It’s been a wild year for pop culture, and that means plenty of inspiration for Halloween costumes. There will be a lot of Barbies, there will be a lot of Taylor Swifts, a few M3GAN dolls and probably some Posh ‘n’ Becks too – all fun ideas if that’s your vibe.
But Aotearoa has its own pool of inspiration to look to, from politics to pop culture to… potholes. Here, 10 lazy and local costume ideas.
Woke lesbo
Chlöe Swarbrick knows how to take two words and turn them into a well-loved phrase that sums up a generation’s identity and dark humour. There was ‘ok boomer’, and now, ‘woke lesbo’. During the election campaign she shared a photo of one of her hoardings tagged with the apparent insult, with the simple caption, “I mean, yeah”. Lols were had, slogan tees were made, an attempted slur became a line of pride.
There are several ways you could approach this: try track down one of the (sold out) ‘woke lesbo’ printed tees from Karangahape Road store Crushes, dress up as Chlöe herself in a white linen shirt tucked into black pants and mandatory pair of Doc Martens, or really commit to the bit and go as an actual tagged hoarding.
A sinkhole
Who knew at the start of 2023 that Aucklanders would become so acquainted and obsessed with these big gaping holes in the ground? A pretty easy costume idea if you want to get creative with a big piece of cardboard that’s painted shades of black and brown.
A small pothole is another option - both a statement on climate change, terrible urban planning and Tāmaki’s roads and lack of public transport…
Go with a friend as Chris and Chris
Get two badly fitting navy suits. Play paper scissors rock to see who has to wear the fat blue tie and who wears the skinny red tie. Bonus points for a bald cap and ginger wig.
Chris Hipkins’ bogancore
If you prefer to ride solo, dress up as the former PM when he was caught out on an early morning run at Labour’s caucus retreat way back in January. This is an easy last minute one: pull out a dark hoodie from your wardrobe, an old cap, and track down a pair of wraparound speed dealer sunglasses (try the gas station, or your dad). If you want to elevate it slightly, carry a plate of sausage rolls.
The loading page for Taylor Swift Eras tour presale tickets
Try as we might to forget it, there was no experience as collectively frustrating as that day in late June when it felt like half the country was trying and mostly failing to secure tickets to a Taylor Swift concert not even happening in Aotearoa. All you need to relive the trauma is a cutout of the Eras tour collage and eight fateful words: Frontier members pre-sale, next update in 20 seconds.
A Football Fern
Football fever took over Aotearoa in July with the FIFA World Cup, and people finally woke up to the importance of women’s sport. If you bought some merch or kits, bring them out for an easy Halloween costume – or keep up the support of our local team and buy a Football Fern jersey. Pull up your socks, and pull back your hair into a ponytail.
Two halves of the broken Ranfurly shield
“New Zealand Rugby takes possession of damaged Ranfurly Shield amid claims drugs were snorted off it,” is surely one of the news headlines of the year. The Log ‘O Wood was damaged in October after a game in Hawke’s Bay, with a widely shared photo of one half covered in a still unidentified white powder. The execution of this duo costume idea will require some real DIY crafting; good luck.
Pure Heroine era Lorde
This year marks a decade since this iconic album was released, shifting pop music as well offering a refreshing pop star aesthetic. Pay homage to this Lorde era by curling your hair, wearing black with the palest foundation you can find, and slap on some cherry black lipstick. Finally, embrace your most creative dance moves.
Lizzo at Hobbiton
If you love a proper dress up in a costume, “Lizzolas” visiting Hobbiton in July is a fresh update on the elvin eared Lord of the Rings cosplay. A recorder being the essential prop, bonus points if you actually know how to play it.
The Giapo x Cher collab
In July an unexpected but delightfully collaboration was announced: THE Cher had created an ice cream and LA-based ice cream truck called Cherlato, with Tāmaki gelato maker Giapo. Surreal, but true. This one can be simple: dress up as Cher, get an ice cream in a cone (a Giapo one is great, but a standard dairy cone will do too), Bon appetit!
