You’re tall and they’re short, or she’s tall and you’re short, or you’re tall and she is in fact a totally normal and actually significantly above average height for a human woman although in comparison to you she is shorter but not in fact short. These are all situations that could be happening to you or me as you approach this Halloween in search of a Couples Halloween costume for a tall-short or otherwise differently-heighted couple.
Couples Halloween costumes present an incredible opportunity for two humans to size themselves up, consider their interests and passions, and then proceed to decide who they would like to pretend to be, together. Halloween costume season is an opportunity to truly shine as the short and tall people that we are and embrace the inches between you.
So, whether you’re dressing up with a significant other or a friend, here are some costumes that work regardless of height but are especially adorable Halloween costume choices for couples with big height differences. There’s an even option for a height-diverse throuple. And for more Halloween couples costume ideas, be sure to check out our 2024 lesbian couples costume guide.
This post was originally written in 2015 and was most recently updated on September 30th, 2024.
1. Peter Pan & Tinkerbell
Peter Pan is a popular choice for our people because Peter Pan has a special spot in queer hearts. I’ve often resorted to Peter Pan as a default Halloween costume when I’m pulling something together last minute, and famously paired a Tinkerbell dress with a white turtleneck and a bowl cut as a child, making me undoubtedly the spitting image of this noted fairy sprite.
You can get a Tinkerbell costume off the rack, or get creative: either make your own, or pair a green skater dress with wings and a wand. There are lots of Tinkerbell makeup tutorials online to top off the look. A Beautiful Mess has a great tutorial for a Peter Pan costume — there’s plenty of middling pre-made ones to buy, too, or just throw on some green tights, an oversized green t-shirt, tunic or dress; and a hat.
2. Roger Rabbit & Jessica Rabbit
This is a classic that gives you or your girlfriend an excuse to wear a red sequined bodycon dress, and those opportunities are really few and far between. There is a whole-ass Roger and Jessica kit on Amazon for $31 if you wanna roll the dice on one-size fits all.
Your Roger Rabbit costume can be DIY-ed, or pieced together with a bow-tie, bunny ears, bunny shoes and red suspenders or overalls.
Jessica needs long purple gloves, that dress and that hair. There’s pre-made Jessica and Roger costumes too. Here’s a very in-depth look at Jessica Rabbit cosplay possibilities and here’s a hair and makeup tutorial. And of course, here’s an iconic couple who did Jessica Rabbit and Roger Rabbit.
3. Lou and Jackie from Love Lies Bleeding
Sure, at first glance, they might not look like an extreme tall-small couple. But let’s remember that in the film, Jackie sometimes becomes supernaturally large. A couple of dumbbells and a retro windbreaker are essential components for this costume. You can also get the official licensed Crater Gym socks directly from A24.
4. boygenius
Frazer Harrison / Staff
This option is specifically for throuples and even more specifically for throuples in which there is one tall person, one average height person, and one short person. Does this seem extremely specific? Well, yes, but that’s why it could be a very funny Halloween costume. Lucy Dacus is 5′10″, Phoebe Bridgers is 5′5″, and Julien Baker is 5′, so use this information to determine who is whomst.
The easiest approach would be to dress as the paint-spattered versions of the trio in their Kristen Stewart-directed music video. If you want to get fancy, then get some white suits and be them at the Grammys.
5. Waverly Earp and Nicole Haught from Wynonna Earp
One of television’s hottest tall/small queer couples! A stetson-style hat is of course an essential for Nicole. And for Waverly, a fun approach would be to dress in her queerleader look.
6. Carol & Therese from Carol Lesbian Couples Costume
Cate Blanchett stands tall at 5’9″, while Rooney Mara stands not quite as tall at 5’3″. Between those six inches lies the story of Carol, It is a bit wild to consider that despite publishing a whopping 53 posts about Carol on this exact website, none of them are about a Carol & Therese costume. However, we did do one post guiding you towards the various sewing patterns that’ll enable you to sew your own, and here’s a post with photos of all of Carol and There’s actual costumes from the film. If you’ve got a faux fur coat or a plaid dress or a tiny Santa hat, this Halloween is your moment.
7. Calvin & Hobbes
I’ve done this one before and I’m confident that at some point in the future I will have a second opportunity to wear my tiger onesie. For Calvin, you just need a Red striped t-shirt, black pants (you have some) and red tennis shoes. Hobbes requires simply a tiger onesie, which you probably have around the house. Who doesn’t, right?
