The Best Beetlejuice Costume Ideas

Beetlejuice, the classic Tim Burton film, has quirky and iconic characters that offer a wide range of costume possibilities. Whether you want to buy a costume or make your own DIY version, here’s how to put together some of the best Beetlejuice costumes.

Every year I host a Halloween party with a theme.

And have to come up with costumes to match the theme.

Which usually involves trying out many different options before finally finding one I like that fits.

So that’s how I ended up with quite a selection of Beetlejuice costumes.

In case you’re trying to find the best Betelgeuse costume for you, I thought I would share the options I have tried (and a couple I haven’t that look like fun).

Note: To keep personalities out of the mix, I put the costumes on mannequins so you can get an unbiased view of what they look like.

For size comparisons:

• The male mannequin is 6’1″ tall with Chest: 38″, Waist: 30″, and Hip: 37″.
• The female mannequin is 5’9″ tall with Chest: 32″, Waist: 24″, and Hip: 34″.
• All of the costumes were a Large size.

Beetlejuice

Dressing up as Beetlejuice himself is a Halloween favorite. And you have a few different costume options to choose from.

The black and white striped Beetlejuice suit

The first is instantly recognizable and the most popular Beetlejuice costume.

It’s the iconic Beetlejuice suit with its black and white striped pattern, a white shirt and black tie.

This costume* comes with a separate jacket and pants that are a decent quality fabric (for a costume).

However, the shirt isn’t a real shirt. It comes with the tie already attached, goes over your head and ties at the sides.

The pants are draw string so there’s a little wiggle room for waist size. But since the material isn’t stretchy, you will need to try to get something close to the right size for the rest of it.

Add some black shoes to complete the outfit.

You could DIY this by buying a black and white striped suit and pairing it with a white shirt and black tie. But unless you can find one at a thrift store (or really want to own a black and white striped suit), the DIY version will probably end up costing you more than the costume.

The Beetlejuice wedding suit

The second option is the Beetlejuice wedding suit.

The outfit in the movie was maroon in color with a white ruffled shirt, a bow tie and white shoes.

This costume* comes with a real 3-piece maroon suit, including proper pants (with zipper and button closure), a vest and a jacket. Plus a polka-dot bow-tie.

For an inexpensive costume, it’s actually pretty good quality. But since it is a proper fitted suit (no drawstring or elastic waistband here), you will need to get a size that fits well.

Also, the costume does not come with the white shirt or shoes so you’ll need to provide those yourself.

Shrunken head Beetlejuice

The shrunken head Beetlejuice costume tries to mimic the way he looked at the end of the movie after the shaman made his head smaller.

This costume* comes with a pair of pants, a one-piece top that includes the jacket and shirt together and a grey-haired wig.

It creates the shrunken head illusion by adding blow-up plastic padding that you wear around your neck and over your shoulders (under the top) so your head looks smaller.

The quality of this costume isn’t quite at the same level as the other two:

• The material is a little thin, the pants have an elastic waist and the top is held together by velcro at the back.
• I had a really hard time getting the lapels at the front of the jacket to stay in place (you might want to pin them).
• And the bald-head part of the wig is fabric rather than rubber so it’s difficult to put makeup on it to make it match your face color (see below for more details on that).

I’m also not totally convinced that it makes you look like a shrunken head, but I’ll leave that decision up to you.

But it is kind of a cool idea, so I’m leaving it on the list in case this is something you want to do.

Makeup and hair

Regardless of which costume you go with, you’ll need to add a wig and some makeup to finish off the look.

First add a scruffy white, green or gray Beetlejuice wig.

We went with this white one* that has a rubber forehead for the bald part.

When it came out of the bag, it didn’t really look scruffy enough for my liking.

So I used some green face paint (you’ll need it for your face, too) to add streaks in the wig.

Then teased it with a comb and sprayed it with heavy-duty hair spray to get it to stay standing up.

