Autostraddle’s Best Halloween Costumes of the Day, Inspired by Gays

We love costumes on an epic level, like Edie Beale times a billion! It’s Halloween!! Isn’t that exciting? What are you gonna be? Isn’t this a fantastic opportunity to look back at some of the best costumes of the day ever worn by our favorite gays & lesbians of screen & stage for any occasion as well as a few other general audience favorites. This is the part where we say “if you’re still unsure what you’re gonna be on Halloween, check out [cute link here],” but is anyone really unsure at this point? I mean, I’ve defo been convinced I’m not doing Halloween at all until a few minutes before someone pours whiskey down my throat and I’ve made a game-time decision to be a “peppermint stick” or “Yale undergraduate,” but you’ve got that squared away yeah? Well if not, Bitch has some cute feminist Halloween costume ideas!

little edie

In Honor of Halloween 2009

Great Moments in Lesbian, Gay and Bi-Curious Costumes

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10. The L Word 309: Lead, Follow Or Get Out of the Way (2006)

Halloween 2

Because The L Word exists in a world independent of time, space, seasons, character continuity or National Holidays, we never got a Halloween Episode. But we did get one fantastic costuming opportunity! And no, I’m not talking about Jodi’s Gigantic Caftan.

Max’s Top Surgery Fundraising Party in Season Three may not have worked out so well for the host and his girlfriend (you may recall the money raised was deemed not enough for even “one tit”), but the 90’s prom theme was a total winner, especially for Alice & Dana in their last Totally Cute Moment together before The Death ‘Heard Round the World. Tina’s prom getup was straight out of a John Hughes classic, Carmen did Madonna justice and Jenny’s terrible glasses brought us back to when you know, people actually wore those terrible glasses.

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9. Rosie O’Donnell and Rachel Ray on The Rachel Ray Show (2009)

People Rosie O'Donnell

It’s just funny to have Rosie being Glenda the Good Witch. Remember when she was the “Queen of Nice”? I love her so much more every day. Also, I will never watch this show because 11am is too early for meatballs.

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8. My So-Called Life 109 : Halloween (1995)

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Lightyears ahead of its time, My So-Called Life‘s self-consciousness about its self-absorbed overly analytic fifteen-year-old protagonist (who so many of us related to), Angela Chase is perhaps best evidenced in the Halloween episode, when Angela’s sister Danielle dresses up … as Angela. She got the wig, the flannel, and the physical gestures down pat. Meanwhile Rayanne & Sharon were true to type as a bloodsucker and a sex kitten, and Angela timidly wandered the halls of her high shool, dressed like a dead girl from the 50’s. Talking to ghosts was included.

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7 & 6. Team Autostraddle at

Carlytron’s 2008 Hollywood Trainwreck Halloween Party (2008)

Riese Alex Paris Hilton Kate Moennig Halloween

Riese & Alex as Paris Hilton & Kate Moennig

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Robin Carly Lindsay Lohan Samantha Ronson Halloween

Robin & DJ Carlytron as Samantha Ronson & Lindsay Lohan

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Next: Mean Girls, Special Award in Costuming for Ellen DeGeneres, The Big Gay Sketch Show and of course; Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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Riese

Riese is the 43-year-old Co-Founder of Autostraddle.com as well as an award-winning writer, video-maker, LGBTQ+ Marketing consultant and aspiring cyber-performance artist who grew up in Michigan, lost her mind in New York and now lives in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in nine books, magazines including Marie Claire and Curve, and all over the web including Nylon, Queerty, Nerve, Bitch, Emily Books and Jezebel. She had a very popular personal blog once upon a time, and then she recapped The L Word, and then she had the idea to make this place, and now here we all are! In 2016, she was nominated for a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism. She's Jewish and has a cute dog named Carol. Follow her on twitter and instagram.

Riese has written 3300 articles for us.

39 Comments

  1. I’m sporting a sweatsuit, blonde hair, a mega phone and witty comments. Yup, I’m gonna be Sue Sylvester.

    • OMG, that’s what I was gonna be too, and Alex was gonna be a cheerio, but then natalie told us EVERYONE was doing that for Halloween, so we decided not to do it, but no-one was doing it! SIGH

      • OMG that would’ve been awesome. Don’t listen to NatHalie ever again.
        Though I like you Lady Gaga costume too. Amazing.

        • is everyone overlooking the fact that daphne’s costume totes obvs started with the megaphone… and the rest worked itself out?

          • Hah, you’re right! This costume has been percolating since June. Good thing no one took that thing from her permanently ;)

    • we saw at rubik’s cube waiting for the T in boston – made my gf very happy.

  5. I know it wasn’t strictly a Halloween episode, but I have always been fond of Willow’s Eskimo costume in Inca Mummy Girl…..

  7. Oh goodness Robin and Carly as LiLo/SamRo is my new favorite thing! So perfect! In contrast, my most successful Halloween costume to date has been “a 60-year-old librarian.” It was not actually a ‘costume’ in any technical sense because it was actually just an outfit I already own. Mostly I am just an old lady who likes shushing people even in real life?

  10. I AM DRESSING UP AS A HASHTAG!
    When people ask me wtf I am, I will tell them that obvs I am a trending topic. Then I will probably have to explain twitter and feel really weird.

      • Wahhhhhh so this didn’t end up happening because I didn’t have time to make the costume thanks to my major hangover. I AM VERY UPSET ABOUT IT TRUST ME. I guess there’s always Halloween in the Spring.

  12. i think my most successful costume was kanye west + black kate moss back when “stronger” was still big.

    last year i saw someone dressed as sexy jesus. i don’t know how to give further commentary on that.

  14. This year, i’m a SF hipster. Last year i went as The Hamburglar. first i steal your hamburgers, then your heart.

  15. I was a tourist this year. i had a vest with patches of all the national parks i’ve been to, fanny pack, hiking boots and tall socks, maps stuffed in my pockets, camera around my neck, i even had an emergency poncho. sadly it didn’t compare to my Juno costume last year.

    • Juno is hard to live up to, but you get an A+ for effort. Way to go the extra mile with the poncho.

  16. My friend was also Lady GaGa (complete with “hair bow” and zipper over her eye), and I went as a disco stick. I wore all black and had a silver spray-painted bike helmet covered in shiny things and LED lights. I also put little mirrors, silver paint, and glitter all over my face. I lit up the street everywhere we walked. I think I might wear it all the time now… it’s very safe.

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