The cost of living is punting us all in the unmentionables right now. Spending your hard-earned cash on an expensive Halloween costume can feel unwise, especially since you’ll only wear it for one night.
Fortunately, you don’t have to choose between getting into the Halloween spirit and making sensible financial decisions. Several of this year’s most recognisable film and TV costumes feature clothes you can add to your everyday wardrobe after the holiday. In many cases, we even know the exact pieces the costume designers used, meaning your 2026 Halloween costume could be your most impressively screen-accurate yet.
Here are some 2026 Halloween costumes that can easily be added to your regular wardrobe after the spooky season ends (provided you don’t stain them with fake blood).
Bryan from Resident Evil
Credit: Resident Evil / Sony Pictures
Resident Evil‘s beleaguered protagonist Bryan wears just one outfit throughout the film, as the entire bloody horror takes place on a single awful night. The medical courier’s outfit also features several layers, making it a great costume choice as the weather gets colder.
The primary prop you’ll need for a Resident Evil costume is a green cooler bag, which you can easily customise with a cross using white fabric paint. You could try snagging the official $25 Resident Evil Medical Courier Popcorn Bucket instead if you don’t want to bother with painting. However, these popcorn buckets have been in high demand, so getting one by Halloween will likely be difficult. The Resident Evil popcorn bucket also features a fake-looking splash of blood and has the film title emblazoned across the back, which makes it less appealing for costume purposes.
Aside from Bryan’s medical courier bag, a Resident Evil costume simply requires you to bundle up. Layer a yellow plaid shirt, a dark jacket, and a blue reflective vest, add the bag, and your costume is complete (blood splatters and an exhausted expression optional). This costume also has the benefit of making you highly visible to drivers while out trick-or-treating.
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If you’re hoping to be as film-accurate as possible, Resident Evil fan account @RENews_X contacted costume designer Caroline Fahrer to get all the details on Bryan’s outfit. It turns out that he’s a fairly well-dressed courier — his beloved Js are a pair of customised Nike Jordan Spizike Low Rare Air sneakers in Oil Grey, released last year for $160. Unfortunately, many of the exact items Bryan wore will be difficult to get your hands on, with even pieces such as his stylish mustard FromTheSource Chunky Knitted Sheep Bobble Hat all sold out. Even so, @RENews_X provides a good reference to help you get as close as you can.
Nikki from Obsession
Credit: Focus Features
Indie horror hit Obsession had a limited budget of approximately $750,000, with just $6,000 set aside for wardrobe. As such, costume designer Blair James had to be economical, selecting affordable pieces and thrifting to curate the characters’ outfits. While this posed a challenge for James, it also means that a screen-accurate Obsession Halloween costume won’t hit your wallet too hard.
One of the most iconic Obsession outfits is Nikki’s final dress (or rather, Sarah’s): the $69 Defiant Love Mini Dress from Dolls Kill. This budget-friendly Halloween costume fitting for Obsession‘s characters, as their retail jobs meant they probably weren’t spending hundreds of dollars on a single dress. To steal Nikki’s entire look, all you need to do is pair the dress with a black body marker and a lot of fake blood.
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Another instantly recognisable Obsession costume is Nikki’s party outfit, which James chose based on what the character would believe appeals to the male gaze. The exact pieces Nikki wore are the $49 Cielo Mesh Halter Top Red Zebra from Princess Polly and Edikted’s $165 Washed Faux Leather Micro Cargo Shorts in Black. You don’t need both exact pieces, though: you could just pair the Princess Polly halter with any dark micro shorts and still be identifiable as Nikki.
If you do want to go all-out, James revealed in a TikTok that Nikki’s shoes were black knee-high Calvin Klein boots. While the exact boots appear to be no longer available, Calvin Klein’s Leather Kitten Heel Tall Zip Boots look practically identical. Accessorise with a silver spiral pendant necklace for an extra film-accurate detail.
Patricia from Widow’s Bay
When designing the costumes for comedy horror Widow’s Bay, Alex Bovaird considered where people on the sleepy little island would have gotten their clothes. Rather than trendy stores, she thought that Widow’s Bay residents would shop in thrift stores, choosing from clothes that were brought from the mainland years ago and simply circulated among the community.
Patricia’s sunset cocktail party dress was no exception. In one of the most iconic looks from Widow’s Bay‘s first season, Patricia attempted to elevate a dated red dress with a silver tiara adorned with clear glass crystals. Or, more accurately, she paired it with a disturbing headdress made from deer antlers, twigs, and a fox’s pelt.
The exact dress that Patricia wore was a retro Carole Little ’80s does ’40s watercolour dress, which is practically impossible to get your hands on now. You’d need exceptional luck and a lot of time to spend searching to find the same design.
Fortunately, substituting another red floral midi dress with sleeves will still allow you to create a recognisable Widow’s Bay costume, especially if you can find one with retro vibes. This means you have some leeway to choose a dress you’ll wear as an everyday outfit once Halloween is over. Though important, the dress is merely an accompaniment to the real star of this Halloween costume: Patricia’s antler headdress.
While it would be easier to simply wear a tiara to recreate Patricia’s look at the start of her party, the antler headdress is what makes this Widow’s Bay costume instantly recognisable — as well as much more fun. You’ll have to make it yourself, as cursèd antler crowns are hard to come by in stores. However, deer antlers are also relatively affordable, and twigs can easily be collected. A real fox pelt would not be very budget-friendly, but it’s easy enough to take apart a soft fox toy to use in your costume instead.
To go the extra mile, you could also print out a cover for Patricia’s book Your Turn: Out With the Old and In With the New by Lucy Fours. Wrap it around a hardcover, and you have your very own self-help book/necronomicon to guide you through a successful Halloween party.
Source: https://mashable.com/life/halloween-costume-ideas-2026-closet-wardrobe-budget
