The Best Halloween Costumes of 2016: All About This Season

By Admin

There is something special about the best Halloween costumes of 2016.  Sure, every year has its own special place in the costume industry—new movies, TV shows, controversies and pop culture trends.  But 2016 is not your average year; it is going to be jam-packed with iconic character costumes and unique themes that will be trending well into future seasons.  Halloween 2016 will be a milestone year for costumes.  We have not even finished loading all of the products for the coming season in our store and already you will find our new costumes category filled with outfits that are instant classics.  We put this guide together to inform you—in an organized manner—of the best Halloween costumes that are in store for 2016.        

Film and Television Costumes in 2016

2016 is a record year for movie and TV costumes.  For each popular film released in 2016, there will be several characters featured as Halloween costumes and each will have various versions at different price ranges, from economy standard to deluxe and theatrical options.  Comic book superhero and animated children’s films are two categories that alone generate endless revenue for the Halloween costume industry.  The same applies to the horror genre which is the heart and soul of Halloween.  Epic scary movies are being released this year that will rank high as classic Halloween thrillers, including The Conjuring 2, The Purge: Election Year, Lights Out, Don’t Breathe, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Ouija, Leatherface, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, The Boy, The Woods and many, MANY others.  All of these films are candidates for excellent Halloween costumes.

Nowadays, television programs that fall in these same categories are leaving a mark on Halloween as costumes based on small screen characters become equally—if not more—popular.  Successful television series have a continuity that is difficult for the film industry to replicate.  Epic superhero costumes from films like DC’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice have to go toe to toe against their very own small screen character costume renditions of Flash and Green Arrow.  Marvel, Lucasfilm and Disney (all one of the same) themed costumes face the same competition thanks to TV deals with Netflix and Disney’s own TV networks.  2016 is an exciting year for costumes because Halloween shoppers will have a lot of variety to choose from.  Here are some lists of goodies that we await for the 2016 Halloween season. 

Movie Costumes

The top movie costumes for Halloween 2016 include characters from the most popular blockbusters:

Alice: Through the Looking Glass

Disney’s charm hits 2016 once again with Alice: Through the Looking Glass.  Seems like all we see nowadays from the film industry is remakes of classic movies—because they are running out of ideas—but the Alice: Through the Looking Glass is a fresh story based on the Lewis Caroll follow-up to Alice in Wonderland, which Disney never capitalized on as an animation.  We are getting a fresh movie with fresh plot and fresh costumes.  The Through the Looking Glass costumes include Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit, The Red Queen, the White Queen and of course, Alice—with a beautiful Asian inspired outfit!  Surely, you will still be able to celebrate this film on Halloween 2016 with costumes based on the previous installment of Alice in Wonderland.  Mad Hatter, White Rabbit and the Queen have not changed much.

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice was the long awaited movie release by DC.  Although reviews for the film were less than favorable, DC still managed to produce some of the most coveted on-screen costumes that were being talked about long before the movie even hit the theaters.  2016’s Batman and Superman costumes are bigger hits than the Dark Knight suit and the Man of Steel.  It certainly helps that the film includes a supporting cast with the likes of Wonder Woman and Aquaman, both of which have stupendous costumes made after them.  This Halloween is going to be action packed for sure.  

Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War was without a doubt one of the best superhero movies of 2016.  This is pretty much a full-on Avengers movie as it includes an extensive cast of characters, and all have Halloween costumes to represent them in 2016.  Team Captain costumes include Captain America, Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Falcon, Hawkeye and though not yet available, The Scarlett Witch.  Team Iron Man includes costumes of Iron Man, Black Widow, War Machine, Black Panther and Vision.  Of course, this collection could not be complete with a costume of the man that sparked the Civil War of Marvel’s elite superheroes: Crossbones.

Deadpool

Deadpool, the merc with a mouth won the world over with his comedic action and fourth wall breaks in the 2016 release by the same name.  Not to mention, he’s pretty bad (meaning awesome) in general.  Deadpool costumes of 2016 ride solo; the only options of Deadpool costumes feature his outfit in different versions, including a mini dress for women.  However, you can also get his signature mask and gloves to create a quick on-the-go costume.  One of the many superhero costumes you will see all over the streets this Halloween.

