Halloween costumes: Must have outfits for men, women, couples 2023 - Wednesday Addams, Barbie and Bridgerton

Every Halloween, people seek to leave their true selves behind for the night of 31st October and transform themselves into someone or something else through the use of a Halloween costume.

2023 will be no exception. The thing that does change every year, however, is what outfits people want to wear. There will always be classic costumes that are timeless, such as witch, ghost, devil or cat, but some of the most popular Halloween costumes of choice for adults and children will always be influenced by current trends and popular culture.

So, just what are those trendy Halloween costumes for this year that everyone will want to have? Below we have rounded up the top x highly sought after Halloween costumes for 2023 for men, women, and couples. If you’re after a costume for your little one, be sure to check out our cheap scary costumes for kids article.

Wednesday Addams

One of the most popular TV shows of 2022 was Netflix’s Wednesday, which told the story of the famous Addam’s family daughter and her struggles to fit in as an eccentric gothic teenager. Jenna Ortega portrayed the troubled, morbid but extremely intelligent youngster, who is characterised by her pale skin, black pigtailed hair and black outfits. The show didn’t land on Netflix until November, obviously meaning it was too late for Halloween last year. But, it’s been so popular that Wednesday is still the number one costume choice this year.

The Little Mermaid/Prince Eric/Ursula

One of the most popular films of the year has been Disney’s Live Action version of The Little Mermaid, which was released in May. So, it’s unsurprising that lots of people will want to dress like the film’s main characters; Princess Ariel, Prince Eric or villain Ursula. Being the villain may make Ursula the more obvious choice for a holiday which is focused upon feelings of fright, but not all celebrations - or outfits - have to be scary and  Ariel and Eric would be an ideal couple's outfit.

Barbie and Ken (and other Mattel dolls)

Another highly anticipated and hugely successful film from this year was, of course, Barbie. Now, Barbie’s stereotypical perfect, pink and pretty appearance may not immediately lend itself to a traditional terrifying Halloween costume, but it’s a good choice for ladies who want to adopt a different persona but don’t want to give anyone the creeps. Plus, let’s not forget that there can be many different types of Barbies. The film, for example, introduced us to weird Barbie, who was played with a little too roughly in the real world and has a short, spiky hair cut and colourful crayon marks on her face to show for it. This could be an ideal costume choice also for those who want to get creative and make themselves into the type of Barbie they have imagined.

Barbie wasn’t the only important person in BarbieWorld, of course, there’s Ken too. In similarity to his female counterpart, there’s many different variations of Ken dolls so it’s a really easy outfit choice as it can be tailored to personal tastes. Barbie and Ken would also be a cute choice for a couple outfit.

M3gan

AI doll M3gan terrified everyone when the film of the same name hit the cinemas in January so that make her the ideal choice for anybody who is wanting to combine glamour with horror in to their costume choice this year - without the need for adding any overtly scary or grotesque elements which are typically seen with costumes, such as fake blood, fake injuries or spooky masks.

Billy the Puppet

The next instalment from the Saw franchise, Saw X, has recently been released in cinemas. For this reason, it’s expected that there will be a boom in popularity for people wanting to dress as the super creepy puppet during Halloween this year. All you’d need is a suit, a red bow tie and either a mask or some face paint to complete his signature face make-up.

Joan is Awful 

Black Mirror fans were delighted when Charlie Brooker announced a new season of mind bending and thought provoking series Black Mirror earlier this year. It aired on Netflix in June, and the first episode told the story of Joan who discovered that her life was being made into a TV show on a Netflix-like streaming-service called Streamberry. She eventually realises that she is just one of many versions of Joan, which are being controlled by a computer, so this is a costume choice which offers multiple options as people could choose to dress up as any one of the different versions of Joan. This also makes it a great outfit choice for groups as each person could go as a different version of Joan.

Bridgerton

Period drama Bridgerton continues to be one of Netflix’s most successful series, so there’s likely to be a few Bridgerton-inspired outfits around during Halloween this year as it makes for an ideal choice for those who want drama without gore. One of the most popular characters is Queen Charlotte, so expect this to be a ladies costume of choice, meanwhile men may choose to dress as season 2 lead Anthony Bridgerton.