8. Basketball Wives
First of all there are so many hot basketball players with wives to choose from and I’ve already made you a list of the tallest lesbians that surprisingly enough has a lot of WNBA players on it, which is a good place to start for inspo you are gonna need to find yourself an extremely tall WNBA player who is married to a civilian of reasonable height. My suggestions (with links to their jerseys) include: Brittney Griner (6’9″) and wife Cherelle Griner, Elena Delle Donne (6’5″) and her wife Amanda Clifton or Jonquel Jones (6’6″) and her fiancée Nesha.
I wasn’t sure about Breanna Stewart (6’4″), since, like Candace Parker and her wife Anna Petrakova and iconic Suns fiancees Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner, she is married to a fellow basketball player. But it turns out that Stewart’s wife, Marta Xargay, is a wee 5’11”, so I think it still works if you’re really set on that.
To be a basketball wife you just have to be hot, so that’s easy — but you certainly could simply wear fan gear for your spouse’s WNBA team.
9. Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog
The most iconic big femme / tiny masc couple costume of all time is of course always and forever Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog. There’s plenty of pre-made Kermit and Piggy costumes, but it’s also a fun one to piece together with real clothes. Miss Piggy can do a statement pink dress with a pig nose, ears and blonde wig. Kermit can simply wear all green and/or a tuxedo and a frog hat (as a bucket hat, as a wrap-around hat, or the actual Disney Kermit hat).
10. C-3PO & R2-D2
Both of these characters have lots of detailed pre-made costume options, but they’re pretty expensive for a one-off. You can pull something together for an R2D2 costume with a R2D2 skater dress and R2D2 socks and some silver leggings. Most tutorials are for children’s costumes and involve trash cans, but here’s a more casual one for grown-ups. For C-3PO, you can make do with gold leggings and C3PO tee or gold tank.
11. Megan Thee Stallion & Cardi B
Cardi B is 5’3″ and Megan Thee Stallion is 5’9″, and between scissoring in “Bongos” and previously making a splash in W.A.P., they’re great inspo for a sapphic couples costume. This post details all the looks from the W.A.P. music video — the lingerie set, the catsuits, the corsets and cage bras and bodysuits — and this one describes several “straight-up Fire” W.A.P. costumes. The matching off-the-shoulder bodysuits with trains are a particularly iconic look.
The wildly-cut bright bikinis, giant fur and feathered hats and accessories of Bongos are detailed here — they’re all couture and custom pieces so doing it yourself will require a lot of improv. But start with color-coordinating a turquoise, hot pink, yellow or red cut-out swimsuit with bangles, audacious hats and those signature nails.
12. Will & Carlton from The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
Will Smith towers over Alfonso Ribeiro, who played his cousin, Carlton, in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Both of these costumes could be easily put together with a trip to Goodwill or Value World or just rifling through your closet, especially if you lived through the ’90s and have the wardrobe to prove it. Carlton is easy: some boat shoes or brown shoes, a sweater-vest or a cable-knit sweater tied around your shoulders, button-up shirt and pleated khakis.
You can really have some fun with Will ’cause it was the ’90s and he wore some really special outfits. You could experiment with Zubaz pants, Nike Retro Air Jordans, and Blocked Pocket Tees.
13. Xena & Gabrielle from Xena The Warrior Princess
Don’t worry I didn’t forget about Xena and Gabrielle! This is a pair that has been cosplayed ten million times already by the lesbian community and there is no shortage of photos online of various Xena and Gabrielle get-ups. Once upon a time, there were plenty of Butterick sewing patterns for Xena costumes. Here’s a a thorough Xena DIY tutorial with video, and here’s an Instructables Xena costume, and there’s a very basic licensed version. Gabrielle went through multiple costumes throughout the show’s run, giving you a lot to choose from as you embark on an adventure to recreate it!
14. Carson & Greta from A League of Their Own
Abbi Jacobson is 5’5. D’arcy Carden is 5’10”. Basically this is the story of my life, and it’s also the best story ever told and then unfortunately cancelled on television. We’ve got a great explainer on how to DIY your own “League of Their Own” halloween costume. You might need a Greta wig to get the long, dark wavy hair, or a shoulder-length curly light brown wig for a post-chop Carson.
15. Marty McFly and Doc from Back to the Future
This is such a popular costume and cosplay activity that there are more photos online of people dressed up like Doc and Marty than there are of Doc and Marty themselves.
