15+ Safe Costumes Ideas During the COVID-19 Pandemic for Cosplay & Halloween 2023

A lot has changed this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent city-wide lockdowns. No country has been spared and the term ‘new normal’ definitely rings true. As the year comes to a close and favorite holidays are drawing near, people are anxious to be able to celebrate amidst the situation today.

It is everyone’s responsibility to stay safe during this period, and that includes being protected while celebrating Halloween. So make sure that your costume can double as protection from the virus while you’re out and about.

The contents of this blog post, such as text, graphics, images and other material are intended for informational and educational purposes only and not for the purpose of rendering medical advice or to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Just remember that costume masks do not offer the same protection as surgical or face masks. Think of them as full face shields. Try wearing a face mask under your helmet. If you can breathe normally, that’s great! If you feel suffocated, it might be better to just wear a themed face mask instead of a shield.

Here are 10 of the safest costumes you can wear during this year’s Halloween festivities:

Costume Ideas with Mask

Darth Vader and other Masked Supervillain Characters

Darth Vader

Source: Pinterest

Despite the pandemic, rule the galaxy by going as the notorious Sith Lord, Darth Vader. Scare away the virus with your formidable outfit. As the Dark Side’s ultimate warrior, you’ll be able to arm yourself from the virus because of Darth Vader’s mask. You can even protect yourself from surface contamination because you’d be wearing armor from head to toe.

Just remember that costume masks do not offer the same protection as surgical or face masks. Think of them as full face shields. Try wearing a face mask under your helmet. If you can breathe normally, that’s great! If you feel suffocated, it might be better to just wear a themed face mask instead of a shield.

Darth Vader costume Guide

Coronavirus Costume

Coronavirus costume

You can wear a coronavirus costume with a creepy virus mask.

Coronavirus Costume

Plague Doctor

Plague Doctor Costume

Current pandemic is reminiscent of times of plagues in 17th century.

What you will need:

If you want to wear this creepy costume, you’ll need a mask, black tailcoat, a hat, pair of black gloves and a walking stick.

Plague Doctor Costume

Doctor Costume Ideas:

Heisenberg from Breaking Bad

Heisenberg Costume

Heisenberg Costume

Kitana

Kitana

Source: Blogspot – Video Game Chests

Even a deadly pandemic wouldn’t bring down the beautiful and formidable Kitana. Not only is she a princess, but she’s also one of the best warriors you can have on your side.

Aside from looking amazing in her iconic cerulean-colored attire featuring a crisscross halter top, a sexy skirt, and her Steel Fans, Kitana also wears a blue fabric mask over her mouth to hide her identity. But for the purposes of the COVID-19 pandemic, you can also use her face mask as protection against the virus.

What you will need:

The Purge

The Purge

Source: Bloody Disgusting

The Purge just hits close to home right now because of the riots brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. But for the purposes of fun, dressing up like people from The Purge is a great way to celebrate Halloween safely.

Many of the characters from The Purge hid their identities behind creative masks and elaborate costumes. You could do so as well since full-face masks can offer a bit of protection from the airborne virus. Just make sure you double it with a breathable fabric or surgical mask underneath.

What you will need:

Animals

Animals
Shark
Source: Pinterest

Another classic that’s easy to DIY is going as your favorite animal. Whether you want to be man’s best friend or the king of the jungle, there are tons of animal costumes you can choose from. What’s more, all you need is your creativity when you want to be safe during trick or treating.

Choose your favorite animal and DIY your costume as usual. Then, get a themed face mask and pair it with a similar face shield. Voila! Your animal costume is now COVID-19 safe.

What you will need:

# Item Description
1 Animal-Themed Costumes Choose your animal costume as usual.
2 Animal-Themed Fabric Face Mask Get the appropriate animal-themed face mask.
3 Animal-Themed Face Shield Pair your face mask with an animal-themed face shield.

Dinosaur

Another great generic costume to wear during the Halloween festivities is a dinosaur. Dinosaur costumes have evolved throughout the years. You can choose to wear a dinosaur onesie and pair it with a fabric mask and face shield.

