Five Hamptons Halloween Costume Ideas for 2018

The Hamptons is rife with Halloween costume inspiration this season. Make an of-the-moment statement that’s timely for 2018, become a local celebrity or horrify people with something frighteningly real. Try one of these Hamptons Halloween costumes or share your ideas only East End insiders will understand!

1. Lake Agawam Blue-Green Algae Victim
Sadly, our beautiful Lake Agawam in Southampton was discovered this year to have the worst blooms of toxic blue-green algae ever recorded in Long Island waters. Awful as that may be, it’s the stuff of terrifying legend, and made for Halloween horror. All you have to do is slap on some disgusting rot makeup, and maybe some oozing sores and pustules, and then add some (safe) plant life and other grisly, green accoutrements. Take it to the next level with some white or red contact lenses and you’re the Creature from Lake Agawam!

2. Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump (or Trump as Alec Baldwin)
Amagansett actor Alec Baldwin has earned high praise for his impersonation of Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, and a big part of that is his exceptional recreation of the President’s look. It’s all about the deep, hotdog-like tan (with a nice orange twinge), pale, white skin around the eyes, bushy blonde eyebrows and, of course, his ridiculous blonde hairdo, swept forward and then back to defy the laws of physics, just as Trump defies the laws of the land! To get into the role, Baldwin has said he tries to be as miserable as possible. Once you get the hair and makeup, just slip into a slightly oversized black suit, add a long red tie, and you’re ready to go!

If you really want to get creative, try dressing as a vengeful Trump doing his best impersonation of Alec Baldwin. This would require some thought, but maybe show some of the President’s legendary locks peaking out from beneath a grey wig, and perhaps some orange skin revealed beneath the makeup he’d have to apply to cover it? If you really want to go crazy, get four baby dolls to cart around with you.

3. Beyoncé Witch, Bitten Beyoncé (or both!)
If being the most famous pop star in the world isn’t already cool enough, how about adding a spooky vibe to the glamorous milieu? For those who didn’t hear, in September the East Hampton resident‘s former drummer Kimberly Thompson accused Beyoncé of practicing “extreme witchcraft” to  cause Thompson “exhaustion…loss of man, jobs, theft of homes, large losses of money, theft of computer hard drives, and extreme theft of intellectual properties.”

It’s a safe bet Bey isn’t actually into the dark arts, but what a great costume! In another, more subtle direction, how about a “Bitten Beyoncé” costume in honor of the widespread “Who Bit Beyoncé” mystery?

Early this summer, Tiffany Haddish alleged someone bit Bey in the face—the inevitable #whobitbeyonce theories quickly spread like smallpox across the net. (NOTE: Haddish finally revealed actress Sanaa Lathan as the, uh, alleged, culprit.)

Or you could combine the two and make a really bold statement as Beyoncé the Bitten Witch!

4. Dan Rattiner/John Hammond
Our illustrious Dan’s Papers founder Dan Rattiner is certainly a Hamptons classic, and recreating his iconic look would be an easy costume especially geared for locals and summer visitors who’d get it. Everyone else will think you’re supposed to be Jurassic Park founder John Hammond, Richard Attenborough’s character in the original 1993 Jurassic Park film who has a nearly identical look. Dan did it first, by the way, and Hammond doesn’t wear exactly the same hat. Your costume would require a white beard, glasses, white button-down shirt with matching pants and Dan’s signature white or straw Panama hat—well, “roughly” a Panama hat, according to the man himself—with a black band. Try this reasonably priced facsimile from Village Hat Shop—Dan won’t tell anyone exactly where he gets his, but he has a bunch so any passable version will do. (Research Google Images.)

Since East Hampton resident Steven Spielberg directed Jurassic Park, a John Hammond costume would also pass for a “Hamptons Halloween costume.” So, if you decide to go in that direction, Attenborough also has a white outfit, bushy white beard and glasses, but he wears a straw hat with a white band and no pinch, sort of like this Dobbs Florentine Milan Braid Bishop Pork Pie (thanks to The Fedora Store for identifying it in their great article about the various hats in Jurassic Park).

Both Dan and John Hammond are also bald up top—something you can avoid by simply keeping your hat on, but it’s something to note should you decide to truly commit to the costume.

5. Hamptons Restaurant Zombie
We’ve had a lot of restaurants, bars and eateries close in 2018, but what if they came back from the dead? Sure, the idea is a bot out there and conceptual, but it’s also pretty funny. How much fun would it be to wear this out to one of the many Hamptons Halloween parties and watch as people slowly get the joke?

For those with a particular favorite, the costume could be reworked to include the name of that special bygone spot on a sign over the door. Or you could add some obvious props. Lovers of Conca D’Oro in Sag Harbor, for instance, could carry a pizza box with their name on it, or maybe even toss some dough.

Fans of Blue Duck Bakery Café, which closed in Southampton last month, could carry baked goods, or an actual blue duck prop (try painting a yellow rubber ducky blue if you’re unable to find one).

Lovers of the sadly departed Murf’s Backstreet Tavern in Sag Harbor could attach a ring toss game to your person and hold a mug of beer. Or, honor Murf’s in a different way by dressing up as Addie, the bar’s famous ghost who’s been known to mess with the jukebox and blender, and flip chairs at the inveterate establishment.