Michael J. Fox, legendary shortie, clocks in at 5’4 while Christopher Lloyd exceeds six feet. I still want to be Marty McFly when I grow up, tbh. Marty needs a red puffer vest, a denim jacket, a calculator watch, Calvins, the Marty McFly hat, throwback Nikes, the Grays Sports Almanac and jeans. You can also make your own hoverboard or get a cheaper version. Doc needs full-body white coveralls, mad scientist wig, goggles and a weird button-up shirt. Here’s how to make Doc Brown’s signature helmet.
What are your favorite height-disparity costumes?
i HAVE always wanted that mockingjay pin.
I got one for like nothing on amazon!
They gave them away at the theatre during opening weekend! I know this won’t help you, but maybe the market is flooded with cheap ones? Try ebay? I like mine a lot, I keep it on my laptop bag like a middle schooler.
*Christopher Robin and Pooh Bear
*Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher
*Ellen Page and brandon_jacobs_34
*Piper Chapman and Narcissism
*Tegan Quin and her cat
Poly/friend group option: Kim Davis and all of her ex-husbands
Ellen Page and brandon_jacobs_34
i would love for somebody to do this. Ellen Page walks around living her big gay life and brandon just follows her providing commentary that nobody likes or wants. The taller girl can be Samantha and the shorter girl can be Ellen Page and somebody’s little brother can be brandon_jacobs_34.
YES SOMEONE DO THIS
The scary thing is…someone’s little brother IS brandon_jacobs_34.
oh god OH GOD
Each and every one of these options is my favorite
Pooh Bear & Piglet <3
I really want someone to be Christopher Robin mostly because of how hot I always thought Christopher Robin would be as a grown-up queer lady, TBH.
Omg you’re right.
Omg is that why I loved….
Oh. Oh it all makes sense
Now I can’t unsee it. I look at Christopher Robin and I see not a little boy, but the third member of Hannah & Maggie.
http://cdnvideo.dolimg.com/cdn_assets/0dda11b72f3e2ad5cabb7bb6365717356438cae1.jpg
I’m going as Doug Funnie/Quailman and my partner is going as Patti Mayonnaise this year.
These are all genius.
no lie i pictured you saying this while wearing a unicorn onesie from an article about your halloween last year or so. i have no idea what your voice sounds like so it was like a silent movie/ gif.
These are all great! My partner and I don’t have that much difference in height, but I am super stoked that we are going as Princess Caroline and Vincent Adultman from Bojack Horseman this year.
Last year we went as the Blues Brothers, but ended up not being able to get motivated enough to leave the house so we sat around in costume drinking and watching Halloween movies, which was pretty great.
Princess Caroline & Vincent Adultman is maybe the best couples costume idea I have ever heard? Top 5 for sure. That is amazing.
And also, THANK YOU for helping me realize that I should clearly be Todd this year!
We’re on an X-files kick so pretty sure my partner and I are going as Mulder and Scully (which is a great tall/short costume)
I LOVE IT! i wanted to include that here but didn’t because it seems as though we’ve already written two posts about scully & mulder costumes, idk what’s wrong with us
That is the most beautiful thing.
pinky & the brain
Pooh and Piglet! So effing cute, y’all.
Anyone have costume ideas that work specifically for a short butch person who has a tall femme girlfriend?
Bonus points for sci-fi nerdery.
Six and Gaius Baltar?
Roger And Jessica Rabbit. See above
that’s also my situation, actually! #2 and #11 work, and so do all the gender-neutral options — we also talked about going as wendy and peter pan last year but when i looked into it, it turns out that they’re the same height. still! it could work, i also was gonna include Ellen and Portia, but it turns out they are ALSO the same height, Portia just wears really high heels. Also: Big Boo and Alex Vause, a short Lumberjane with a tall Lumberjane, Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, or a femme X-Men character with whoever it is that Ellen Page plays in X-Men.
@skillwithaquill‘s Six & Gaius Baltar suggestion is pretty on-point also.
MCU Tony Stark and Pepper Potts.
Ridiculous goatee and a suit or one of the in hiding outfits from Iron Man 3.
Ms.Potts- what ever says Classy Boss Ass Business HBIC and some killers heels. A wig maybe?
I love this idea most of all, but I am so stoked at how many years we’ll be able to just pick from this thread.
Boris and Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle is a classic one
The Mayor and Miss Bellum from “The Powerpuff Girls”.
Firefly! Zoe and Wash!
Boris and Natasha
I don’t have a significant other this year, but I’m going as Leela from Futurama. If I had a partner, I’m thinking Leela and Fry could be really cute.
