Opposites Attract Costume Ideas for Halloween

Light and dark, yin and yang, peanut butter and jelly—when opposites attract, they give real life a wondrous sense of unity.

They also make awesome costumes for couples and friends attending a theme party. Any opposites attract costume ideas are limited only by your imagination. Whether capturing lofty abstractions or everyday objects, the right combination of dress and props could make you the cosplay life—or death—of the party.

Opposites are often represented in abstract terms: love and hate, good and evil. Try to embody these ideas in a fun, creative costume.

• ​Good & Evil.​ For example, an angel costume paired with a devil costume can represent good and evil in the classic sense.
• ​Love & Hate.​ For love and hate, try pairing a cupid costume with Medusa or another loathsome, spiteful figure. A simple heart emblem could also be used to represent love, while a broken heart emblem could be used to signify hate.

The more ambitious costume makers could even fashion yin and yang costumes to embody all cosmic opposites.

Everyday life is full of paired objects that you might take for granted. So, when in doubt, DIY your own easy couples costume. If you are going the DIY route for a costume party, consider what's in your kitchen:

• Ketchup and mustard
• Peanut butter and jelly
• Salt and pepper

And take a look in your closet for that perfect T-shirt or fancy dress that could make or break your easy costume idea. The bon vivant could make a costume shaped like a bottle of wine, and a partner could make a costume shaped like a wedge of cheese.

You can also find last-minute Halloween costume ideas from items in your garage or outside your home. Inspiration for outfit ideas could include:

• Mouse and mousetrap
• Weed and weed killer
• Nail and hammer

And if you're having trouble making your costume idea a reality, try a tutorial on the web.

History and mythology are full of clashing characters and dynamic duos that make for great couples Halloween costumes. Children love to make believe with their best friend, and luckily, costumes for most of their favorite characters are easy to find and fun to pair with each other.

Take Batman and Robin, for example. Fairy tales are also full of opposites. One person could dress as Little Red Riding Hood and the other as the wolf. To the same effect, instead of pairing Snow White with her prince, match her with the wicked queen, replete with a poisoned apple.

Hollywood has produced a lot of mismatched couples. Some classic opposites attract character duos include:

• Popeye and Olive Oyl
• Woody and Buzz
• Edward and Kim from ​Edward Scissorhands​

The goth meets girl next door could make a great combo adult costume for a theme party. Dressing like Lewis and Betty from ​Revenge of the Nerds​ would showcase the unlikely attraction between classic nerd and class beauty.

And don't forget one of the most unlikely Disney couples:

• ​Beauty and the Beast.​ Find a yellow gown to create the Belle costume and then horns and a blue tuxedo for the beast costume and together, you can dance the night away like the cute couple you are.