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Last-Minute Halloween Costume Ideas With Creative Flair

By Heidi Patalano | October 30, 2013 7:49am
  Ricky's  still has plenty of costume options in store — just get creative to find your best look.
Last-Minute Halloween Costume Ideas
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TRIBECA — One weekend of Halloween festivities has passed, but hope is not lost for those still looking to score a Halloween costume.

The best plan of attack? Take some of the season’s less popular costumes and give them a unique spin — or build on a costume trend with a little D.I.Y. innovation.

DNAinfo New York consulted with Zachary Garfinkel, head of the costume concierge service at the beauty supply store Ricky's. He identified a key trait New Yorkers look for in costumes.

"A New York audience will go for [a costume] anyone can easily identify," he said. "A single guy is going to be a character that a single girl can recognize at the bar. A single girl is going to be a character that a guy can recognize, or find sexy. That’s how it is."

With that in mind, here are some of Garfinkel's best ideas for last-minute costumes:

Angry Mother Nature — One costume that is still available in abundance (read: unpopular) is comic book villainess Poison Ivy, but with a few alterations, you can turn this green costume into a statement piece. Add a grim reaper sickle, smear on some dirt and fake blood, tear up the costume and if you’re feeling crafty, glue on some trash. Voila! You’re Angry Mother Nature, out to show the world’s polluters that you’re not going down without a fight.

Avenger Nick Fury — This member of the Marvel Comics' superhero team The Avengers may not get as much attention as Iron Man or Thor, but he’s doing double duty this year — starring in both the second blockbuster action film and in the ABC show “Agents of the S.H.I.E.L.D.” Step into Samuel L. Jackson’s shoes with the kit that comes with a jacket and eyepatch.

Another option: buy the Nick Fury costume kit and take it in another direction. Ditch the eyepatch and add a bloody machete, a long black wig and some tattoos and suddenly you're Danny Trejo’s character Machete in Robert Rodriguez’s new film “Machete Kills.”

Honorable Mentions:
Occupy Wall-Streeter Gone Wrong — Not everyone who wears a Guy Fawkes mask wants to talk about bank bailouts and social security reform. Make yourself into a psychotic avenger of chaos by wearing the mask with a suit, a plastic sword and a little fake blood.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. — Any boxing fan knows that Mayweather is the man to beat since he conquered Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in Las Vegas. Grab your gym shorts and a pair of toy boxing gloves and you’re good to go.

A Vampire — Thank shows like “True Blood” and “The Vampire Diaries” for making this one incredibly easy. Stick on some pointy costume teeth with whatever you happen to be wearing. Flash your extra toothy grin and spill some fake blood when anyone asks why you didn’t dress up.