Now add the face paint to make yourself look more like Beetlejuice:

1. Cover your face with white face paint.
2. Use black face paint to add dark circles around your eyes and add a few dirt streaks here and there.
3. Finish it off by blending in patches of green face paint.

This Beetlejuice costume isn’t just for men. While we didn’t try them, you can get a female version of the classic suit that has a more feminine cut. Or get it in a dress if you prefer.

Sources

Click the images to find out where to buy these Beetlejuice costumes.

lydia deetz costume

Winona Ryder’s character Lydia also has a couple of popular costumes to choose from.

Lydia’s black dress

The first is her classic black dress. I think this one is a great option for a DIY approach.

A homemade Lydia costume is easy to create with a loose black dress (or black skirt and top), a wide-brimmed hat*, and black lace gloves*.

Add a camera around your neck to capture her love for photography, and you’re all set.

Lydia’s red wedding dress

Her red wedding dress is a little harder to DIY, but you can buy it in both the traditional long version and a short sexy version.

I got the long version.

This costume comes with a full-length dress that zips up the back, red lace gloves and a red lace veil. All of which is decently well made for an inexpensive Halloween costume.

The dress material is stretchy so there’s some wiggle room on the sizing.

And it is quite long – our mannequin is 5’9″ and the dress went all the way to the floor.

It also comes with plastic piping that you are supposed to be able to insert into the bottom of the dress to make a hoop.

But this didn’t really work:

• First, while there is a pocket in the bottom layer where the hoop can go, there wasn’t a slit anywhere to insert it. So I had to cut a small hole in the back of the hem to put it in.
• Second, the piping is coiled pretty tightly in the package. And I couldn’t get it to uncoil enough to actually make the big circle you need for a hoop.

Since the dress looks good even without the hoop, I just gave up on that part.

Makeup and hair

In both cases, you’ll want to add white face paint so you look pale. You can add some dark circles around your eyes if you want to.

Then put on a short black wig* to complete the look.

Sources

Click the images to find out where to buy the Lydia Deetz costumes:

adam Maitland

Adam Maitland, one of the ghostly characters in the film, offers another great costume option.

The Adam Maitland costume includes a black and white plaid flannel shirt and khaki pants. I found some inexpensive ones online, but you could probably get them even cheaper at a thrift store.

Then for Adam’s scary look, put on the Adam Maitland mask* and get some eyeballs* for your fingers.

Or for his every day look (that’s a little more comfortable to wear), opt for a pair of wire-frame glasses.

Sources

Click the images to find out where to buy the Adam Maitland costume pieces:

barbara Maitland costume

Barbara Maitland, Adam’s wife, has a memorable style that also makes for a great costume.

The Barbara Maitland dress has a floral print that captures her sweet and homely character.

You can buy one as a costume, or just find a regular dress with a similar pattern (this is the one I used*). I would go with whichever one is less expensive (unless you find a dress that you would want to wear some other time).

Complete the costume with a Barbara Maitland mask*, featuring her scary, distorted face.

Or for a more comfortable option, put on a curly brown-haired wig to duplicate her hairstyle.

If you want a prop to add to the ensemble, carry around a copy of the Handbook for the Recently Deceased*.

Sources

Click the images to find out where to buy the Barbara Maitland costume items:

miss Argentina dead receptionist

The Miss Dead Receptionist costume is another unique option.

The Beetlejuice secretary outfit includes a short tattered dress, a cape with a stand-up collar and a “Miss Argentina” sash.

You can buy this costume* ready-made.

The sash isn’t true to the movie since it says “Miss Receptionist”. So you may want to buy one with the proper wording if that matters to you.

The fabric is a little flimsy and you do have to play with the cape to get the collar to stand up, but it looks pretty good once you get it adjusted properly.

And the back is made with stretchy material so the sizing is a bit flexible. I think it looks better if it’s tighter rather than looser.

You could also make a DIY costume with a purple dress, red shrug cape or long cape and the sash.

Either way, you’ll need to add green face paint, purple eye shadow, red lipstick, a bright red wig* and high-heeled black shoes to complete the look.

