Five 1980s Movie Halloween Costume Ideas

The Halloween season is right around the corner.  Why not start to think about what kind of costume you want to wear this year when it comes to dressing to impress for the big work Halloween party, or when you’re just out with the kiddos walking the neighborhood to collect candy.

After all, why do the kids get to have all the fun?   Why is it only kids get to wear a cool costume that transforms them into their favorite TV, movie, gaming, or comic book character?   Why can’t adults do the same?

For generations, it’s gone like this: kids get the fun, cool Halloween costumes and the adults get all the leftovers.  

Even though dressing up on Halloween as a pirate, cowboy, bank robber or a fairytale princess can be lots of fun, adults have their own favorite TV shows, movies, video games, and comic book characters that they’d like to dress up as too. 

After all, Halloween is about so much more than just going out into the neighborhood and collecting sugary treats. It’s also about dressing up and escaping one’s personality complexes, perceptions, and attitudes as a way and means to hit the reset button.

80s Movies Costumes

Today’s parents grew up in the mid-to-late 1970s and 1980s. Their favorite movies aren’t the same as those of their parents–Rebel Without A Cause (1955) and The Graduate (1967). The parents of today’s kids grew up loving movies like Star Wars (1977), Jaws (1975), Ghostbusters (1984), and The Karate Kid (1984).

Just like their children, today’s parents also love Halloween and dressing up and having a blast. They aspire to dress up as one of their favorite pop culture characters from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s and have FUN doing it.

Because dressing up as one of your favorite pop culture characters from a begotten era isn’t only about having fun, it’s also about sparking memories of the past within yourself as well as friends and family and celebrating a time when life seemed simpler, even carefree.

Who Can I Dress Up As From The 80s?

Fortunately, with dozens of DIY Halloween costume tutorials available online and e-retailers like TV Store Online offering officially licensed Halloween costumes for all your favorite TV, movie, gaming, and comic book superhero characters, finding a costume for your favorite pop culture character from the 1980s has never been easier.

80s tv shows halloween costume ideas adults

From Zack Morris from Saved By The Bell (1989-93) to Wonder Woman from the early-1980s TV series starring Lynda Carter to Carl Spackler The Groundskeeper from Caddyshack (1980), finding a Halloween costume this year that represents your favorite pop culture character is as easy as searching for what you want via a Google search.

80s Characters To Dress Up As

Parents and Kids can find any costume they’re looking for on TVStoreOnline.com. TVSO is one of the largest e-commerce websites of officially licensed 80s TV, movie, gaming, and comic book superhero costumes today.  

Both parents and kids can find deluxe Halloween costumes based on their favorite 1980s pop culture characters as well as DIY costumes and comic con cosplay accessories as well.

80s Costume Ideas For Guys

1980s Halloween costume ideas for guys

If you love the iconic movies made in the 1980s and are looking for some costume ideas based on some of the decade's most memorable pop culture characters look no further than Daniel LaRusso (The Karate Kid) and Peter Venkman (Ghostbusters).

Daniel LaRusso (The Karate Kid, 1984)

“Wax on, wax off!” Anyone who was a little kid or a teenager in 1984 still worships The Karate Kid today.

Starring Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, The Karate Kid, about a teenager from New Jersey who moves to California and has to take up karate to defend himself, reinvigorated the adolescent interest in martial arts that first came to fruition in the United States in the mid-70s following the release of Bruce Lee’s final movie, Enter the Dragon (1975).

Fans of the more-recent Cobra Kai Netflix TV Series and the original 1980s The Karate Kid movie love it and its lead character Daniel LaRusso, because of the underdog aspects of the storyline. 

Any kid growing up in the 1980s can identify with the “fish out of the water” scenario that made the movie a box office success on its initial release and an instant classic on home video.

Parents and kids of all ages can transform themself into Daniel LaRusso with TVSO’s deluxe Karate Kid movie Halloween cosplay costume.  Fans of the recent Cobra Kai can also pay homage to their favorite characters like Johnny, Miguel, and Hawk with TVSO’s deluxe Cobra Kai gi and Cobra Kai cosplay costume accessories.

