30 Halloween Costume Ideas Inspired by Vintage Celebrities
30 Halloween Costume Ideas Inspired by Vintage Celebrities
1 minute read
Make like the Jackson Five in 1970 with bellbottoms, ample polyester and a motorized scooter for trick-or-treating.John Olson—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
This year’s Halloween parties are likely to see a plethora of Trump wigs, Swift squads and Pizza rats. But if 2015’s memes are less to your liking than vintage flair is, the LIFE magazine archives offer a treasure trove of classic inspiration. For the musically inclined, there’s Little Richard’s signature look and Elvis Presley’s smart army get-up. For coordinated couples, there’s Hollywood’s onetime leading couple (Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton) playing one of history’s leading couples (Cleopatra and Antony). And for those preparing to start Movember on Nov. 1, Donald Sutherland—better known to today’s young moviegoers as President Snow—displays a daring feat of facial topiary.
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.
Don a faux pressure suit and pay tribute to the Project Mercury astronauts (clockwise from top left): Alan Shepard, Virgil Grissom, Leroy Cooper, Malcolm Carpenter, John Glenn, Donald Slayton and Walter Schirra, 1959.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDress up as Elvis Presley in his pre-jumpsuit days, pictured here at Fort Dix, New Jersey, shortly before his discharge from the U.S. Army in 1960.Al Fenn—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesSet aside the white halter dress in favor of Marilyn Monroe's gold lamé gown from the 1953 film"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesChannel Hillary Clinton's days as a Wellesley College undergrad (and as a Rodham), pictured in 1969, with big specs and striped trousers.Lee Balterman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFind three pals with matching suits and shaggy coifs and go as the Beatles (pictured in 1964).John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFind goth inspiration in the Addams Family, helmed by Carolyn Jones' Morticia and and John Astin's Gomez (pictured in 1964). Don Cravens—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesIf your Halloween plans involve a pool party, make like Jayne Mansfield in 1957 and pose with dozens of miniature likenesses of yourself.Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesChannel Queen Elizabeth II in her younger years (pictured here in 1953) with white gloves, cap and open-toed shoes to compliment a modest, full-skirted dress.Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMake like the Jackson Five in 1970 with bellbottoms, ample polyester and a motorized scooter for trick-or-treating.John Olson—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesPractice hijinks with two friends and go as the Three Stooges (clockwise from left): Curly Joe DeRita, Moe Howard and Larry Fine, 1959.Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesGo as Jane Fonda in her "Barbarella" days (1967): big hair, futuristic bodysuit and Positronic Ray.Carlo Bavagnoli—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesIf you can hold your fingers in a "V for victory" sign all night, grab a top hat and white scarf to complete the look of Winston Churchill in 1951.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesGrow out your locks and wear all the leather to dress as "Lizard King" Jim Morrison in 1968. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDepending on weather and comfort level, consider Sophia Loren's sheer look from the brothel scene in the 1964 film "Marriage Italian Style."Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesSuit up in red and yellow for a look from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey," channeling Kier Dullea as Dr. Dave Bowman and Gary Lockwood as Dr. Frank Poole.Dmitri Kessel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFind a mate and a pillbox hat to go as one of history's most famous couples, First Lady Jackie Kennedy and President John F. Kennedy, pictured on the campaign trail in 1960.Paul Schutzer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDedicate your costume to Pablo Picasso and his interest in the minotaur by sporting a gigantic head mask of the mythological creature like the one he wore in 1949.Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesAn unruly white wig and caterpillar mustache make for a simple Albert Einstein costume (1949). Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMake like Raquel Welch in 1972's "The Kansas City Bomber" by wearing a roller derby uniform and white lace-up skates.Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesBuy an old-school Dodgers uniform--make sure it's number 42--to pay tribute to the great Jackie Robinson, pictured in 1950.Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesWalk the line like "Man in Black" Johnny Cash (pictured in 1969), with a guitar slung over the shoulder, a patterned ascot, and head-to-toe black.Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesIf you're handy with a sewing machine, fashion an antebellum dress in the style of Vivien Leigh's Scarlet O'Hara in the 1939 classic "Gone with the Wind.".Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDress as Dorothy Dandridge as Melmendi in "Tarzan's Peril" (1951) with a colorful one-shouldered crop top, revealing skirt, hoop earrings and large beaded necklace. Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesIf you're looking to go from bearded to clean-shaven, go halfway for Halloween, as Donald Sutherland did in this classic 1970 portrait.Co Rentmeester—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDress as Cinderella à la Julie Andrews, in princess ball gown, tiara and white gloves for the 1957 live broadcast of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesGo as one of Hollywood's most famous couples dressed as one of history's most famous couples: Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor as Mark Antony and Cleopatra (1962).Paul Schutzer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesChannel Mia Farrow's pixie cut, flowered sequin dress and coquettish look from the 1968 British spy film "A Dandy in Aspic."Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesLearn the words to "Puttin' on the Ritz" and go full-on Fred Astaire with top hat, tails and spats and twirling cane (1945).Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesRed curls and spunk are the key ingredients to a Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz couple costume (1958).Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMorph into Little Richard (pictured in 1971) with a pencil-thin mustache, shapely eyebrows and thick black eyeliner.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
