Guest Blogger: Halloween Costumes

A trip to your nearest Goodwill should yield an abundance of costumes for Halloween. I visited my local Goodwill in California, and there were a number of costumes, both “ready-made” ones, and ones that you can put together from what is in the store. There was an amazing array of hats, scarves, belts, purses... you just need some creativity to put it all together!

For starters, this Chicken costume is pretty fun. Nothing to do to this one except step inside, and get ready for people to laugh at you:


And I thought this little dragon was cute. There were a lot of kid’s costumes, as you can see in the picture behind the dragon. A little person could climb inside this cute green furry costume and scare lots and lots of people.

Next, I found a spider web shirt that could be teamed with black pants or a long black skirt for a gothic-looking costume, a spider costume, and maybe some gauze to emphasize the web theme. Add a ton of gothic makeup and maybe a wig, and you have a frightening look for a very low price.


There are also lots of interesting skirts, dresses and other pieces of clothing that stand out but are not really costumes. For instance, this polka dot ruffled hem skirt would the the perfect beginning to a Flamenco dancer costume. Just add a black top, maybe with more ruffles, some red lipstick, high heels and some castanets or a fan, and you are ready to dance!


These three “prom-type” dresses could be used for a variety of different costumes. Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, Jessica Simpson, pretty much any Hollywood star or R&B singer would fit the bill. You just need to tease your hair, wear a lot of makeup, high heels and maybe some rhinestone jewelry to make it work. Maybe even a feather boa...


Lastly, this skirt with a red devil tail is half of a ready-made costume already. Goodwill separates clothing by color, so it would be very easy to find a red top to match the tail. Fishnet stockings, heels and some devil horns completes the look.


I am sure that your local store will have some great clothes and costumes – and the neat thing is that all the costumes and other gear you buy can be turned back into Goodwill and sold again!

Kate Morejohn is a clothing re-designer and lover of Goodwill. She lives in Davis, California. She has an incredible husband, 4 grown kids and 8 grandkids. Loves life, old books, running, cooking, more. She can be reached at kate.morejohn@gmail.com.

The views expressed in this blog are solely those of Kate Morejohn and do not necessarily reflect those of Goodwill of Greater Washington or the DCGF.