Netflix
And don’t forget about my DIY Taylor Swift Costumes from the Eras Tour!
Do you have Halloween Costume plans? Please tell me in the comments and I will remind you about it next Halloween!
I’m all for shopping your closet and thrifting instead of buying a Halloween costume you’ll only wear once. These are fantastic ideas and I like the suggestions for couple and group costumes too!
I’m so glad. I may update the post a little with some new ideas!