Finding Dory

Finding Nemo was hit in 2003 and it was in great part thanks to Dory.  Nemo and Dory costumes remained popular through all these years until finally, Pixar released the follow-up, Finding Dory, in 2016 further boosted the popularity of Dory and Nemo costumes.  Halloween 2016 will feel much like an undersea experience for little ones as there will be plenty of fish in the sea—of Halloween trick-or-treaters.  Nemo and Dory outfits will come in different styles for boys and girls and two adult versions as well.  There is even Hank the Septapus costume available; see them all in the image above.

Ghostbusters (2016)

Hollywood is bringing back classic oldies to the big screen but some of them just never left.  The Ghostbusters is such a classic.  The 2016 remake of the ‘80s version is just Hollywood giving the fans what they’ve been waiting for.  More than 30 years later, the Ghostbusters have stayed popular through a cult following that has influenced cosplay and the costume industry in general.  Above you see the collection of new costumes from the 2016 version of the film.  The film helps to maintain continuity for fans who hope to dress up in Ghostbusters costumes in another 30 years from now.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Episode VII

Since Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released on December of 2015, the costumes from the film are officially part of the 2016 Halloween season.  Just like every other film produced by Lucasfilm—with the exception of Howard the Duck—Star Wars Episode VII became one of the highest grossing films of the year.  The film set the stage for pretty awesome costumes that will be seen at cosplay conventions and Halloween event in 2016.  Popular costumes from the film include Storm Troopers, Finn, Kylo Ren, Rey, Captain Phasma, Flame Troopers and the adorable BB8 Droid.  In addition to Episode VII, 2016 will have a Star Wars feature named Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  It is very likely that costumes from this film will make it to the 2016 Halloween season.

Suicide Squad

One of the most prominent “superhero” movies of 2016 is not even about superheroes.  DC’s worst villains are the focus the Suicide Squad.  Still, comic book villains manage to get as much attention and appreciation as the good guys, and that is why Suicide Squad costumes are some of 2016’s favorites for Halloween.  The costumes have taken a long time to become available but eager fans are already creating their own DIY outfits to wear to cosplay conventions.  Halloween 2016 will surely see a lot of Killer Croc, Haley Quinn, Joker, Deadshot and Katana costumes. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows may be a film name with one too many characters, but the characters in the movie are just right.  Halloween 2016 brings you costumes from the newest Ninja Turtles movie feature the lead characters: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo and their arch-nemesis, Shredder (sorry splinter, you’re left out of this one).  These are pretty awesome costumes from an epic 2016 movie. 

X-Men: Apocalypse

Wow, this one is just embarrassing!  Sorry, we don’t have any pictures of costumes from X-Men: Apocalypse to show you; actually, NOBODY does!  That’s right!  X-Men: Apocalypse, one of the biggest superhero movies of 2016, has zero costumes made after it.  Somebody dropped the ball here.  How could manufacturers let (what could have been) the best-selling superhero costumes of Halloween 2016 get away?  We can only encourage you to use your creativity and craftiness to create DIY cosplay costumes based on the characters from the movie, or try one of the older X-Men costumes from the sad graphic above.

What Else is New in Movie Costumes from 2016?

Well, the above mentioned are only costumes from the most prominent movies of 2016, and as you saw with X-Men: Apocalypse, not all of them have costumes based on the film.  However, the list Halloween costumes of 2016 is not exempt from the possible last minute additions from the major manufacturers or creative cosplay minds that love DIY costuming. You can expect to see very original costumes from 2016 movie titles like The Secret Life of Pets, Angry Birds, Independence Day: Resurgence, Kung-Fu Panda 3, Zootopia, Jungle Book and The Legend of Tarzan.

Television

Like movies, television has been generating ideas for the Halloween costume industry for decades.  There are plenty of TV shows that feature characters worthy of their own Halloween costume replicas every year; 2016 is no exception!   With new shows coming out every year piling up on top of ongoing shows from previous seasons and other syndicated programs, television is one cluttered industry that makes it hard for the Halloween world to keep up.  Just to give you a gist of what’s to come from television based costumes in 2016, the image below features the most popular character outfits that you will see this Halloween.

It is no coincidence that the most popular television show costumes of 2016 are from shows that are not new at all.  New series will probably have their turn in a few years as they develop a story and characters worthy of emulating, but for now, the usual series hold the power for Halloween 2016—Game of Thrones, Flash, Arrow, The Walking Dead, Supergirl, Once Upon a Time, Orange is the New Black, Bob’s Burgers.  This year, new versions of costumes from these films are being made but they are not necessarily different from those of previous years.  It is probable that the same ones from previous years will be re-issued.  

