Another Halloween is here but you haven’t planned ahead. Don’t worry—we’ve got some last-minute costume ideas tailored to the DC crowd.
The Infamous Mar-a-Lago Pic
Because DC loves political drama.
Steal the look: Haphazardly pin a bunch of manilla folders and papers with the words “Top Secret” to yourself. Bonus points if you wear a paisley shirt (if you have one) that’s reminiscent of Mar-a-Lago’s gaudy carpet.
The Capitol Hill Fox
Because, despite its biting habits, the ill-fated and rabid Capitol Hill fox secretly stole our hearts.
Steal the look: Slip on an orange shirt and draw some foxish features on your face with black eyeliner. If you have a headband laying around, tape some orange triangles (either paper or cardboard) to it. Drive the point home by wearing a DIY “R.I.P” sign around your neck.
An Old Bay Can
Because it’s everywhere. “Marylanders have loved Old Bay for generations, but lately things have escalated,” wrote Sylvie McNamara in July. “In the past few years, everyone in the blast radius of the Chesapeake has been bombarded with Old Bay content: Old Bay hot sauce, Old Bay beer, Old Bay bikinis and socks and Christmas sweaters, the Old Bay mascot dancing on TikTok—the list goes on.”
Steal the look: Sport blue jeans, a yellow T-shirt, and a red hat or scarf (if you have one). Pin the all-cap letters for the “Old Bay” logo to yourself.
A DC Rat
Because they’re also everywhere. For the third year in a row, we’ve remained one of the top five “rattiest cities in America,” according to the pest control company Orkin.
Steal the look: A gray outfit and whiskers drawn on with eyeliner.
The Stuck Evergreen Ship
Because the big stuck boat was a sight to behold when it became lodged in the Chesapeake this past spring.
Steal the look: Pin the word EVERGREEN to a dark green outfit.
A Wordle Game
Because DC loves its word games. After a meteoric rise in early 2022, Wordle will arguably go down as 2022’s game of the year.
Steal the look: Print (or color) yellow, gray, and green paper squares. Then, tape or pin the squares to a black or white T-shirt forming the classic Wordle grid. Make it all the scarier by having the last guess as the winning answer. And don’t forget all those festive five-letter words at your disposal: witch, scary, ghost, blood, slimy, skull…
Ghost of Twitter
Because Twitter, as we once knew it, is dying. In less than a week since Elon Musk bought the platform, big names have been closing their accounts and already complaining about a “hate surge,” according to Fortune magazine.
Steal the look: Tape the blue bird logo—along with some of your favorite tweets—to the classic white bed sheet that’s been cut with holes for eyes.
