Work-Appropriate Halloween Costumes For the Office

There are plenty of ways to make any Halloween costume work appropriate, whether it’s by adding on some office-friendly layers or making an easy clothing swap, such as bike shorts for long pants. Depending on your inspiration (pop culture, cartoons, celebrities, etc.), start by considering your team’s dress code, and then take the styling details from there — toning down certain elements as you see fit. Especially given how your atmosphere and coworkers might have adjusted since the pandemic, it’s probably best to keep over-the-top accessories to a minimum. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun by keeping your outfit sensible and classy.

Consider a play on Jackie Kennedy, for example, who wore plenty of monochrome skirt suits, pillbox hats, gloves, headscarves, and ’70s-shaped sunglasses, most of which you probably have lying around your closet. Or grab a colleague and be Cher Horowitz and Dionne Davenport from “Clueless.” With the multitude of checked co-ords you can scoop up from popular retailers like ASOS, Zara, and H&M, you’re sure to find something cute to fit the bill, which you can then repurpose later in your everyday wardrobe.

Finally, if most of your team is not yet back in the office and still calling into the party from Zoom or Hangouts, consider DIYing a headpiece, ears, crown, or hat to be anything from Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to a classic cat or mouse with a pair of ears.

Ahead, find 66 different ideas with simple fashion hacks to prepare you for the upcoming Halloween season.

— Additional reporting by Hilary White, Haley Lyndes, and Lauren Harano