How to Style Everyday Dresses as Halloween Costumes

Halloween is quickly approaching, and with it comes a whole slew of fun holiday activities and traditions. While everyone celebrates a little differently, one thing that nearly all of us participate in is dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating.

As the parent, you are often tasked with putting together a Halloween costume for your kids, and this can get a little overwhelming. Never fear! We have the perfect DIY Halloween costume ideas for you. Using any of our everyday dresses, you can easily put together adorable Halloween costumes! 

An Adorable Witch

When it comes to classic Halloween costumes, there are few things more timeless than a witch costume. This costume may be a classic go-to because it is easy to put together, no matter how simple or over the top you want to go.

Start with a cute, festive black dress. This bat tulle dress is the perfect base! Next, grab some black tights and black boots. Top it all off with a hat or these perfect, witchy ears and she will be all set for a night of trick-or-treating!

A Black Cat

We can almost guarantee that you have everything in your house to make this costume. All you need is a cute black twirl dress and some cat ears. It's as simple as that! Elevate your child’s look by painting on a nose and some whiskers. You could even fasten a tail to the back of the twirl dress. 

If it’s chilly out, you’re in luck. This costume is incredibly easy to accessorize for cold weather. Have her put on a fuzzy black coat, some black gloves and even black tights. These will all work perfectly with a black cat ensemble.

A Pretty Princess

What little girl doesn’t want to get dressed up as her favorite princess? While princess dress-up is the perfect activity any day of the year, Halloween is the ultimate opportunity for dress-up and make-believe.

If your little girl is obsessed with all things princess, ask her which one she’d like to dress up as on Halloween. Let’s say she picked Rapunzel. Find a cute pink and purple dress and tie her hair in a braid. You might even consider looking for a wig to make her hair even longer and tucking some faux flowers in here and there throughout the twist. 

Rosie the Riveter

While this iconic costume doesn’t necessarily call for an everyday dress, we couldn’t resist adding it to the list! Snag your little girl’s blue jumpsuit and a red bandana. Tie the bandana in her hair (maybe curl her hair before and use bobby pins to achieve that classic Rosie curl!) and help her put on some red lipstick. 

If you want to stick with a dress, no problem! Grab a denim dress and a chambray shirt. Tie the chambray shirt in a knot to maintain that Rosie the Riveter look. 

A Fabulous Fashionista

If your daughter dreams of growing up and becoming a fashion designer, this is the perfect costume idea for her! Find a dress that screams fashion, like this black and white dress. If it's still light out when you go trick or treating, some sunglasses will make the perfect accessory. Put some curls in her hair and put a pearl necklace around her neck and she will be ready to walk down the runway!

A Beloved Mouse Friend

If your family is obsessed with the happiest place on earth, your little girl might like to dress up as Minnie Mouse! There are tons of ways that you can style everyday dresses to make this an adorable Halloween costume, but the most important part is the ears. Make sure she has the perfect pair of mouse ears for the big night.

To go along with those ears, snag a red and white polka dot dress and some cute yellow flags to complete her look. This will be a dress-up outfit that she wants to wear time and time again, even after the trick-or-treating is done, so keep these nearby for dress-up and make-believe play!

Anything with Mouse Ears

One of the reasons we love mouse ears so much is because they are so easy to build a costume around. Perhaps you have some mermaid-style mouse ears, or maybe a pair of ice queen mouse ears. Use those as a starting point to plan out the rest of the costume.

Consider the different colors in the ears. Maybe there’s a certain texture or pattern that you can use as inspiration as well. Once you’ve determined the basic pieces of the costume, think about what accessories you can add on to complete the look. For a mermaid costume, maybe there are some pearls you can incorporate. For an ice queen costume, perhaps some gloves will top off the ensemble.

Where’s Waldo?

This is another Halloween costume that we almost guarantee you already have in your home. All you need for your little girl is a red and white striped dress and a pair of thick, black, round glasses. Finish the outfit off with a beanie, preferably one that is red or white, which will be perfect for a chilly night trick-or-treating.

An Island Beauty

We are so passionate about making dress-up clothing that can be worn outside of the playroom, including on Halloween night. This Way Finder dress is the perfect example of that! Made with soft tulle and featuring soft red sleeves, this is the perfect option to dress up as an island beauty for trick-or-treating.

Complete the look by getting some strappy leather sandals and putting some cute flowers in her hair. She will look and feel totally magical.