But you can also choose the more fun and attention-grabbing costume: an inflatable dinosaur costume! Inflatable dinosaur costumes have been a staple in the internet and it’s not going away soon. Look trendy and cool while being safe from the virus by wearing this type of costume.

Full-Body animal costume

What you will need:

  • A face mask and a face shield
  • Dinosaur Onesie
  • Dinosaur Inflatable costume

Knight

Knight

Spider Gwen

Spider Gwen

Source: Alpha Coders

With the booming popularity of the Spider-Verse comes many new characters in the Marvel universe. More and more people are getting into the Spider Fever, and this is the perfect time to go as a masked superhero.

For your little spider babies, Spider Gwen’s new outfit might be a winner. It’s black, white, and pink themes are a breath of fresh air for the web-slinging fans. But what’s most important is that Spider Gwen has a full face mask so this outfit can offer you more protection than others.

What you will need:

  • A face mask
  • Spider Gwen costume

Skeletons

Skeletons

Source: Iconscout

Skeletons are the perfect Halloween costume because their on-point and simple to do. All you need is an all-black outfit and white paint. You can even buy a skeleton-themed onesie and call it a day.

Upgrade your look by wearing a skeleton-themed face mask. Then, paint the upper part of your face black and white to complete the look. This way, you can still appear terrifying while being responsibly protected.

What you will need:

# Item Description
1 Skeleton Onesie Make your costume hunting easy by getting this skeleton onesie.
2 Face Paint Make your look seamless by painting the upper part of your face black and white.
3 Skeleton Face Mask Stay on theme and wear a skeleton-themed fabric face mask.

Similar Costumes

Astronauts & other characters with helmets

Astronaut

Source: Pinterest

Characters that already have helmets and hats with their outfits are convenient for this Halloween. You can choose to DIY a face shield onto their helmets for maximum protection like a firefighter’s uniform or a cowboy’s get-up.

You can also choose to be an astronaut or a car racer since both have full helmets that come with their outfits.

What you will need:

# Item Description
1 Adult Costume Set Get ready to go to space with this costume set.
2 Kids Costume Set Think of the helmet as a face shield. So it’s still recommended to wear a face mask underneath.
3 NASA-themed Fabric Face Mask Stick to your space theme with this NASA face mask.
4 Astronaut-themed Face Shield If your astronaut costume doesn’t come with its own face shield, wear this one instead.

Similar costumes

Scarecrows

Scarecrows

Source: Pinterest

They might be innocent in real life but scarecrows can be one of the most terrifying outfits you can think of during Halloween. And the best thing about them is that they come with their own mask. Protect yourself more conveniently by wearing a face mask under your costume mask. You can treat your scarecrow mask as a face shield of sorts. Just make sure you can breathe properly.

What you will need:

# Item Description
1 Kids Costume Set Transform your child into an agricultural nightmare with this costume set.
2 Adult Costume Set Look like a scary version of your farm’s scarecrow with this costume set.

Unicorns and Princesses

Unicorn

Source: Hearts App

If your little girl wants to be a princess or a unicorn for Halloween, let her. Make her the usual princess or unicorn costume, full of bright, happy colors and shiny fabric. You can even make her wear a unicorn-inspired headband or a tiara.

The only things you need to add to make her pretty outfit safe are themed face shields and face masks. There are tons of unicorn and princess-inspired face masks to choose from. Just make sure they match the outfit your little one wears.

What you will need:

# Item Description
1 Unicorn Tutu Outfit Your little girl will love this whimsical unicorn-inspired outfit.
2 Unicorn-Themed Fabric Face Mask Match your outfit with a unicorn-inspired face mask.
3 Unicorn-Themed Face Shield Go the extra mile and wear a unicorn-themed face shield.

Ghost in a Sheet

Ghost

If you want to go with the simplest costume and still feel more protected than usual, go with the classic ghost in white sheets. The long white sheets allow you to be protected from most surface contaminants as long as you stay inside the sheets.

You can double your protection by wearing a face mask inside your costume.

What you will need:

# Item Description
1 White Fabric With white fabric over you and cut-out eye holes, this costume is done.
2 Disposable Face Masks Any type of face mask will do since no one will see them.

