Guy Fieri, Jesus and far too many pirates: These are Bristol’s best Halloween costumes of 2021

Madonna, David Bowie and the entire cast of Peaky Blinders walk into a bar…


Another year brings another creative, spooky and occasionally downright weird round of costumes from our beloved Bristol.

I don’t know about you, but I ran into roughly 30 Scooby Doos during my celebrations, feeling superior in my “just the right level of niche” Patrick Bateman costume that I had been planning since January.

What better way to nurse your post-Thekla hangover than The Bristol Tab’s official Halloween costume roundup?

Scariest not-scary costume: Homer and Marge

An A+ for effort and an A* for commitment. I can only imagine the grim yellow-stained sheets the next day though.

Most cheap and cheerful: Breaking Bad bois

My favourite thing about this costume is the hazmat suit tag still attached. This costume is banging – low-effort, high concept, recognisable. Easy breezy beautiful crystal meth.

Best pop culture icons: Madonna and David Bowie

These costumes are a labour of love, and many, many hours spent traipsing around the Gloucester Road charity shops in search of the perfect baby blue suit.

Best out-of-the-box choice: Guy Fieri

Ah, Guy Fieri. The mayor of Flavourtown himself. This costume is a true piece of post-ironic art. A few years ago you’d run the risk of seeing tons of people with the same costume, but this idea’s aged like a fine wine.

Best group costume: The Powerpuff Girls and Professor Utonium

If your Halloween celebrations were anything like mine, your venue of choice was probably crawling with members of the Scooby Gang (I think I counted five Shaggies). This costume sets itself apart from more ~basic~ group costumes and allows for a healthy dose of Y2K nostalgia.

Holiest costume: Jesus Christ

Our lord and saviour is always a great option if you’ve got a mate with long hair and a beard. I can’t lie, if I’m too drunk and see Jesus Christ stood in front of me at the bar I genuinely might consider converting.

Lock me up and throw away the key: police officer

Oh the police officer costume. It is a go to, it reminds us of the Village People, it’s good fun. This is the best cop costume I’ve seen this year, the ’70s stache is the cherry on top of a surprisingly high-effort outfit.

Most resourceful: Violet Beauregard

This costume is insanely accurate and its beauty lies in its simplicity. Who knew a pack of extra could double as a costume prop? Nick some shiny paper from your artsy friend, whack some blue eyeshadow across your nose and Bob’s your uncle.

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