Hot Halloween Costumes: 2011 Ideas & Trends

Costumes for Halloween: 2011 Edition

Halloween rules. On that much we can all agree. However, we all diverge on what makes a great costume. Should your Halloween outfit be scary? Sexy? Ironic? Topical? DIY? Store-bought? So many choices. Some spend months preparing the perfect Halloween costume; the rest of us turn to the internet for inspiration at the last minute.

As in years past, many great costumes will be plucked from recent headlines: the news is a never-ending source of costume ideas for those who are creative enough, and for those willing to push the limits of good taste.

Charlie Sheens will be out in force this year, and you're not the first one to think of going as Zombie Steve Jobs or Zombie Gaddafi. With Halloween, there's no such thing as "too soon". Let's begin...

Photos

Charlie Sheen at Pitkin County Courthouse

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uploaded by Getty Images

Sexy/Couple Costume Ideas

• Dexter and Lumen
• Amanda Knox
• Casey Anthony
• Charlie Sheen & the goddesses
  
• Doug Hutchinson (as Horace from Lost) & Courtney Stodden
• Hydrangea-oriented Madonna costume
• The Doctor and Amy Pond from Doctor Who
  
• Chell, Atlas and Peabody from Portal 2
• Snooki & The Situation from Jersey Shore
  

Topical Costume Ideas for 2011

• Hurricane Irene
• Anthony Weiner
• Characters from Game of Thrones (especially headless Ned Stark)
  
• Steve Jobs (this will be really popular, since it's so easy to do)
• Amy Winehouse (and, yes, ghost- and zombie Amy Winehouse)
  
• Walt and Jesse from Breaking Bad
• Anything Mad Men-related (hey, it's still relevant)
• Fukushima Daiichi
• Steampunk (harder to pull off than it looks)
• Julian Assange
• Harold Camping/Rapture
• Hank Williams Jr.
• Muammar Gaddafi (and the Amazonian Guard)
• Zombie costumes: popular every year, but The Walking Dead created a new army of zombie fans
• Osama bin Laden (realistic or zombie version)
• Muammar Gaddafi (as above)
  
• Princess Beatrice, complete with Royal Wedding hat (Grace Van Cutsem would be a more original costume, though)
  

Meme/Internet Humor Costume Ideas

• Trollface
• Chuck Testa (with fake animals)
• Nyan Cat
• Scumbag Steve
• Courage Wolf
• Dino D-Day: Nazi Dinosaurs
• The Reddit alien
  
• Hungover Owls
  

While you mull over these costume ideas, you may as well test out your pumpkin-carving skills, too, right?