In addition to the costumes from the programs listed above, other favorites that make for great dress-up opportunities include the X-Files, Vampire Diaries and Two Broke Girls.  Also, comic book-based television shows (aside from The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl) are popular enough to attract the attention of cosplayers and serious Halloween costumers.  Some of the most popular character costumes will come from Legends of Tomorrow, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, and Daredevil.

Kids TV Shows

Much like the television shows listed above, 2016’s TV show-based Halloween costumes for kids will be bringing some old favorites back in newer form.  Not much is new except the same old styles re-introduced as new items for 2016 or in some cases, not even new versions, just—again—re-issues of the versions from previous years.  See some of the new kids Halloween costumes of 2016:

Doc McStuffins

Doc McStuffins costumes now come in two “new” styles that are not really that much different than the ones from previous years.  It is not even that easy to tell these two current versions apart from each other; one is the classic version and the other one is “deluxe”?  Can you tell which is which?  Anyway, Doc McStuffins is a rock star of children’s programming and that alone is enough to make her costumes among the most coveted for Halloween this year.

Elena of Avalor

Elena of Avalor is a spin-off series from Sofia the First (more info about the show below).  While Sofia is considered the first Latina princess due to her mother’s royal lineage, Elena is really the first Disney princess of full Latin heritage.  Because of this, Elena of Avalor’s costume is expected to be a hot commodity for Halloween 2016.  You can see the two versions of Elena’s costume’s style above.

Power Rangers Dino Charge

The Power Rangers have been a huge success since their introduction to the U.S. in 1993.  It is 2016 and they have now been through more than 20 different adaptations of the show; the most current being Power Rangers Dino Charge.  Power Rangers costumes—by default—are some of the most popular costumes for kids every year, including Halloween 2016.  The Power Rangers provide an action-packed alternative to traditional rosy children’s programming.  Likewise, Dino Charge costumes like the ones in the graphic above transform kinds into their favorite action heroes that are still child-friendly.  

Sofia the First

Sofia the First is one of the few Disney princesses exclusive to the small screen—along with Elena of Avalor—and she is also the first “Latina” princess, though the program is based in a completely fictional world.  This widely successful television program has been one of Disney Jr.’s most watched kids’ television programs on the Disney Channel.  Sofia is also an original character by Disney that is not an adaptation of an old fairy tale.  Combines, all of these factors make Sofia’s costume one of the top choices for girls for Halloween 2016.  Though various versions of Sofia’s dress exist for past seasons, this year the princess gown has been mildly reworked for the 2016 Halloween season.  You can see the improved look for the classic and the deluxe gown above.

Teletubbies

The Teletubbies made a comeback in 2015 and they are here to stay.  The hit children’s show that ran from the late ‘90s to the early ‘00s featured four odd but adorable alien characters which made for great costumes.  In 2016, all the Teletubbies—Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po—will be among the most popular kids’ television character costumes on Halloween. 

Costumes from Other Kids’ Television Programs

Kids TV costumes of 2016 don’t stop at Teletubbies.  Those above are the most popular that have new styles for the year, but many TV shows will stay relevant in 2016 despite not having current costumes produced.  Past season costumes from (ongoing) television series still make the cut as 2016 favorites.  Among them are programs like Teen Titans, Super Why!, Daniel Tiger, Wild Kratts, SpongeBob Squarepants, Peppa Pig, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Cat in the Hat, Thomas and Friends, Yo Gabba Gabba! and Veggie Tales.  All of these have been popular Halloween favorites from previous seasons and they remain just as popular in 2016.

Horror Costumes of 2016

Halloween has historically celebrated the dead, the gruesome and the macabre.  Dressing up and parading in light-hearted outfits for Halloween is a recent practice.  In 2016, the costume industry aims at bringing back the haunt with bone chilling scary costumes from horror films as well as reinvented versions of classic Halloween outfits.  Variations of reapers, ghouls, witches, vampires, devils, corpse brides and just straight forward monsters will be taking over this very creepy upcoming Halloween season.  Check out some of the classics below:

Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead is Mexico’s holiday celebrated parallel to Halloween.  With a unique lively take on the celebration of death, aspects of the Day of the Dead have slowly become one with Halloween as celebrated in the U.S.  Day of the Dead Costumes in particular, have become very popular options for Halloween.  In 2016, there are many new costumes and accessories to celebrate “El Dia de los Muertos” like our neighbors do down south.      

