Where to find the best fancy dress costumes in Leeds

Spooky season is slowly creeping up on us and for us student’s it’s time to start thinking about our Halloween costumes. If you’re wondering what Leeds is like when Halloween hits, let me tell you… Halloween in Leeds involves what feels like every student dressing up in something gorgeously gruesome or something that ticks the fancy dress box but is a little more cute or sultry. Whatever costume you want, you can find it in one of Leeds’ array of amazing shops.

While you can order a costume online, I think that nothing beats going to a shop and seeing a costume in person. Plus, who wants to risk the online photo not matching the reality of what you’re sent? Read this blog to discover my top shops for Halloween.

Smiffy’s Dress Up and Party

Smiffy’s Dress Up and Party in Headingley is perfectly located for the many students who live in this bustling area of Leeds. They sell everything from morph suits to cheerleader costumes, wigs and masquerade masks. I find it a really useful place for picking up props and accessories to complete my outfit, as they have an abundance here. One year I bought a pitchfork and some horns from here which allowed me to easily finish off my devil costume. If you’re wanting to keep things simple and wear clothes you already own, but you just need a few accessories to create that Halloween look, then I’d say this is definitely the place to come.

Charity shops, like the British Heart Foundation

As a student I’m always on the lookout for affordability, especially when it comes to fancy dress costumes as I will probably only wear a costume a few times. Which is why charity shops are a great place to pick up a costume because you can get something quite cheaply. There are plenty of brilliant charity shops in Leeds but out of all the ones I’ve shopped in, I’d say that the British Heart Foundation in the Kirkstall Bridge Shopping Park, is by far the largest and cheapest charity shop around. There’s just so much here that I know it won’t take me long at all to find some clothes that will inspire an outfit. In fact, it was at this particular charity shop where I got the clothes I needed to put together a last-minute 2021 Halloween costume - selecting a grey blazer and some glasses to transform into a maths teacher.

Facebook

Another great place to find costumes is on trusty Facebook. There are two options here, one is shopping through Facebook marketplace, where users upload their items for sale. Here you may be lucky enough to find someone selling a full fancy dress costume in good condition. Alternatively, there are several Facebook groups for students in Leeds, in addition to the general posts about student life, people often post about costumes they’re looking to sell or buy here. Thanks to the Otley Run (Leeds’ hugely popular fancy dress pub crawl), Leeds Beckett students usually have an abundance of disused fancy dress wear which they’re looking to sell. In addition to purchasing costumes, some people post asking if anyone has one they can borrow and I’d say 9 times out of 10 someone will happily let you borrow a costume in return for a pint.

Damaged Society

You can find Damaged Society in Trinity Leeds shopping centre. While this is not a costume shop, it is full of gothic fashion, making it a great place to shop for something dark and unique to wear on October 31. From accessories like their skeleton earrings and Ouija necklace, to gorgeous gothic clothes like a pinafore with cat head-shaped pockets, there is so much to choose from here and it’s possible you may come away with something you could actually wear on a regular basis. 

With one of the largest student populations in the UK, Leeds’ student nightlife is legendary. When it comes to Halloween, there’s lots of themed nights at all the best clubs. I hope these ideas will help you to find the process of finding a Halloween costume a little easier, cheaper, and most importantly, good fun!