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Floating in that same ocean of Halloween anxiety? Or, notorious procrastinator that you are, waiting till the night before the big party to even start thinking about costumes? Check out these ideas and get inspired. Or just feel better because, good god, nothing you’ve thought up is as dumb as some of these suggestions. 

Famous paintings There are two ways of interpreting the painting theme: dress as characters in paintings, or dress up as the painting itself. Personally, I think the latter’s more interesting (or even, a combination of the two). Go with modern art (think Mondrian, Pollock, and the like) and it won’t even matter that you’ve got zero artistic ability. The basic idea: buy posterboard or foamcore, on which you’ll paint a re-creation of the painting. Cut out a space for your face/other body parts to show through. Paint whatever body parts are showing through with stage make-up, to blend-in with the painting. Make a frame with foamcore if appropriate. If you think you may actually want to sit at some point during your Halloween evening, try creating your masterpiece on soft foam (spraypaint and a very technically simple painting will go a long way towards keeping your sanity intact). Possible paintings: The Scream, American Gothic, Matisse’s Icarus (from Jazz), Andy Warhol’s Marilyn or Elvis or any other icon in multiple, any Mondrian (primary colors and grids), Pollock splatter painting

Famous characters Yeah, there’s nothing inherently creative about dressing-up as a famous character – after all, movies, TV and books are probably the most common source for costume inspiration – but the key here is execution: copying a character’s look down to the absolute smallest detail. This means more than just donning the proper garb, but having the right haircolor, hairstyle, make-up, and props as well. Famous characters are perfect for large group costumes – and if you’re the sort that’s worried about looking stupid, it always helps to have a big group of your friends looking stupid right along with you! 
Possible characters: 
• Simpsons (marge: green strapless dress, blue beehive wig, pearls, holding a baby-size maggie doll; homer: bald wig with a few strands of wire “hair” stuck in, blue pants, white shirt, can of duff beer)
• Buffy the vampire slayer (slutty club clothes, blonde wig, ring of garlic ‘round neck, stakes poking out of shoulder bag)
• Flintstones (cut out and sew costumes using felt … Orange smock for Fred, white dress for Wilma, blue dress for Betty, brown smock for Barney. And for extra brownie points, do as some friend of mine did a couple of years ago: fashion yourselves a life-size, 3D, Flintstone-style car out of cardboard to make your grand entrance)
• the Scooby Gang (here again, the Scooby van would be a nice touch)

but wait, there's even more this way!

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