Evil Clowns

Clowns are inherently scary to some people and they have earned a reputation for being creepy in general.  It’s no wonder they make such excellent Halloween costumes; but for Halloween, we’re not talking about your classic clown with goofy make-up slapstick shenanigans.  The type of clowns that make it to the 2016 Halloween hall of fame are specially enhanced to seriously give you the jeepers creepers.  Killer clowns are some of the best costume choices of the year.    

Ghouls and Ghosts

The most innocent of scary costumes, are they?  “Ghosts and ghouls” sound like the generic Halloween costumes made from blankets with holes poked through; far from scary and definitely lame.  But it’s 2016 and the film industry has desensitized the world, making us feel apathetic about the paranormal.  That is until the paranormal manifests itself in real life—through costumes, that is.  The 2016 collection of Halloween ghouls and ghost costumes is not your grandma’s cute blanket trick.  Not only will these creepy costumes make you question your cynicism about the paranormal but they will inject you with spine-chilling fear.  You may never want to celebrate Halloween again after 2016.

Monsters and Goblins

These are classic Halloween horror costumes.  Monsters and goblins are very much real during Halloween thanks to creative ingenuity by costume manufacturers.  It is very likely that you will encounter horrifying creatures like the ones above in 2016, so prepare yourself to be frightened by the hideous monsters that lurk the night.    

Reapers and Devils

There is nothing more terrifying than the thought of a devil-sent reaper coming to take your soul.  The deliverer of death works in cohorts with his master—the devil!  Reapers and ghouls are Halloween favorites every year and they get scarier and scarier each year that passes.  Being the most current year, 2016 has some of the most frightening reaper and devil costumes yet!  These outfits are the stuff that nightmares are made of.  Wear one this Halloween and see how many unsuspecting trick-or-treaters stop dead in their tracks. 

Vampires

Halloween 2016 velcomes you to a vloody vampire nightmare full of outfits that celebrate the undead.  Vampires are among the most feared mythical beings with spine-tingling background stories loosely verifiable by history.  At the same time, vamps have been heavily romanticized by Hollywood, making them the most emulated supernatural beings of the modern day thanks to shows and films/books like Twighlight and the Vampire Diaries.  This year you will find many original vampire costumes to choose from.  The best part about a (somewhat generic) unbranded costume is that the manufacturer has pure creative freedom and is not limited to meeting the standard set by the licensing company.  Vampire costumes will live forever.

Witches

Witches are Halloween icons because they represent evil.  From head to toe, a witch costume only confirms the assumptions made of a woman who makes a pact with the devil and his evil entities.  While witches have taken many different appearances in film, there is still one classic costume that is the epitome of a witch.  The pointed top hat and black gown or dress is still the only look that one will automatically associate with a witch on Halloween.  It would be unfair to expect significant changes to witch costumes on 2016 since they are considered to be classics.  

Zombies

With the popularity of shows like The Walking Dead, movies like Night of the Living Dead and video games like Resident Evil, the zombie genre has become one of the top Halloween costume categories.  2016 presents an opportunity for Halloween aficionados to dress up as their favorite type of “undead” from trending 2016 films like Resident Evil: The Final Chapter and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  The best part about dressing up as zombies for Halloween is that you can NEVER have too many zombies roaming the streets; the more the better!  This is the type of costumes that will turn Halloween 2016 into a real life thriller.

2016’s Classic Theme Costumes

Classic theme costumes are those that never go out of style, and although every season brings new outfits under the classic category, they all maintain a consistent look that makes them timeless.  2016 brings you “new” styles of the oldies that you love.   Classic seafarers, flappers and figures from historical periods are some of 2016’s most worn costumes since they are fits for many occasions besides Halloween.  You won’t be disappointed by the classic costume styles that 2016 has in store. 

