Every year, I plan on dressing up for Halloween, and every year I inevitably wait until the week before the party to start putting my costume together. Most times, everything I need…well, almost everything I need, is right inside my closet. This year, I came up with these 5 easy costumes that do not involve much polyester, sluttiness, or money-spending. Shop your own closet for supplies this year, and I bet you, you’ll be surprised at how many costume ideas you’ll be able to come up with!

1. Lady Gaga in Telephone

People have been going gaga for Gaga’s eclectic and sometimes outright batshit crazy stage outfits, which makes them perfect for recreating come Halloween. One of the easiest and cheapest options I could come up with (short of taping a bunch of bottles to a nude dress to make a “bubble bottle dress”) was the “Caution Tape Outfit” from her video Telephone. All you need is some caution tape, safety pins or needles/thread, or possibly scotch tape, and the craziest shoes you can find in your closet.

All I did was wrap the caution tape all over my top/liquid leggings combo, safety pinned it in place (didn’t even have to cut anything), and I was done. If you’re actually serious about recreating the look, you could wrap the tape around your naked/near-naked body, or actually tape that crap to your clothes. Since, I’m neither dedicated nor patient, I wrapped it haphazardly, but perhaps if I actually end up choosing this look, I’ll also attach some tape to the 3D glasses I’m wearing. Cost me all of $2.50 for the tape…everything else was right inside my closet. Done. This look would also work with meat…but it might get smelly by the end of the night.

If you wrap yourself with toilet paper instead, you could look like a pretty hot mummy. Just sayin’.

2. Cousin Itt – The Addams Family

Ever since my mom made fun of my hat/hair/scarf/glasses combo, I’ve been thinking about incorporating said items into a costume, and here’s the final result. To pull off this look you will either need a wig, or if you have long hair, you’ll simply need to flip it in front of your face, put some glasses over it, put on a hat, wear a long-ass dress and something furry/hairy on top. Done. Cost? ZERO dollars…and possibly some bruises and broken bones due to poor visibility. Small price to pay for such an awesome costume! No one will ever accuse you of trying to look slutty this Hallows’ Eve!

3. Wenda – Where’s Waldo?

I am a huge stripes fiend, so this costume is actually came quite naturally. All you need is a red/white striped shirt, a red or white hat with a pom-pom, a blue or denim skirt, some rad (or red) frames, and some red/white striped tights. It also helps to carry a camera, and keep asking people “Where’s Waldo???”. Done! And it cost…all of NOTHING.

I do think that Odlaw’s costume is much more fun that Wenda’s…but finding a yellow/black striped shirt proved a difficult task. If you’re serious about your commitment to portray this baddie, get some yellow duct tape, stick stripes all over a black sweater, put on some black pants and a yellow/black striped hat, round-rim glasses, grow/buy a mustache and you’re done!

4. Dorothy – The Wizard of Oz

This one was a result of my affinity to my Rodarte for Target baby-blue dress. It’s been hanging lifelessly in my closet for over a year now, and I have finally found some use for it! This dress could also be worn as part of Alice in Wonderland costume, but it would probably work best on a blonde.

Back to Dorothy: all you need are some ruby slippers (red heels in this case), a blue dress, pigtails, basket, and someone to play the role of Toto. If I go with this costume, Pepper is getting a dog makeover…or not. Once again, it cost me nothing…

5. Terry Richardson

If you truly want a TERRYfying costume…then look no further than photographer/alleged model abuser Terry Richardson. All you need is a standard hipster uniform of plaid shirt, skinny jeans, Converse sneaks, some Terry-esque shades and a handlebar moustache. Obviously, I wasn’t particularly committed to this look…the glasses are all wrong, and the moustache is nowhere to be seen…but if I actually decided to go as him, all I would need are those two props to complete the look. Extra points for carrying a banana, a camera, and making strangers pose provocatively for ya.

What are you wearing for Halloween this year? I’d love to know!