If you don’t want to have green makeup all over your body, wear a green bodysuit* under the costume, then you just have to paint your face. (Although you do have to take the whole bodysuit off to go to the bathroom, so that can be a bit of a nuisance).

To add a movie-related detail, draw a couple of red lipstick slash lines across the inside of your wrists.

Sources

Click the images to find out where to buy the Miss Argentina costume items.

sandworm costume

The Sandworm from Beetlejuice is another iconic element from the film that makes a fantastic costume.

This costume* has to be the most comfortable one of the whole list.

It’s a one-piece jumpsuit-hoodie made out of sweat shirt material. And the zipper is in the front so it’s easy to get in and out of.

If you don’t want to go all out, you could just get a pair of Sandworm slippers to pair with a black and white outfit.

Sources

Click the images to find out where to buy the Sandworm costumes:

Juno costume

In the movie, Juno was the Maitland’s case worker.

And her costume is fairly easy to put together.

Get a short, gray wig, a white high-collared shirt and a gray skirt suit.

Then accessorize with a long pearl necklace, large gold and pearl earrings, red lipstick and a cigarette holder.

Sources

Click the images to find out where to buy the Juno costume items:

Waiting room people

Speaking of the reception area, you could also go as any of the recently dead people from the waiting room. Or for a group, you could each go as one of them.

These are all DIY costumes. Or at least I wasn’t able to find any ready-made versions.

But most of them are fairly easy to do. (I dressed up skeletons in my Beetlejuice party waiting room using some of these ideas).

And all of them will turn out better if you use some black or gray face paint to give your skin an ashen look.

• Shark-bite victim: Wear a bathing suit and a snorkel mask. Then have an inflatable shark tied onto your arm or leg.
• Chicken bone guy: Tie a large fake bone to the front of your neck and put on a bib (preferably with a chicken on it).
• Burn victim: Dress all in black, with a disheveled black wig and black face paint. Carry around a package of cigarettes.
• Shrunken head guy: This one takes a little more work to create, but you can find the instructions on how to create the costume HERE.
• Rattlesnake-bite camper: Make leg holes in the bottom of a sleeping bag and carry around a fake rattlesnake.

beetlejuice pet costumes

Finally, you can even dress up your pets for Halloween, if they’ll let you.

There’s a cute Beetlejuice dog costume that you can buy.

And if you have a cat that allows you to dress them (mine definitely don’t!), try putting them in a black and white striped cat shirt that mimics the Beetlejuice theme.

Sources

Click the images to find out where to buy Beetlejuice pet costumes.

Frequently asked questions

The best Beetlejuice couples costumes

There are a few couples costumes that work well for a Beetlejuice party:

Beetlejuice in a striped suit and Lydia in her black dress.

Beetlejuice in his wedding suit and Lydia in her wedding dress.

Barbara and Adam Maitland – either dressed in their pre-ghost outfits, or with their scary, distorted masks.

You could also do a more unconventional pairing, such as Beetlejuice with the dead receptionist, Lydia with a Sandworm or Juno with a dead football player.

Women’s Beetlejuice costumes

Women can dress up as any of the female characters from the show including Lydia Deetz, Barbara Maitland, the dead receptionist or Juno the caseworker.

Or do a twist on the traditional Beetlejuice costume with a black and white striped pant suit or dress, green hair and white and black face paint.

Men’s Beetlejuice costumes

Men can dress up as Beetlejuice in either the iconic black and white striped suit. Or his maroon wedding suit.

Or choose one of the other characters in the show such as Adam Maitland, any of the waiting room people or the Sandworm.

Other Beetlejuice ideas you might like

• How To Decorate a Beetlejuice Halloween Tree
• How To Make An Iconic DIY Beetlejuice Banner
• DIY Beetlejuice Silhouette Pictures

Or browse all of our Beetlejuice party ideas.

Have comments or questions about our Beetlejuice costume ideas? Tell us in the section below.

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