Decades

It’s 2016 and the past has never looked brighter for Halloween.  The 20th century had some of the fastest developments in culture and technology; so much that it seemed like every change of decade brought upon a huge shift in the world.  Decade costumes celebrate that fast paced society that seemed to be re-invented every ten years.  Starting with the roaring ‘20s, flapper costumes are the theme of the prohibition era which transitioned well into the ‘30s with notorious gangster suits.  The ‘40s were a time of war and American pride which are adequately celebrated with WWII pilot and soldier costumes.  When the 50s rolled around poodle skirts and greaser jackets were the signature style immortalized by the costume industry and film.  From there on, it was all about color, music and dance.  The ‘60s brought rock n’ roll, go-go dancing and hippies, the ‘70s were all about disco dancing, the colorful ‘80s brought punk rock and new wave, and the 90s were the era of baggy clothes and grunge.  Which decade will be the next to be immortalized through costumes?  We may just find out in Halloween 2016.

Foods

Yum, yum! Food!  Who doesn’t love it or need it?  Food is so important to the world that we even pay homage to it through food costumes.  That’s right, anything bowl of pasta to your favorite BLT sandwich can be the theme of a food costume.  2016’s Halloween menu features some pretty tasty outfits that range from outrageous to adorable.  Food costumes are excellent for promoting business in the restaurant industry as well.

Historical Time Periods

The civilizations that shaped the world were flooded with events and historical figures worthy of remembrance.  In 2016, the Halloween industry pays tribute to these important people and occurrences through iconic costumes that transport us to almost every important period in world history.  Some of the more noted historical period costumes come from the Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations.  From pharaohs and kings warriors and peasants, historical costumes represent the most important cornerstones of modern civilization.  You can dress up in medieval outfits from the dark ages or renaissance costumes form the golden age of enlightenment, or travel forward to the days of colonial America which expanded the western world to a new horizon.  This Halloween is packed with new costumes from these classic periods.  

Indians

They are often paired up with cowboys but Indian costumes are a genre of their own.  These classic costumes are just as popular in 2016 as any other year.  With holidays like Thanksgiving and re-enactments of the colonial United States, Indian costumes are anchored by American history.  This year will see many Indian outfits and accessories like headdresses and crafty jewelry that will help you create a classic Indian costume like the ones in the image above. 

Novelty and Funny

They are funny, witty and just plain fun!  Novelty costumes don’t even have to make sense and they only aim to shock, awe, or entertain.  The novelty costumes of 2016 don’t stop at inflatable outfits and practical gags, you will see many costumes that make public statements promoting causes or are just plain punny (yes, pun obviously intended).  Some of the examples you see above speak for themselves.  Bring laughter and joy to your 2016 Halloween season with funny novelty costumes!

Pirates

The old seafaring nemeses of the classic sailor hold the throne as the most prominent classic costumes by remain extremely popular every year.  When Halloween comes around all kinds of pirates roam the streets—from the sexy swashbucklers to evil buccaneers—but pirate costumes are more than a once a year closet stuffer.  Theme cruises, pirate themed parties and school plays give you the opportunity to showcase every type of pirate costume there is.  Above are some of the newest styles in pirate costumes for the 2016 season.

Professions

What do you want to be when you grow up? Or better yet, what do you want to be in 2016?  This Halloween season welcomes all types of career aspirations.  Dress up as a doctor, sailor, police officer or even a prison inmate—if that’s even what you aspire to be.  Professional and career based costumes are excellent tools to get children excited about exploring future career possibilities.  The great thing about these professional uniform costumes is that they may be used after Halloween for a wide array of school activities of even educational play time for kids.  Make 2016 a year to look to the future.

Western & Cowboy

2016 welcomes you to the Wild West with cowboy and cowgirl outfits that are true to their origins.  The American western frontier was conquered by the brave souls that were willing to face the good, the bad and the ugly side of living in the arid lands of the west.  These were very interesting times—definitely worthy of celebrating—which is why cowboy and cowgirl costumes are still popular even in 2016.  From classic folk tales like Pecos Bill to films in the western genre, cowboys are touted as fearless heroes that stop at nothing to obtain justice through their own doings.  These are the type of characters that leave an impression on Halloweeners that never let western themed costumes go out of style.

Where to Get Them?

Well, at Wonder Costumes, of course.  We could not close this ultimate complete guide without letting you that Wonder Costumes has it all.  The entire catalog of the Halloween costume industry is featured in our website on 2016.  Visit our home page to begin your shopping experience at the best Halloween costumes store of 2016 or contact us at 1-800-288-9916 or info@wondercostumes.com for special inquiries about the new costumes of the year.