Your choice of Root/Shaw costumes will probably unrecognizable to everyone else, but will enable you both to make the most ridiculous faces at each other all night:
1. Relevance. Root’s in her “Veronica” white blouse, blue skirt and jacket. Shaw’s in black pants and t-shirt, black winter coat. Either Root can just lug tasered!Shaw around all day, waving zip ties, or she can brandish an iron, and also be the gayest gay as Shaw keeps taking off her jacket.
2. Mors Praematura. They’re both in black boots, pants, t-shirt, and jacket. Again, root could lug around tasered!Shaw all day. Shaw could rock safety glasses and a spaghetti blowtorch. Root could rock zipties and a hood, or dat apple and taser.
3. Death Benefit. Shaw’s in her Mors outfit. Root’s in a purple t-shirt, presumably black pants and boots. Gotta have those martinis with orange slice and olive. (Alternatively, Root with motorcycle jacket, Shaw in outfit described below minus beanie and gloves, both with motorcycle helmets.)
4. Beta/A House Divided. Black pea coats, pants, boots, gloves, and most importantly, black beanies. Root also had a grey scarf in Beta. They could lug around mugs of very unsafe New Jersey coffee. Root could be jingling a set of a dead man’s keys. She could carry a tablet with a bullet hole in it that she complains to Shaw about.
5. Deus Ex Machina. Root in black turtleneck, pants, boots, white lab coat. Shaw in a security man jacket, (motorcycle jacket will suffice) black shirt, pants, boots. Both get to have a splash of blood on their wrists, because it’s that kind of party. Bonus points if Shaw has her C4 device?
6. Panopticon. Those iconic purple/blue and black dresses, and stiletto heels. Bonus points if Root has her fast food drink cup and Shaw has a perfume spray bottle? (Or a stapler)
7. Battle!mode Shoot, applicable to Lethe, Honor Among Thieves, and If-Then-Else. (Though Shaw’s wearing her pea coat in the last) Root gotta dual-wield, obviously. Both are black pants and boots, and sleeveless tops. Root’s change color, though the iconic one in Prophets is Brown, and then leather jacket over that. Shaw’s got a black tank top, and then small black jacket.
(You could also do Carter and Shaw, which might be more recognizable, especially if you include Bear.)
Also a variant where Root is in a bear mascot suit and Shaw has handcuffs and a giant sandwich.
I’ve always wanted to carry around a spaghetti blowtorch!
Katy Perry and a friend went as Daria and her taller friend from the 90s MTV cartoon Daria.
And duh, Xena princess warrior and her gal pal.
If you want to go out on a limb, Indiana Jones and one of his many girls.
Daria and Jane!!! You could also do Daria and Trent (Daria’s crush and Jane’s older brother).
Bonus drinking game: Take a shot everytime someone shouts INDY!!
– Danny Lawrence and Laura Hollis
– Daphne and Velma
omg Desiree and I would make a GREAT Calvin & Hobbes pair
The Roxbury Guys!
All you need are ridiculous suit jackets black t-shirts, black slacks, gold chains, hair gel and the ability to bob your heads in rhythm together.
JUST THOUGHT OF ANOTHER ONE: The Grinch and Cindy Loo Who!
Cosima and Delphine! Delphine is so tall!
Thanks for this list! I have a short girlfriend I tower over and i hadn’t considered any of these costume possibilities. We are probably going to be either Abbi & ilana or Janis Ian & Damian but now I wish we were also doing a height difference costume!!
Like this?
Pearl and Rose!
Bunsen and Beaker!
MEEP!!
Spencer and Aria! (I pity the person who has to dress as Aria.)
Bert Macklin and Janet Snakehole! My girlfriend and I just decided this a few days ago, taking personality more than height into account (but it ended up working with the height anyway).
I want to cry this is perfection and I need photos
my gf (who reads this website…i wonder if she will see this) and i are going as captain america and the winter soldier so i can live out all my fic dreams tbh. not really height relevant, i just wanted to tell someone else about it.
Last year, my 6’3″ wife and I (5’1″) were Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, but with sizes reversed, obviously. Very popular.
Korra and Asami! They are so good for some many reasons:
1. Definite height difference
2. Both bi as hell
3. Both PoC (queer PoC!!)
4. Trending
5. Both have a range of clothing for all the gender presentations so no one has to fight over the femme-ier or bad babe-ier costume.
*bisexual sigh* Korrasami forever
This year we’re not doing much for Halloween but our plan for next year is a hobbit and an elf.
as a medium who is dating a tall, this is important work 🙏
Eve and Vilanelle!
Sonny and Cher
I was Mario to my girl’s Luigi and it was great. Every queer has overalls and a green and red shirt respectively right? And we loved the fake moustaches!