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The Best Trash Bag Halloween Costumes You've Ever Seen

The Best Trash Bag Halloween Costumes You've Ever Seen

Homemade costumes just scream Halloween. They bring you back to your trick-or-treating days, when imagination was a much bigger part of the celebrations. Maybe your mom sewed you a perfect princess dress, maybe you raided the thrift shop, or maybe you just paired a big black garbage bag with a Scream mask, but no matter what, somehow the planning was half the fun.

Things are a little different now. Not everyone has the time, tools, or talent to spend hours hunched over a sewing machine creating a masterpiece, or trawling through second hand stores looking for the perfect finishing touch. That old garbage bag, however, still hold possibilities. If you’d like to reach back and find a little of that homemade Halloween magic, we have a few ideas. Trash Bag Dress Gown Fashionable   Go for garbage glamor with this magnificent trash bag gown. Get your hands on an old piece of clothing to use as a base, a big roll of our largest garbage bags and some duct tape. This example uses an old sweater as a base for comfort and warmth, but you can start with any type of shirt or dress. and have a friend help you build up layers until you get an effect you like.

Photo credit: Pinterest     batman halloween costume   Here’s the easiest way to be a budget Batman. Get a large black garbage bag with flaps. Decorate with a logo. Instant cape. (You can get creative with the rest of the costume…) You can also do this with a regular black garbage bag and some creative cutting. Check out this tutorial.

Photo credit: Our Life In Action     Trash Bags batman halloween costume

This is the cutest. Get an extra large, strong clear trash bag, some balloons, some cord and some poster board. After making the bubble gum machine base (a front and a back) from poster board, attach straps to go over your shoulders, long enough to hang at waist height. Take your clear garbage bag and open the bottom seam. Create small holes all around the bottom edge of the bag, and thread with strong cord. Repeat along the top edge of the bag. Create two arm holes at the top of the bag.

Assembly is easy. Put on the base first, then fit the garbage bag onto the person’s torso, keeping the original drawstring at the top. At the waist, pull the string until it is snug but comfortable. Fill with blown up balloons in many colors, and then adjust the drawstring cord at the neck, leaving plenty of room for moving the head and breathing.

Photo Credit: Country Living   Bradley Cooper Silver Lining Playbook Halloween Costume  Couldn’t be simpler. Or comfier. Throw on gray sweats and a large black can liner, grow out your stubble, grab a football. Bam, you’re Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook. Photo Credit: Ok Magazine  

black orange and white butterfly costume  This adorable butterfly costume is made with black, orange and white trash bags paired with a little black dress. We’ve linked extra thick garbage bags to make sure the colors are bright and opaque. There’s even a detailed video tutorial on YouTube to show you how to make it yourself!

garbage bag kaonashi costume

Fans of Japanese animation on a tinybudget will love this one. No Face, aka Kaonashi from Miyazaki’s beloved film Spirited Away is a spooky presence which you can conjure up with nothing but a large black garbage bag, a scrap of white poster board, and a pen.

Note: if you’re wearing a plastic bag over your head, for safety’s sake cut a hole large enough for your entire face.

Photo credit: eckocola, Deviant Art   Trash bag Cinderella Gown Costume

Not quite as easy as the other costumes on this list, but too beautiful not to include. This Cinderella Gown is something special, made by a very talented artist. While she used sheets of plastic film, we’d love to see someone try to recreate the look with some of  Plastic Place extra-large blue recycling trash bags.

So there are just a few of the ways that a simple trash bag can transform into fun, unexpected and super-affordable costumes, most of which you can make in minutes. If you have your own creative garbage bag costume ideas, please share them with us. We’d love to see what spooky magic you can make with a bin liner. Photo credit: Twisted Textiles

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