For being a zombie, a mummy or a vampire. Those costumes have been done to death. This year, why not take your cue from pop culture’s hits and misses?

 

The best part? The things you need for these costumes may already be in your wardrobe and the props lying around your house. Nonetheless, we also scoured the city’s malls to tell you where to find them. A quick closet raid, a little shopping and some DIY and you’ll soon be Halloween-ready.

 

Miley at the VMAs

 

No, we don’t mean the beige two-piece set that she twerked around in (but if that’s the route you want to take, we won’t stop you); we’re talking about the furry gray one-piece she wore at the beginning of her performance at this year’s Video Music Awards. Our take is slightly more conservative though—we found a short, form-fitting gray dress at Forever 21 that would make the perfect canvas for your bear face cutouts.

 

What you’ll need: gray dress (or tangga, if you dare), construction paper, scissors, pens, tape or needle and thread, gold chain, red lipstick

 

How to get into character: Practice sticking out your tongue and getting your twerk on.

 

And in case you want to turn this into a couple’s costume, ask your guy to go as…

 

Robin Thicke at the VMAs

 

We have three words for Robin Thicke wannabes: stripes, stripes, stripes. If you want to save on money, look for your favorite white or black blazer and pants and just use electrical tape to create those wide stripes. A black shirt completes the look.

 

If you’re ready to shop, we found striped leggings at Cotton On and striped jeans at Forever 21. The Forever 21 pants are available in plus sizes, too. But couldn’t find a jacket with stripes that wide. You may need to improvise by using tape.

 

Girls can also go as Robin Thicke at the VMAs. We found a fab striped jumpsuit at Forever 21 for P1,275.

 

What you’ll need: striped pants and jacket, black shirt, sunglasses, sex appeal

 

How to get into character: Sing a few lines from “Blurred Lines.”

 

Minions from ‘Despicable Me’

 

Because seriously, who doesn’t love those little yellow guys?

 

If you’re super crafty, you can make a DIY minion costume using foam or cardboard (we’ve seen some fantastic ones online). But you can also create a quick minion costume using a yellow shirt or hoodie, yellow pants or leggings, a jumper, a beanie and some goggles.

 

You can also make your own minion goggles using old eyeglasses and foil, or the bottom of a Styrofoam cup and a silver Sharpie. Sew black yarn onto the top of your yellow beanie to create minion hair.

 

What you’ll need: yellow clothes, a jumper (or denim or blue shorts with suspenders), goggles, yellow beanie, black yarn, a needle and a pair of scissors

 

How to get into character: Practice minion-speak. If you need some guidance, log on to YouTube.com and search for the “How to speak like a minion” video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

0M645unhHd8).

 

Daenerys Targaryen

 

We’ve been missing watching “Game of Thrones” so much that we need a dose of George R. R. Martin’s world this Halloween. And we’d like the Khaleesi to give us that dose.

 

To turn yourself into Daenerys, you can either go gorgeous and regal or tough and dusty. Either way, you will need a long blonde wig (or add some waves and curls to your own long hair), a Khaleesi-worthy dress and a dragon. And use the magic of makeup. Michelle Phan has a fantastic Daenerys Targaryen-inspired tutorial on her YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tetymd_hoFA).

 

If you have an extraordinarily large male friend (bonus points if he has a lot of facial hair), whip out your eyeliner and try to convince him to go with you as your Khal Drogo.

 

What you’ll need: blonde wig, dress, makeup and a dragon. Yes, definitely a dragon.

 

How to get into character: Memorize some of Daenerys’ lines (“I am a Khaleesi of the Dothraki! I am the wife of the great Khal and I carry his son inside me! The next time you raise a hand to me will be the last time you have hands”; or “I am Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, of the blood of Old Valyeria. I am the dragon’s daughter, and I swear to you that those who would harm you will die screaming”; or if these are too long, try “I am the blood of the dragon.”) and stare lovingly at your toy dragon.

 

Carrie

 

It doesn’t matter if you choose to go as the Sissy Spacek or the Chloe Grace Moretz version. If you plan to become Carrie this Halloween, you need to remember one important thing: blood. Lots of it.

 

You can buy a nice Carrie-ish prom dress (we found a few possibilities at Forever 21), but if you don’t feel like spending on something that you will drench with fake blood, then raid your closet or check your mom’s for an old dress or pretty lacy lingerie she’d be willing to let you destroy.

