The witch is the most popular adult Halloween costume in the country this year. The National Retail Federation’s 2026 survey counts 4.8 million adults planning to dress as one, and most of them already own a black dress or black pants and a dark sweater. The only part of that costume most people really need to buy is the hat.
That is the whole method for a cheap costume that still looks good. Start with the closet, buy the one or two pieces that make the character obvious from across a room, and skip the bagged kit unless it costs less than the parts. NRF expects Americans to spend $4.4 billion on costumes this season: about $2 billion on adults, $1.5 billion on kids and $920 million on pets. A lot of that money buys polyester that gets worn for one night.
Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, so there are two weekends left for thrift runs and party invites. Below is how I’d spend them, split by who’s wearing the costume.
Adults: spend on the signal piece
Look at the rest of NRF’s adult top five. Vampire is second at 4.2 million, followed by Batman, Spider-Man and ghost. Witch, vampire and Batman all start from black clothes. The ghost starts from a white sheet, which is cheap but harder to pull off than it sounds. Mark the eye holes while the sheet is on your head, then cut small and widen later.
The money should go to the signal piece, the item that tells people who you are before they see anything else. For a witch it’s the hat. For a vampire it’s the cape or a decent set of fangs. For Batman it’s the cowl. One good signal piece with your own clothes usually looks better than a full bagged costume, because your clothes were bought to fit you and the bagged costume was cut to fit a size chart.
Before you pay for that piece, run three quick checks:
- Piece price vs. kit price. Now and then a complete costume costs about the same as the wig or hat sold alone. When that happens, buy the kit and wear only the parts that work.
- Fabric. Most online listings name the material. Felt and heavier knits hold their shape. Thin shiny satin creases in the bag and tends to stay creased.
- Return rules. Policies for costumes, wigs and makeup vary a lot from store to store. Read them before you open the package, and keep the tags on until the costume has passed a full try-on.
This year’s pop culture picks, built from regular clothes
Spirit Halloween’s 2026 trend list is led by looks from the Prime Video series “Off Campus,” then “Toy Story” characters after this summer’s “Toy Story 5,” then “KPop Demon Hunters,” with superheroes and Greek gods and warriors close behind. You don’t need the licensed version of most of these. A few examples:
- Woody. Jeans, a yellow plaid shirt, a red bandana, a cowboy hat and a cow-print vest. The vest is what makes it Woody, and a plain white vest with black felt spots glued on does the job.
- “Off Campus” hockey player. Spirit calls out a hockey uniform from the show. A secondhand hockey jersey, track pants and some eye black get you most of the way.
- Greek god or goddess. A white sheet or a white dress, a gold belt or cord at the waist, sandals and a laurel crown from a craft store aisle.
- “KPop Demon Hunters.” These characters are recognized mostly by their hair and stage outfits, so a wig in the right color is the one purchase worth making. The rest can be dark clothes with some sparkle.
Superheroes are the exception. Spider-Man and Batman are recognized by a suit with a specific pattern, and a homemade version can look worse than spending on a basic costume. If a superhero is the plan, that’s the one case where buying the full costume often makes sense.
How to shop a thrift store for a costume
Goodwill and Savers (called Value Village in some areas) often set up Halloween sections in October, and they’re worth a look. The better material is usually on the regular racks, though, priced like any other used clothing. Shop by color and shape instead of by costume. A long black skirt, an old blazer with big shoulders, a plaid flannel or a white button-down can each anchor half a dozen characters.
Two aisles people skip: housewares and linens. A dark curtain makes a better vampire cape than most packaged capes, and a tablecloth can turn into a toga or a cloak. Check zippers, seams and armpits before you pay. Goodwill stores are run by separate local organizations with their own policies, so assume anything you buy secondhand is yours to keep.
The nice part about thrift costumes is the afterlife. A blazer or a flannel goes back in your closet on Nov. 1, or back in the donation bin.
Kids: borrow, swap and size up
Kids are the easiest place to save, because they outgrow a costume long before they wear it out. NRF’s survey found that families with children are the most likely to reuse costume items from earlier years, at 60%. Spider-Man tops the kids’ list this year with 4.6 million children, followed by superheroes in general and then princesses, which means a lot of last year’s costumes are sitting in closets near you.
Ask families with kids a year or two older before buying anything. Neighborhood Buy Nothing groups, school parent groups and local libraries sometimes run costume swaps in October. Even a partial hand-me-down helps: a cape or a crown from one family plus a T-shirt from your own drawers is a costume.
If you do buy new, buy one size up. Late October can be cold, and a costume that fits over a jacket is a costume your kid will actually keep on for the whole walk. A few safety points from the Consumer Product Safety Commission are worth following no matter what you spend:
- Store-bought costumes, masks, beards and wigs should carry a “Flame Resistant” label. Homemade costumes won’t, so keep kids in them away from candles and lit jack-o’-lanterns.
- Dark costumes need reflective tape or a light. Strips of reflective tape cost very little and go on a bag, sleeves or a hat.
- Face paint is often a better choice than a mask, since masks that block vision are a known hazard on dark streets.
Pets: smaller is better
Pumpkin leads NRF’s pet costume list at 11.6%, ahead of hot dog at 5.9% and ghost at 2.8%. The cheapest pet costume is also usually the one a pet tolerates: a bandana or a collar accessory. An orange bandana with a green ribbon reads as a pumpkin in every photo.
Whatever you choose, the ASPCA’s Halloween guidance is simple. Only dress a pet that’s fine with it, and make sure the costume doesn’t limit movement, sight, hearing or breathing. Check for small dangling pieces that can be chewed off and swallowed, and have the pet try it on a few days early. If you see a tucked tail or a hunched back, the costume comes off.
When costume prices actually drop
Don’t wait for costume shops to cut sticker prices before Oct. 31. The savings available now mostly come through coupons. Spirit Halloween’s email list has sent offers for 20% off a single item during the season, and Spirit’s “10-for-10” coupon takes 10% off a whole purchase through Oct. 31, with Spirit donating a matching 10% to the Child Life program at a partner children’s hospital. That coupon is handed out through the hospitals, not on Spirit’s website, and it’s limited to one per customer.
The real markdowns come after the holiday. In past seasons, Spirit has kept its stores open on Nov. 1 for a clearance day before closing for the year, and big-box stores start marking down their seasonal aisles around the same time. That’s the time to buy next year’s signal pieces, like a good witch hat or a cape, at a fraction of this month’s price. It doesn’t help with this year’s party, so for now:
- Pick the character based on what’s already in your closet.
- Buy the signal piece, and compare its price to the full kit.
- Fill gaps from a thrift store’s regular racks before the Halloween wall.
- If you’re ordering online, go by the delivery date shown at checkout, and leave time for an exchange if the size is off.
- Write down what you’d want next year, and check the clearance aisles on Nov. 1.
A costume built this way usually costs less than a bagged one, and it looks like you made a choice instead of grabbing the first thing on the wall.