“Sloth” Fratelli (The Goonies, 1986)

1980s Halloween costume ideas DIY

Any kid in the 1980s who saw The Goonies was entranced by the story of 7 kids on a treasure hunt for a lost pirate ship filled with gold.  And another character who’s equally as memorable from the 1986 movie is “Sloth.”  

The deformed son of a family of Italian mobsters, who’s chained up in a basement, but has a heart of god, but who also comes to save the kids in their hour of need, is remembered mostly for his unforgettable face, Superman t-shirt, suspenders, and pirate hat and all the quotable lines of dialogue he mutters such as “Baby Ruth.”

Arguably, now one of the most iconic movie characters in film history, Sloth Fratelli’s physical appearance and superhero t-shirt make for a quick and easy Halloween or comic con cosplay costume for anyone, and can be worn year-after-year.  A collectable Sloth latex Halloween mask is available as is his unforgettable and instantly-recognizable Superman t-shirt and suspenders.

Bushwood Caddy / Carl Spackler (Caddyshack, 1980)

Guys that want to turn heads at their next Halloween party or wish to chase after their little ones in the neighborhood as if they’re chasing after that crazy gopher, will appreciate a unisex Caddyshack Bushwood Country Club DIY Halloween costume or DIY comic con outfit. DIY Carl Spackler Groundskeeper costume accessories are also available.

80s Costume Ideas Female

Many online retailers offer a wide variety of unisex and female-specific Halloween and comic con cosplay costumes that will allow anyone to pay homage to all of their favorite TV, movie, gaming, and comic book superhero characters.

Peter Venkman (Ghostbusters, 1984)

80s costume ideas female

The ladies all love Bill Murray!  After comedy icons Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis starred in 1984’s Ghostbusters, the business of removing unwanted spirits would never be the same again. 

What makes what each of the Ghostbusters wear in the blockbuster 1984 movie so memorable is how simplistic it is–the tan mechanic’s jumpsuit.

Even better: Because it’s so simplistic it opens up all kinds of fun possibilities when it comes to a unisex Ghostbusters Halloween costume or a DIY comic con cosplay outfit as well.  TVSO offers the ultimate Ghostbusters movie Halloween costume jumpsuit in a variety of options for both male and females.

Our unisex Halloween costumes also allow for anyone to transform themselves into their favorite TV, movie, gaming, and comic book superhero characters without much effort, and without breaking the bank.

Harley Quinn (Suicide Squad, 2016)

Less of an icon than The Joker, but much more memorable, arguably, transforming into the one and only Harley Quinn from the big budget Suicide Squad movies from the last few years is now easy for any nerd girl at heart that wants to bring out her own Harley-ccentric attitude and approach to life during the Halloween season.

Grab everything you need to recreate Margot Robbie’s slamming Harley Quinn from the Suicide Squad movies here and here.  Looking to do a DIY Harley Quinn variation costume for comic con?  No problem.  Get everything you need to put together your look here.

80s Costume Ideas Couples

Looking for ideas for something to wear to an 80s party?   Or what to wear to

80s Halloween ideas for couples

dress up like the 80s?  Whether you’re looking for a fun way to pay homage to your favorite TV show or iconic movie from the 1980s by yourself or with your best friend or partner/spouse, TVSO has a bevy of 1980s Halloween costumes for everyone available–from Ghostbusters to Super Mario Bros.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Fans of the original early-1980s Turtles comic book, the mid-to-late-80s TMNT Saturday morning cartoon series, or the early-1990s live action movies will make all your co-workers, friends and family members green with envy this Halloween season when  everyone wears a unisex Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles DIY Halloween costume, a deluxe April O'Neil costume or a comic con friendly unisex TMNT cosplay outfit.

80's moviesCaddyshackGhostbustersMovie costumesSlothTeenage mutant ninja turtlesThe gooniesThe karate kidTmnt