Literary costumes help you show your love of books in a very festive way. Here, I shared easy ideas and inspiration for DIY adult book character costumes you can easily recreate. You’ll capture the aesthetic of your favorite literary characters from books for all ages. Plan your next great Halloween and Book Week costumes below!
DIY Literary Costume Ideas for Bookish Females
tips
- These costume ideas are designed to be used as a starting point. Build from them based on what you already own.
- Many of these costume ideas have overlapping items. For example, one pair of black Mary Jane’s can be used for several costumes.
Children’s Story Book Characters
ELOISE AT THE PLAZA
This Eloise costume celebrates the adventurous young girl who lives at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
Wear her famous black skirt and suspenders, and don’t forget her playful bow!
FERN FROM CHARLOTTE’S WEB
This Fern Arable costume celebrates the young farmer girl at the heart of the classic children’s book, Charlotte’s Web.
Wear her rustic farm-inspired style and accessorize with Wilbur the pig and/or Charlotte, the talented spider.
JUNIE B. JONES
This Junie B. Jones costume celebrates the cute and colorful star of the popular book series.
Wear her signature pinks and purples, and have fun with accessories like her bows and glasses.
MADELINE
This Madeline costume celebrates the classic Parisian school girl.
Wear a blue dress and top it off with a red scarf and straw hat.
OLIVIA THE PIG
This Olivia the pig costume celebrates the cute children’s book character who happens to be a pig.
Wear her famous red dress and add pig accessories.
PIPPI LONGSTOCKING
This Pippi Longstocking costume celebrates one very quirky and adventurous young girl.
Wear mismatched clothing. Her red braids are a must, and you can also accessorize with a monkey, horse, and/or suitcase.
Older Kids’ Book Characters
ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
This Anne of Green Gables costume celebrates the spirited, red-headed orphan girl from the famous book series.
Wear an old fashioned dress like the ones she wore. Her red braids are a must, and you can top them with a straw hat set back on your head.
CORALINE
This Coraline costume is a popular pick. It celebrates the fantastical look of a girl on a mission from the movie adaptation.
Wear her signature yellow rain slicker and blue hair. This costume is especially great for a rainy day.
HERMIONE GRANGER / HARRY POTTER
This Hermione Granger costume celebrates one of the most famous, brave, and knowledgeable witches in literary history.
Wear her Hogwarts school uniform, Gryffindor House themed accessories, and, of course, a wizard’s wand.
Be creative with this costume, and don’t be afraid to mix and match what you already own! That’s exactly how I dressed as Hermione.
KIRSTEN LARSON
This Kirsten Larson costume celebrates the American Girl who transports readers back to 1854.
Wear her simple, pioneer style clothing and accessorize with a beautiful amber pendant.
MOLLY MCINTIRE
This Molly McIntire costume celebrates the American Girl who transports the reader back to 1944, when her father was overseas during World War II.
Wear her patriotic, Americana inspired sweater and skirt. I love wearing these items in real life too!
Don’t forget to mimic her signature braids and round glasses.
NANCY DREW
This Nancy Drew costume celebrates the classic amateur sleuth.
Wear her classy, yet practical, women’s wear, which you may already have in your closet. Be creative! This costume doesn’t have to be exact.
Accessorize it with detective gear like a magnifying glass and/or flashlight.
SAMANTHA PARKINGTON
This Samantha Parkington costume celebrates the American Girl who transports the reader back to the turn of the 20th Century.
Wear her elegant, Victorian style dress, and top it with boots and a fancy hat.
Teen and Adult Book Characters
HOLLY GOLIGHTLY (BLACK DRESS)
This Holly Golightly costume celebrates Audrey Hepburn’s most iconic look from the movie adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Wear her classic sheath black dress. Accessories are a must, from pearls to oversized sunglasses, and even a tiara. Don’t forget to call everyone “darling.”
HOLLY GOLIGHTLY (SLEEP MASK)
This Holly Golightly costume celebrates another iconic look from the movie adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Wear Holly’s tuxedo sleep shirt, blue sleep mask, and tassel earplugs. It’s one of my favorites I’ve ever worn.
Bonus points if you carry the “cat” with no name!
More Easy Book Character Costumes for Adults
Frequently Asked Questions
A classic book character known for wearing jeans and a shirt is Where’s Waldo. The boys from The Outsiders also dress like this.
One of the easiest book characters for a girl to dress up as is Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz, with a blue gingham dress and red shoes. Another option is Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, wearing a school uniform. Lastly, Pippi Longstocking from Pippi Longstocking requires a colorful dress and mismatched socks.
Related Posts
Have fun celebrating the holidays of Halloween, book week, and beyond with these literary costumes! For even more, check out these American Girl costumes and Gilmore Girls costumes.
remember, it’s a good day to read a book. – jules
Here’s a costume idea! When I was a kid, for Halloween, me and my sister dressed up as two strong, cunning spiders and our friend dressed up as a fly we had caught. He let us wrap white string around him. It was fun pretending to be strong girl spiders that had caught him in our web. We kept singing Itsy Bitsy Spider and tickling him. It was so fun! He had fun pretending to be caught by two cunning girl spiders!🕷🕸🪰