With October coming up around the corner, certain people are starting to prepare their Halloween costumes. Because of social media like Tik Tok, Instagram, and Pinterest, I think there are going to be costumes that we see more than a few times this year. These are my predictions of which costumes will be the most popular in 2022. Disclaimer: these are predictions, not critiques, and having a popular costume is not necessarily negative unless you are a pirate. 

First, I predict we are going to see a lot of people in Top Gun costumes, which is no surprise because of the recent release of Top Gun: Maverick, this May. I anticipate that couples’ Maverick costumes like these will be popular. While this is a solid costume, I would warn everyone to steer clear of Top Gun unless they want to be seen in the most popular costumes of 2022. 

Since Stranger Things Season 4 was the number one Most Watched Netflix Show in 2022, I predict the characters are going to influence many Halloween costumes this Fall. I foresee Stranger Things costumes are going to be popular among younger kids and adults, as seen in these pictures. I could imagine young parents dressing as Joyce and Hopper and then dressing their child as Eleven.

The Hocus Pocus witches are always a classic trio costume, but since Disney plus’ Hocus Pocus 2 is coming out at the end of the month, I feel that this costume will be extra popular. However, I love this costume idea because it is “basic” in a good, nostalgic way, but also maintains its relevance because of the release of the new movie. 

Similarly, I believe the popularity of the new Elvis Movie with Austin Butler will inspire many teens. I anticipate that we will see girls dressed as Pricilla or doing a female take on Elvis Presley himself. The boys will most likely dress like Elvis in his classic white suit and iconic hair.  I like both of these a lot because they are recognizable and cute.

Every year, there are always a few group costumes that every girl group seems to replicate. I anticipate many copious pirate costumes, specifically a white dress with a leather corset over the top, as seen below. While this is cute, the pirate costume has been thoroughly exhausted and it is time to mix it up. Avery Voelkel, who was called out for her pirate Halloween costume in 2020 responded, “I am in complete agreement that the pirate costume is overused, having done it myself. Nevertheless, I will always think it is cute.” Avery got that right; the pirate costume is undeniably cute despite its overuse. For a unique twist,  I would recommend taking a more specific take on the pirate look by being Captain Hook from Peter Pan or Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. Call it classic or call it basic, the pirate costume is not going away any time soon. 

Along with pirates, I forsee many girls dressing as fairies. This outfit will consist of silk slip dresses paired with wings. Or if you’re a freshman, you “will take any excuse to wear a tutu” says senior Kate Gieg.  This is cute but has certainly been done before. Emily Byrne (12th) does not hold back her opinion saying, “I think fairies are very overused and unoriginal.” Harsh. I agree though, us girls can come up with something better than this. 

Celebrities also have a major influence over Halloween costumes. I predict that many girls will take inspiration from Hailey Bieber’s costume of last year when she dressed as four of Britney Spears’ iconic looks. Since Brittany Spears’ outfits are distinct and recognizable, this is a solid choice. Avery Voelkel (12th) says, “I’ve seen Britney Spears costumes all over Tik Tok, so I know a lot of people will be dressed as that.” With the amount of time Avery spends on Tik Tok, I think we can take her word on that one: Britney Spears costumes will be highly popular this year. 

I also anticipate people will replicate Rihanna when she modeled in a Medusa look on the cover of British GQ magazine. I like this costume because the outfit is like a Greek Goddess with a snake headpiece, hence Medusa. In my opinion, this costume has good potential if executed correctly. I have not seen this a lot in previous years, but hope to see more Medusas this October. 

Also, I think we will see a lot of “gold diggers,” wearing a shiny gold outfit, a headlight, and a shovel. This costume gained popularity due to the clever play on words and simplistic outfit. On the other hand, I think this costume reached the height of its popularity last Halloween, and this year I feel the “gold digger” is now a little dated. Somers Kirk, a senior at Porter-Gaud who dressed as a gold digger last year, responded “the gold digger costume works if you do it right. You have to embrace the full Kanye/Kardashian vibe of it and really go all out from there. Some people achieved this and some people didn’t, so during this trend last year it was truly a hit or miss costume.” I agree with Somers, this is definitely a hit or miss costume and it was a trend from last year, not this year. If anyone were to try and bring this back for Halloween 2022, then they would need to really hit it out of the park. 

I primarily left boys out of this article because we all know this will be their go-to costume. I do not have much to say about this, but Lily Hutson (12th) says “boys wearing jerseys is overrated and unoriginal. Do better.” I, and I am sure many others, agree wholeheartedly with Lily on this. 

Your go-to costume may be something that seems “trendy,” but Halloween is about having fun and doing a costume you enjoy. Lilla Hand, a local middle-schooler, sums it up accurately by saying, “if you got your costume idea from TikTok, I will not be going trick-or-treating with you.” Regardless, I can’t wait for Halloween to see what y’all have in store, but please no more pirates! #stayspookyraptors