It’s Halloween 2025, and there’s a good chance you or someone in your life is dressing up as a character from K-Pop Demon Hunters, Sinners or Italian Brainrot.
The biggest trend, though, based on hours of wading through this year’s Halloween-themed social media posts on TikTok and Instagram, is cheap and easy. Instead of ordering an elaborate costume on Amazon, the trend is to look to thrift stores — or, better yet, your own closet to create a clever but free outfit.
While the algorithms are working to sell you as much Halloween cheer as possible, many of the organic trends reflect economically uncertain times.
When it comes to costumes this year, the overarching trend is practical.
Sure, expensive “boo baskets” are still a thing, where you gift someone a curated collection of Halloween-themed products (though thrifty versions have become popular), and giant outdoor skeletons are even more ubiquitous this year than last.
But when it comes to costumes, the trend is practical: people are encouraged to wear something they can either take from or add to their everyday wardrobe or makeup kit.
Here are five of our favorite social media trends for Halloween 2025:
Polyvore-style outfit curation
Remember Polyvore, the site that helped create aesthetic outfit collages in the 2010s? That style of curation is alive and well, and it’s being used to create Halloween “costumes” based on regular street clothes with a few fun accessories added.
For example, how do you pull off a Labubu costume on a budget? Add a fuzzy-ear headband to a matching tank top and skirt combo:
Just add paint
The next level is to repurpose a basic wardrobe item with whatever craft supplies you have on hand, no sewing or hot glue gun required.
Here, jeans, a t-shirt and a button down + a splash of red paint and a little makeup = rom-com zombie.
Thrift it
Thrift stores are always a good source of costume inspiration. This year, influencers compete for clicks with more Polyvore-style posts with Halloween thrift store ideas.
Go old school
Ghosts are huge this year, in decor, simple sheet costumes and inexpensive crafts. The original “use-what-you-have” Halloween trend.
Remember to be human
The social media algorithm can be scary, but we’re here for a kindness-based Halloween trend for grownups handing out candy to teenage trick or treaters.
If it makes you feel better, that t-shirt and jeans could actually be a carefully curated costume based on some meme you don’t understand.
