Chances are that if you’re coupled up, you and your partner may want to dress up for Halloween as a fabulous (or frightful!) duo. But, let’s be real here, many of the costumes for couples that you might see at your local Halloween store are—how do we put this?—pretty lame.
If you’re dead set on dressing up together, but aren’t sure where to start, here are some ideas that may help you brainstorm the perfect pairing of get-ups.
- Go Political: Donald and Melania, Clinton and her emails (or, better yet, Jim Comey), Russian hackers—the ideas really are endless this year when it comes to Capitol Hill-inspired costumes. Even if you don’t consider yourself a Washington insider, Halloween is a perfect time to have fun with public figures and try their (often big) personalities on for size.
- Choose a Classic Movie: Timeless films that everyone has seen are perfect Halloween costumes because you don’t have to explain to everyone else who you are—they instantly get it. But we’re not talking about Gone with the Wind here (though, if that’s your thing, go for it and get your Rhett and Scarlett on). Turn to more recent classic duos like Jenny and Forrest from Forrest Gump, Maverick and Iceman from Top Gun, Joel and Lana from Risky Business, Thelma and Louise from…you know.
- Find Inspiration from Your Binge-Watching: Game of Thrones, Narcos, Orange is the New Black, The Handmaid’s Tale—you know these shows, and their characters, almost as well as you know your own friends. Choose your favorite series to veg out to and find a perfect couple you can emulate on All Hallow’s Eve.
- Get Wild: If political or pop culture isn’t really your thing, animals make for comfortable and cute costumes. You can get as involved and elaborate as you want with fur, fake nails, masks and other species-specific body parts, meaning that you can make your costumes as realistic (or as sexy) as you choose. Chances are, you’ll be able to easily find your Halloween spirit animals.
- Be Scary: If you have a high tolerance for gore, get bloody, boney and brain-y together. You’ll scare the pants off your friends, and trick-or-treaters, making these costumes even more fun. You can go more general like mad scientist and monster, zombie and zombie hunter or ghost bride and groom, or you can dress up like creepy characters such as Freddy Krueger and Michael Meyers.
A version of this post originally appeared on Robbins Brothers’ Engaged blog