10 low-risk, high-reward Halloween costumes for men
There's no better excuse to dress up as some the year's most viral pop-culture moments. Here, we curate the costumes that require minimal effort, yet deliver maximum impact
By 
HALLOWEEN MIGHT BE an afterthought in Australia. If you’re anything like me, you’ll leave it to the last minute, only to pull together a half-baked concept of a costume. But this year, I’ve vowed to approach the occasion differently; after all, Halloween is like a ‘the year that was’ retrospective: it’s an excellent time to dress up as the year’s defining pop culture moments.
Whether it’s channelling your inner Raygun, or emulating your best post-Bond Daniel Craig, thinking big and esoteric in your costume will score you the most points. And if you’re thinking of dressing up like everyone’s favourite chef Carmy Berzatto, a white T-shirt, jeans, and an apron is really all you need. Muscles, tats, tousled curls and a Calvin Klein campaign are added extras.
Here, we’ve brought our minds together to collate a list of some of the most viral moments of the year, while considering how each could be pulled off as a Halloween costume. Mixed in are eternal Halloween moodboard fixtures. Scroll on for this year’s curation of the best last-minute costumes for men, from the sexy to the funny to the genuinely cool.
The best last minute Halloween costumes for 2024
Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn
Enough time has passed since the Paris Olympics to realise that celebrating mediocrity is perhaps a hallmark of being Australian. This is true for how the nation rallied behind Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn during her divisive performance in the Games’ inaugural breaking event. Was she the last nail in the sport’s coffin for it to not return for LA 2028? Anyway, coming as a walking viral moment will score you a sure gold – something Raygun did not do.
What you will need: Asics Team Australia Replica Polo, Asics Team Australia Bucket Hat, Brown “hipster” mullet wig (she is a university lecturer, after all), and Converse retro track pants.
Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White in The Bear)
In this era of the ‘hot chef’, dressing up as Jeremy Allen White’s character in The Bear, Carmy Berzatto, is not only accessible but attractive to emulate. Throughout the show, Carmy has proven to be a bit of a menswear nerd: his oven stuffed with jeans that he had to pawn off, or his artisanal white T-shirts. His wears may be the highest version of what they are, but that’s also what makes it accessible to recreate with pieces we already have. Just slap on an apron (and some generational trauma in your eyes).
What you will need: a white T-shirt (the cotton should be thick, and the fit should be tighter and slightly cropped; considering sizing down), a blue apron, dark wash selvedge denim jeans, white Nike Cortez shoes, and bonus points if you have a healthy mop of unruly curly hair.
Post-Bond Daniel Craig
We’ve come to talk about post-Bond Daniel Craig like post-White House Obama: he’s having fun in Hawaii. Except the transformation was so extreme, so unexpected, that The Telegraph headlined Craig’s new look in his Loewe campaign with “Is this who he really was all along?” And as we’ve seen from his press tour for Guadagnino’s upcoming Queer, he is, indeed, having fun. And in the same way people dressed up in Hawaiian shirts and leis for Obama, post-Bond Craig also seems fitting.
What you will need: fair isle knit, jeans, and tinted shades have defined Craig’s post-Bond era.
Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor in Challengers)
Who remembers ‘hot rat boyfriend’? The meme that categorised a whole slew of Hollywood’s A-list actors came at a tipping point when Luca Guadgnino’s steamy Challengers came out earlier this year in March for having not one, but two of said rodent-type actors. In jest of that, Josh O’Connor’s down-in-the-dumps tennis player Patrick Zweig is an easy template for Halloween this year, especially if you’re someone who already plays tennis.
Because of his low ranking, Patrick’s kit has a do-it-yourself element: sleeves on shirts are torn off, and wears his plaid boxer briefs to play in. It’s a love letter to normal clothes by costume designer Jonathan Anderson (who is also the creative director of Loewe), making it that much more accessible. And if you manage to Sharpie on a ‘I TOLD YA’ on a grey T-shirt, you’re set.
What you will need: the grey ‘I TOLD YA’ T-shirt, plaid boxer trunks, Nike Killshot 2 tennis sneakers.
Tyler Owens (Glen Powell in Twisters)
One of the arbiters of cowboy-core being the defining trend of 2024 was the film Twisters, exhibited in Glen Powell’s tornado-chasing character Tyler Owens. In the film, he is brute all-American clad in plaid, jeans, boots, and a cowboy hat. Though Powell played this to a milder tune during the press tour, dressing up as Owens for Halloween is perhaps the opportune time to invest in a piece of cowboy-core to wear into summer. It is, after all, one of the defining trends for our spring/summer season.
What you will need: a cowboy hat by Akubra, a Western denim shirt, bootcut jeans, and give it an Australia twist with boots by R.M. Williams.
Michael Jordan
For decades, the Jumpman has been a perennial fixture on Halloween moodboards. Of course, rocking up in a Chicago Bulls jersey and shorts are an easy last minute pull, but the popularity of Air Jordan 1s are what makes the look so easy to emulate – everyone has a pair. This one’s a failsafe.
What you will need: Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan jersey, Nike Chicago Bulls shorts, Air Jordan 1 Retro High OGs in red and white, and finish it off with a Spalding.
Seth Cohen (Adam Brody in The OC)
There’s a renaissance happening for Adam Brody. With the release, and sudden renewal, of Nobody Wants This, Brody’s career-starting role ought to be revisited. The Orange County native is also one of the posterboys for Cali-Y2K style: tight graphic T-shirts layered over long sleeves, argyle knits, baggy jeans, and a colourful puffer vest. Sounds easy, right? Think preppy skater. And as Halloween falls in the spring in Australia, the knit, puffer and layering also counts as weather appropriate. With the Brody-ssance sending a whole generation of women in heat, it’s time to lean into your inner Seth Cohen.
What you will need: colourful puffer vest, graphic T-shirt, wide-leg jeans.
Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale in American Psycho)
Also, who remembers ‘man in finance’? Again, the internet trends that dominated our feeds this year are ripe for masquerading this Halloween. Patrick Bateman in American Psycho is one such fixture on the finance bro moodboard: the murderous aesthete has great taste in suits. And since Halloween falls during spring in Australia, the transitional season is prone to still cold nights, so dressing in a pinstripe suit is weather appropriate. And throw on a (red-paint splattered) transparent raincoat, it’ll still be costume accurate.
What you will need: pinstripe navy jacket, red tie, white button up shirt, transparent raincoat, and, of course, fake blood.
Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown, or just as Bob Dylan)
Most, if not all, music legends of the 20th century have had their iconic fits turned into Halloween costumes. Rocking up in an Elvis suit, for instance, may count as in poor taste nowadays. But from photos on the set of his upcoming film, A Complete Unknown, Timothée Chalamet shows off just how easy it is to dress up as the blues singer. Though insane bone-structure may seem needed (or just a good pout), the key to the look is perhaps the cat-eye sunglasses and a leather or suede cropped jacket.
What you will need: a suede brown jacket, cat-eye sunglasses, and black pleated trousers.
Ghostface
If you can think of costumes having a ‘classics’ range, the masked villain of the Scream franchise is exactly that. While not directly inspired by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ (1893), the elongated, drooping mask ticks all the conventions of a failsafe costume. What also makes it readily available? A black robe ensemble with a hood is all that’s needed, and, of course, the mask is readily available.
What you will need: a Ghostface costume, readily available almost anywhere.
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