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A costume you put together yourself is always funnier than the one in the bag.
It fits your dog, and it makes it easier to get your boyfriend or partner to dress up. Plus, nobody else at the party is wearing the exact same thing.
For tips on keeping your dog safe this Halloween, check out our helpful guide!
That’s the whole case for a budget Halloween costume: buy the two or three pieces that make it work (and get a few new keepers to keep wearing all season). Pull the rest from your closet.
Halloween is about six weeks out, so consider this your nudge to weigh your options.
Morgan from our Darling Dog team has put together three inspo duo costumes for her and her doodle, Sophie. Including product links so you can find the items easily. Below those, we’ve added six more ideas that need almost nothing you don’t already own.
Try one! Then tag us in your pics and we’ll repost @darlingdogyall
The Best DIY Duo Costumes for Dogs and Their Moms
All three concepts keep your budget in check. The pieces you’ll wear again (the black dress, the boots, the hat) are the ones worth spending on. The pieces that do the funny work (a tutu, a harness, a pair of dog sunglasses) are small and inexpensive.
Two of the three start with a black dress, so if you already own one, you’re halfway to Elphaba or Morticia.
The boyfriend is always optional. Every duo works with just you and your dog (and gets even better if you can convince a third to join in, even if they aren’t so stoked about it!).
One thing we’ve learned: before you head out the door for Halloween festivities: try your dog’s pieces well in advance, not on the 31st. Because some dogs wear a crown like they were born with it. But some will start chewing the jewels off in seconds. You want to know which one you live with before hitting the road.
#1 – Elphaba and Glinda
You’re Elphaba: black dress, witch hat, tights, and nails that mean business. Sophie is Glinda, which takes a tutu, a crown and nothing else. That is a complete costume for a dog. Any more than that and they’ll be swimming in fabric.
The color story does the work. Black and green on you, pink and sparkle on them. Even the friend who’s never seen wicked will know what’s up.
Go with platform heels if you’re staying put and black booties if the party has stairs. Do the nails last, the day before, so they look fresh in the photo.
One of you is dressed to take on the Wizard. The other is dressed to be adored.
Boyfriend option: Fiyero, which mostly means standing next to Glinda looking gorgeous.
Check your closet first: a black dress and black boots. Everything else is linked.
Shop the Elphaba and Glinda Costumes
#2 – Jessie and Bullseye
So does the first Jessie hat below, which you can wear well past Halloween. The second is the full costume version, for when you want to commit.
Wear the hat to a tailgate in November, the vest over a white tee in the spring, the boots with everything. You’re buying a wardrobe that just so happens to make a costume on the 31st.
Your pup is Bullseye, and all it takes is a brown harness. Bullseye is the horse, so there’s nothing for your dog to fight with: no hat, no cape, no accessories to shake off at the first tree.
Boyfriend option: Woody. He gets the sheriff, you get to ride in on the horse. If he balks, remind him that Woody gets the hat, the boots, and a horse.
Check your closet first: boots, bootcut jeans, and a white button-up. If one’s missing, it’s linked below.
Shop the Jessie Costume
Shop the Bullseye Costume
#3 – Morticia and Cousin It
Morgan (from Darling Dog), Charlie (soon to be husband), and Sophie – Oct 2025 – HOT TAMALE!
Morticia is the pick if you want the fewest pieces. A long black dress, platform heels or boots, and coffin nails. that’s the outfit. The rest is posture.
Sophie is Cousin It, which means sunglasses and a top hat. Cousin It is mostly hair, so the bit is strongest on a fluffy coat. A short-haired dog in sunglasses and a top hat is funny in a different way, but it still works.
Boyfriend option: Gomez, which is a dark suit, a drawn-on mustache if he doesn’t already have one, and total devotion. He’ll kiss your hand all night. Let him.
Check your closet first: any black maxi dress will do the job. If you already own black boots, skip the heels.
Shop the Morticia Costume
Shop the Cousin It Costume
Six more DIY dog Halloween costumes from your closet
No shopping required for these. If you own a striped shirt and a red bandana, you’re most of the way there.
Red swimsuit, shorts, sunglasses, and a whistle from the junk drawer. Your dog is the rescue, in a red bandana. Your boyfriend is the one who needed saving, and he plays it well. Bring a towel for the photo. It’s the only prop you’ll need.
#5 – Velma and Scooby
Orange turtleneck, pleated skirt, knee socks, glasses. Your dog is Scooby, which takes a blue collar and maybe a scooby snack if he isn’t too much trouble. Carry a flashlight and stare suspiciously down a dark hallway. Your boyfriend can be Shaggy in a green tee and brown pants, holding a sandwich your dog is watching very closely.
#6 – Where’s Waldo
Red-and-white striped shirt, jeans, beanie, round glasses. Your dog gets a striped bandana. Your boyfriend gets a striped shirt too, and now it’s a photo where nobody can find the real one. This is definitely the easiest costume in the guide to pull off at the last minute.
#7 – The Beekeeper and the Bee
White long-sleeve shirt, white pants, and a wide-brim sun hat with a piece of sheer fabric draped over it. Your dog is the bee, in a yellow-and-black striped bandana. It sounds like it shouldn’t work, and then you see the photo.
#8 – The Paparazzi and the Celebrity
All black, sunglasses, your phone with the flash on, and a press badge cut from an index card. Your dog is the celebrity, in the nicest bandana you own and an expression that says they spotted you first. Nobody will have to ask what you are. If your boyfriend’s in, he’s the bodyguard: all black, arms crossed, no smiling.
#9 – The Gameday Coach
Team-color polo, a visor, a clipboard, a whistle. Your dog is the mascot in a team-color bandana. Your boyfriend is the quarterback, in a jersey he already owns. Wear the colors of whoever you’re loyal to, and expect the neighbors to have opinions. It works on Halloween night and it works the next Saturday in the parking lot.
Send this to your Glinda. Or your Jessie, or whoever will show up in sunglasses and a top hat without a fuss.
By Halloween night you’ll have a black dress you’ll wear again and a hat you’ll wear in November. Your boyfriend will say he isn’t doing a bit, then do the bit all night. Your dog may not tolerate a top hat, but it’s better to learn that on a Tuesday in September than in a doorway on the 31st with six people watching.
Meet the Author
Hey! My name is Garrett, I’m 22-years-old from Dallas Texas, though I currently reside in Brooklyn. New York has been quite the shift from what I’m used to in the suburbs, but I am enjoying the city life thus far! In my day-to-day routine I am constantly thinking about dogs, mostly because of my work at a local doggy daycare, but also because of my general love for animals!