 

If you choose to channel your inner Carrie this Halloween, your main concern shouldn’t be your costume. The problem is which of your friends will let you ride in their car with all the fake blood on you.

 

What you’ll need: a dress, a tiara, fake blood (while making the movie, the crew used a mix of corn syrup and food dyes; you can mix your own version at home, or go for Hershey’s syrup, if you want), and major attitude

 

How to get into character: Two words: crazy eyes. Practice those intense, murderous stares and harness your telekinetic powers.

 

Megan Young

 

If you love beauty pageants, strut your stuff this Halloween. And don’t just go as any beauty queen—go as Megan Young, who bagged the Miss World title this year.

 

You can rock your bridesmaid’s dress but if you don’t have one, SM Department Store has a lot of pretty evening gowns at a wide range of prices.

 

What you’ll need: a fabulous dress, a crown, a sash and that gold fan she was given after she was declared the winner.

 

How to get into character: Practice your beauty queen walk and talk to your friends about the importance of beauty with a purpose.

 

The men of ‘My Husband’s Lover’

 

For months, Tom Rodriguez and Dennis Trillo kept eyes glued to TV screens as they played Vincent Soriano and Eric del Mundo in GMA Network’s “My Husband’s Lover.” The show has just ended but that doesn’t mean you can’t rock Halloween dressed as one of local television’s most memorable couples.

 

Bonus points if you can convince a female friend to go as Vincent’s wife Lally.

 

What you’ll need: clothes. Nice clothes. And since Bench recently signed Tom and Dennis as endorsers, we raided that store first and discovered that they carry a number of stylish blazers that we thought would be perfect for Halloween Vincent and Eric.

 

How to get into character: If you’re a real-life couple, the sweetness should come naturally. If not, get ready for some hand-holding.

 

One Direction

 

If you want to spend Halloween dressed as a One Direction boy, you will need four other friends who want to do the same thing. And dressing up as the band is easy—cool tees, maybe a couple of jackets, some jeans, your favorite sneakers, good hair and you’re all set.

 

If you’re feeling lost outfit-wise, check out Penshoppe, the Philippine brand that the band endorses. Its comfy tees and varsity jackets are One Direction favorites.

 

What you’ll need: four other One Direction wannabes, boy band-worthy clothes, nice hair (or beanies if you’re having a bad-hair day), microphones

 

How to get into character: Practice singing a few One Direction songs together. And pretend that you always have screaming girls chasing you.

 

Elevator Girl

 

Cheridel Alejandrino, the SM elevator girl who went viral because of her sunny disposition and incredible dedication to her work, is one of our favorite pop culture hits of 2013.

 

What you’ll need: Cherry’s uniform—gray blazer or blouse, gray skirt, stockings, black pumps, beret and scarf. Don’t forget the big smile.

 

How to get into character: Watch her YouTube videos and practice your spiel. “Yes po, ma’am, sir, welcome to SM. What floor po? We’re now on ground floor, SM Supermarket, Watsons, BDO, National Book Store, Brownies and Bibingkinitan, China Bank, Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich and Pizza Hut. May Koolstix pa and Peanut World, thank you.” And smile, smile, smile.

 

An Instagram photo

 

Using some basic school supplies, you can hit Halloween parties dressed as something a lot of us see every day: an Instagram photo.

 

Just grab a big piece of illustration board and cut a huge square hole in the middle. That hole will be the space for your face, otherwise known as the Instagram picture. Using markers, glue and a photo that you can use as your Instagram profile picture, add the little elements that would change your illustration board from a piece of cardboard with a hole in it into a clever Halloween costume: that blue bar, the arrow with the username, the word photo, the refresh arrow, the date posted, the number of likes and—here’s where you can get really creative—the comments.

 

The great thing about this costume? You can wear whatever you want. You can go as yourself or up the ante by dressing up as your favorite celebrity so you could be your favorite star’s Instagram photo. For bonus points, bring a large square piece of cellophane for an instant Instagram filter.

 

What you’ll need: illustration board, cutter, pens (make sure you find the perfect shade of blue), a photo that would work as your Instagram profile picture, glue

 

How to get into character: Practice your poses in front of the mirror before you go out.

 

We’d love to see your Halloween costumes. Tag @inquirersuper when you post photos and we will publish our favorites in a future issue of Super.