Top 10 meme-inspired costume ideas for 2023

Even though Halloween has been and gone, you never need an excuse to dress up again. Here are our top 10 costume ideas inspired by viral memes from 2023.

Every costume party is sure to be crowded with Barbie and Ken, Taylor Swift, and Wednesday Adams this year. But, come on, be original with your costume.

Even though Halloween has been and gone, there are lots of excuses to still dig out your Halloween costumes and dress up.

Whether it be for an end-of-year party, or just if you feel like dressing up on a random day, we’re here to help you get situated with an easy, impressive costume that speaks to topical, pertinent cultural moments (memes).

Here are our top 10 viral memes from 2023 that would make some great costumes to symbolize the end of the year.

Blue smurf cat

The blue smurf cat has taken TikTok by storm recently. The blue smurf cat is a creature that looks like a mix of a smurf, a cat, and a mushroom and was created by Nate Hallinan.

This would be an easy costume to throw together last minute. All you would need is some blue makeup, a blue shirt, white shorts, and a white hat and you’d be sorted.

Barbenheimer

It is safe to say that everyone and their mother were aware of the Barbie vs Oppenheimer movie battle that took place over the summer. The questions of what film you were going to watch first or if you were more Barbie or Oppenheimer quickly spread across the internet, creating a new term by the name of Barbenheimer.

People began to dress up to go to both screenings at the time, mixing the dark academia-esque looks from Oppenheimer with the bright pink looks from Barbie. So why not throw it back to the summer and dress up as everyone’s favorite part of the summer; Barbenheimer.

Man kicking alligator

Imagine this: you are dressed as the man in shorts while your friend dresses up as the alligator. Together, you’re bound to have the best couple’s costume wherever you go.

Together, you’d be dressed as the iconic “man kicking alligator” photo which took the internet by storm recently after people couldn’t figure out whether or not the photo was real or fake.

The death of Twitter

After Elon Musk paid $44 billion to get his hands on Twitter, the social media app quickly imploded. The tech giant hemorrhaged employees and users for months before the multi-billionaire officially killed Twitter and renamed the site X.

So why not pay tribute to the former version of the website by getting dressed up in honor of Twitter?

The human collie

I want to be an animal/YouTube

A Japanese man went viral earlier this year after spending $15,000 on a realistic Collie costume. While you might not want to spend that amount on a costume of your own, you can easily recreate a version of it for just a fraction of the price.

After all, the man did say he wanted more people to follow in his footsteps, so why not dress up like a dog this Halloween?

An influencer boxer

2023 has been a big year for influencer boxing. From Jake Paul losing his first-ever boxing match against Tommy Fury to the months-long fight between Logan Paul and Dillon Danis in the lead-up to their fight, it’s been an eventful year.

As more influencers are turning into boxers, including our very own presenter James Seller, an influencer boxer could be the perfect Halloween costume for 2023.

Chinese human bear

While China’s Hangzhou Zoo had to formally address allegations that Angela the Malaysian sun bear was in fact a real animal and not a human in a bear suit, why not wave at people while wearing a bear costume to start the rumors again?

“Not real” plane woman

Screenshots via DFW PD/TikTok

 The “not real plane lady,” aka Tiffany Gomas, had her 15 minutes of viral fame when a video circulated showing her screaming: “That motherf**ker back there is not real,” during an American Airlines flight.

So, slick your hair back, throw on a gray high-neck halter tank top, ripped skinny jeans, and a Goyard bag, and start shouting at random corners of the party.

King Charles getting mad at his pen

King Charles inspired many coronation-related viral moments, but the most memorable hits were definitely every time he got angry at his pen. This might be one of the easiest costumes to recreate. Just put on a crown and carry around a pen to get angry at.

Girl dinner or Boy dinner

A big conversation on TikTok this year has been the discussions of girl dinners and boy dinners. Usually consisting of a mix of snacks that turns into a meal, why not get dressed up as your favorite tapas-esque snacks?

So there you have it, our top 10 ideas for Halloween costumes inspired by 2023 memes and viral moments.

If you want more help in planning your ideal Halloween night, check out our Halloween coverage for recommendations for the best horror films and games.