Our Favorite Pop Culture and Queer Halloween 2024 Costume Ideas

Halloween is a time to dress up and celebrate all things creepy, lean into camp (more than usual), and get caught up in the horror of it all. While there's nothing like a costume that is blood soaked, jump scare-inducing, or horrifically iconic, we'll always love a pop culture party look. Some of these feel like they happened lifetimes ago (the Willy Wonka Experience catastrophe was this year, in February! "Mama, kudos for saying that, for spilling" happened in March!) which is why it's important to take the time to remember them with the highest honor there is: our Halloween costumes.

Recreating many of this year's pop culture moments requires rhinestones, so be prepared for that. All of our suggestions are achievable on both sides of the "time and effort available" scale. You'll be able to rock these whether you're looking for a simple, last-minute DIY, or you've booked out evenings for the next few weeks to work on your costume crafting. All of these can work for any gender, and – very importantly – can be worn as a casual, family-friendly fit, or a deeply, show-stoppingly slutty rendition. We'll leave the temperature of thirst trapping up to you. Have fun with these!

JoJo Siwa's rebrand

Whether you're in the mood to sparkle up a construction vest to wear with cargo pants (or tiny denim shorts) and boots, or you're more of a "sew teddy bears to your headband and bra" kinda girl, there's a world of possibilities with this costume. You will obviously have to master her insane, iconic, wild chopper-like dance, but there is the added bonus of carrying around a comically large bottle of alcohol, staying true to Siwa's preferred accessory since turning 21.

One JoJo Siwa costume you won't have to do the dance in, but will definitely make the show-stopping impact Siwa herself craves: the polarizing nude bedazzled look she wore on the LadyGunn magazine cover, matching a rhinestone chest plate with a rhinestone cup. A low-effort but highly effective way to pull off a JoJo Siwa look is simply pairing dancer-tight braids and a perplexing, uncoordinated, disproportionate outfit with one of her daring makeup looks (the "Guilty Pleasure" singer kindly provided a look back at some of these makeup highlights in this Instagram post).

Mama, kudos for saying that. For spilling.

Now, this costume can be as easy as getting the iconic phrase printed on a T-shirt and showing up to the party wearing it. But you can also make this costume a recreation of the "Drag Race" scene, (which can work solo and as a couples costume) by arriving with your makeup at its initial stages: unblended chin contouring, and brows-only status. However much you lean into this look, we love an opportunity to honor a viral moment that reminded us to celebrate how far we've come.

Tyla at The Met Gala

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the costumes recreating unforgettable fashion moments. This costume is gonna take work, but it'll absolutely be worth it when you walk into that party. This is a super creative, very sexy costume that we know you'll slay. Bonus points if you make it a couples costume and have the person rocking a black suit à la Balmain Creative Director Olivier Rousteing (seen in slide two). Cut the sand dress into a minidress for the afterparty – and, of course, film the moment for your IG costume reveal.

Timothée Chalamet as Troye Sivan on "SNL"

We can't guarantee you'll be the only gay at the party in this outfit, but we can assure you that everyone's gonna recognise it. The white vest is easily last-minute-DIY-able, and as long as you've got the red briefs, no one's gonna be looking too hard at whether your pants are striped or blue. The same can be said for the messy blonde curls. As long as you've got the just-woke-up (or just-f*cked) vibe about it, you're good. A few streaks courtesy of a temporary blonde hair spray would be a fun, easy way to complete the look, though. And of course, this costume comes with a built-in Instagram reveal pose: a quick flash of red for the 'gram.

GQ China's Heatstroke Hottie

You'll need someone with a steady hand to help draw the crop top outlines on your chest, but this is an easily accessible, incredibly hot look that the internet went wild for. We can guarantee that, whether it's a room full of your friends or a Halloween party at a club you've never been to, everyone who sees you in this sizzling babygirl-with-a-hot-body look will go wild for you, too. All you need is a little artfully placed blush, lipstick, or paint and a pair of headphones to have the room steaming up. No one's gonna notice or care what pants you're wearing when you're serving heatstroke hottie like this. Whether you show up wearing comfy sweatpants or tiny briefs, follow your heart, and know that's also where we'll all be looking.