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Music

16 Last-Minute DJ Costumes for Lazy Dance Music Fans This Halloween

How to dress like Skrillex, Richie Hawtin, Damian Lazarus, or Marshmello in less than fifteen minutes.
Artwork by Arthur Hickman

Picking out a costume is by far the worst part of all the tacky things Halloween forces upon you. As I meander from one poor idea to the next, I realize that it doesn't matter what you're dressed up as; there will inevitably be too many Donald Trump costumes at whatever gathering you attend, and trying to maneuver through a dark club enmeshed in a lethal concoction of sweat, smoke, and face paint fumes will always be a nightmare.

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Not many people will be able to decipher what you are in these conditions, which is why dressing like a DJ might be the easiest way to go. The versatility of a DJ costume is crucial. An edgy, mysterious Dubfire costume could also work as a sexy Darth Vader; a Skrillex costume is indistinguishable from an emo teenager stuck in a 2007 MySpace wormhole; a spooky Marshmello costume doubles as trash pulled from a landfill in Staten Island.

Crucially, dressing up as a DJ also doesn't take that much work, as long as you have the right accessories. I could celebrate Halloween shirtless, start random Twitter beefs, and say I'm DJ Sneak. Or, if all else fails and I end up being too tired to leave the couch, I could print out all of Sasha's "Sorry, flight's delayed and I'm sick" tweets, glue them to a black T-shirt, text my friends that I'm fifteen minutes away, and never show up to the party. Joy!

Without further ado, I present to you 16 DJs you can attempt to embody this Halloween season. Always remember, a DJ costume is incomplete unless it has two things within arm's length: a dilapidated Rimowa and an overworked, underpaid tour manager.

1. Ricardo Villalobos

- Fanny pack, half zipped
- 30 liters of fresh sweat
- Chopped bob wig
- Stained, loose tank top
- Under eye bags

2. Damian Lazarus

- Compass to prevent getting lost while trying to find your true self on some random spirit quest
- Black top hat (bunny not included)
- Strap-on fuzzy beard
- Floor-length silk wizard robe
- Witchcraft "how-to" books written in the blood of a genie
- Telepathic communication with DJ Tennis
- Lunar energy stored in a mason jar

3. Skrillex

- A dirty checkered Van shoe to kick up a fuss when somebody challenges your emo identity - 2007 band T-shirt covered in cat hair from the archives of Hot Topic
- A family portrait with Skrillex and Diplo as mom and dad as your home screen background
- Fake prescription glasses that are eight times the size of your face
- Six Grammy awards melted down into a skate ramp

4. Lee Burridge

- Collection of musk and lavender-scented candles from Bath & Body Works
- USB stick comprised of 200 Burning Man videos
- Bundles of burning sage
- Tapestry from a vintage hippie shop in San Francisco to cut and sew into a pair of underwear
- A mood ring that never changes from black
- A cloud

5. Marshmello

- White garbage pail
- Sharpie to draw on facial features
- White shirt and jeans
- A handwritten list of the best YouTube videos of Tiesto making hand-hearts to a crowd of teens

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6. Richie Hawtin

- Bottle of sake with an ENTER symbol on it (can be drawn on with Marshmello's Sharpie)
- Mesh t-shirt in a custom shade of the darkest black known to mankind
- $8,000 mixer
- Bottle-blonde wig
- A shake-weight for men
- Booth monitor that you can throw at the most annoying person at the Halloween party

7. Nicole Moudaber

- Voluminous black wig
- Plump, glistening lips with black lipstick smeared on them
- A shirt with the following inspirational quote: "Roses are red, violets are blue, be nice to those around you, and I'm the queen of fucking everything, including techno, and your mother, bitch."

8. DJ Sneak

- Beef (literal and figurative)
- A person-sized whoopie cushion
- Twitter app to start fights with fans
- A vintage record player strapped to your chest at all times to prove that it's better than a CDJ

9. Sven Väth

- Glass of Dom Perignon
- Kaleidoscopic-print turban
- IV bag of fresh, nutrient-enriched blood bought from the black market
- P90X intense workout video
- A cocoon

10. Dillon Francis

- Dubstep blender
- Framed photograph of Calvin Harris exiting Taylor Swift's TriBeCa apartment
- A hollow rainbow piñata named Gerald
- Snapchat app to document the trials and tribulations of being a grown man who screams at a piñata named Gerald
- Fifty cats named after emojis

11. Dubfire

- Black cape
- An iPhone 7+ to Instagram high quality photos of sushi and exotic seafood
- Black and white Rick Owens sneakers that resemble gothic clown shoes
- Loose-fitting black pants that will flow freely with the wind

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12. Dixon

- Baby blue contacts with dilated pupils
- European assistant who shamelessly hashtags your Instagram posts with your own name
- Riccardo Tisci's phone number

13. Loco Dice

- Nike Air Max's in an exotic color only sold from an exclusive gala in Dusseldorf
- Socks with diamond nooks to rest toes in
- G2 private jet
- HYTE sweatshirt
- Detroit Tigers snapback worn at a 76-degree angle

14. Guy Gerber

- A pack of Marlboro LightsThree blonde assistants handpicked from the Israeli army
- Yves Saint Laurent Chelsea boots
- Colorful feather braided into hair
- A magical white glove that has been blessed by David Blaine

15. The Martinez Brothers

Steven:

- Tray of homemade empanadas to constantly Snapchat
- Bodega bacon, egg, and cheese hanging out of your pocket
- Black bomber jacket with a hoodie underneath
- Limited-edition Jordans

Christian:

- Seven thousand grams of marijuana
- Perfected New York twang
- Diamond-encrusted necklace that says GOD

16. Martin Garrix

- Fake ID
- Black scoop neck t-shirt from the Baby Gap
- Check to give your publicity team for helping you get the number one spot on the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs list

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