Similar costume ideas

Pirates & Facial Hair-Themed Masks

Pirate

Source: Children’s Minnesota

Another classic costume that most people love wearing is the pirate. Don’t worry because you can easily incorporate your pirate outfit this Halloween. A fool-proof way is to just get a mask that features a moustache. The funnier the mask, the better.

What you will need:

# Item Description
1 Pirate Kids Costume Set Transform your kid into a swash-buckling pirate with this costume set.
2 Moustache Fabric Face Mask Get a moustache face mask that looks great when paired with your pirate costume.

Pirate with masks Costume Ideas:

Superheroes & Other Themed Masks

Superman

Source: Superman Super Site

Most superheroes have a type of mask already so your secret identity remains intact. The only thing left to do is make sure that your nose and mouth are also covered. So get your superhero costume like usual and add a themed face mask to keep yourself well protected from the virus.

What you will need:

# Item Description
1 Kids Costume Set Transform your kid into Superman with this costume set.
2 Costume Set Look like the Man of Steel himself by wearing this costume set.
3 Themed Fabric Face Mask Even superheroes need to wear face masks during this time.

Superhero with masks Costume Ideas:

Health Worker

Health Worker

Source: Pinterest

The real life superheroes of today should also be commemorated during the festivities. If your kid wants to be a health worker this Halloween, then it makes the job easier for you. A face mask and face shield would look the best when paired with a scrub suit.

Your little doctor-to-be will definitely look legit in his entirely safe attire.

Health Worker Costume Ideas:

What you will need:

# Item Description
1 Scrubs Kids Costume Set Transform your child into a doctor with this costume set.
2 Breathable Face Masks The typical light blue face masks will work well with this costume.
3 Face Shield A simple face shield will work well with this costume.

Kakashi Hatake

 Kakashi Hatake

Source: Desktop Background

On to the land of manga and anime, otakus celebrating Halloween can rejoice! Tons of manga and anime characters wear masks as part of their outfits, so you have a lot of options to choose from. Because masks are so commonplace in the manga and anime genre, it’s easy to look exactly like the character you like without compromising on your safety.

One such character you can turn into is Kakashi Hatake from Naruto. His outfit is super easy to DIY and his black mask cover his nose and mouth so you’d be relatively safe from the virus.

What you will need:

Deadpool

Deadpool

Source: GameSpot

If you think that going as a superhero or a villain is cliché, well, then opt for the middle ground. Marvel’s Deadpool is a good costume if you want to seem like both a hero and villain at the same time. His unholy sense of humor and questionable morals make Deadpool a funny character to copy.

But what makes him perfect for this Halloween is that he hides his entire body from view, literally from head to toe. This means, you’ll be safe from surface contamination and Deadpool’s mask can offer you a little bit more protection from the coronavirus.

What you will need:

Masked Costume Characters

How to Keep Safe During Halloween

1. Always wear your face mask - A face mask can protect you better than not wearing one.
2. Go on virtual costume parties & parades - Instead of going out, celebrate Halloween with your friends through virtual meeting places. These are the safest options if you want to be social.
3. Do Halloween-themed activities at home - Instead of trick or treating, you can just look for interesting and fun Halloween-themed activities to do inside your home.
4. Avoid indoor events - Indoor social events can quickly become overcrowded so avoid haunted houses and the like for this year.
5. Do not cluster at doorsteps and avoid large groups - If you insist on trick or treating, make sure to keep your distance from other people. Wait your turn when going house to house so you don’t congregate in large groups.
6. Prepack your treats - If you’re giving away candy this Halloween, it might be best to prepack candies to give out per family instead of having people dip inside your candy bowl. There’s less chances of surface contamination when this is done.
7. Bring out your hand sanitizer - Always have sanitizer or alcohol handy, whether you’re the trick or treater or the ones giving candy. Periodically, wash your hands as well whenever you can.

Enjoy a safe Halloween this 2020!

There are tons of safe ways to celebrate Halloween if you don’t want to go out of the house. But if you really desire to go trick or treating, just make sure to do so safely. As a citizen of your country, it is your responsibility to keep yourself and the people around you safe.

So wear any type of costume you want, but make sure to add protective elements to it. A simple fabric face mask and face shield can go a long way. Additionally, you should probably keep hand sanitizer handy as well!