80s Rock Halloween Costume Ideas for Men

The 80s brought about incredible changes in the rock music scene. During the 80s, subgenres of rock such as heavy metal, glam metal, punk rock and new wave underwent a transformation. Along with it came a transformation in fashion, hair and makeup that makes a killer costume. Here are a few ideas for radical costumes and accessories based on the wild and crazy rock trends of the 80s.

Ideas for 80s Rocker Halloween Costumes and Accessories

The 80s rocker is a good Halloween costume for men, whether you're going out for Halloween alone or with a group. If you're going solo, create a costume using an 80s rocker as a guide. For a more homegrown look, model your costume after hard rock icon Jon Bon Jovi. Get a tank top, blue jeans, a black leather jacket, some temporary tattoos and a big 80s rocker wig. Wear a fake shark tooth on a leather string or a bandanna around your neck. For something more flamboyant, check out pictures of Dee Snider from the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. Get tight brightly colored leggings with a shiny finish, a big colorful jacket with lots of fringe and some fingerless gloves and a belt to match. Get a gigantic, long wig and braid it into multiple small braids. Allow the wig to rest, then undo the braids and rat the top of the wig. Put on heavy red makeup on your cheeks and blue makeup over your eyes. Add a necklace to make the costume complete.

To create a group 80s rocker costume, model your costumes after a popular 80s hair band such as Poison. Wear T-shirts and button downs, denim jackets, leather jackets and vests or long 80s style print jackets with blue jeans. Get a big, long wig for each member of the group. Allow some of the members of your group to wear makeup if they like. Add accessories such as necklaces, sunglasses, hats and bandannas or scarves to go around the head.

Ideas for 80s Punk Rock Halloween Costumes and Accessories

If you want to find a punk rock icon, you need look no further than Billy Idol. To create a Billy Idol costume, get a black leather jacket zip-up jacket, a black fingerless leather glove for your right hand, slim plastic sunglasses with amber lenses and lots of chains, at least one with a cross pendant on the end. Also find some tight leather pants or print leggings and black combat boots. If you don't have tattoos, get some temporary ones. The most important part of the Billy Idol costume is the hair. If you're not willing to cut and bleach your hair, get a Billy Idol wig. Use mousse or gel to style it upward into a spikes.

Ideas for 80s New Wave Halloween Costumes and Accessories

A DEVO new wave costume would make a great group costume for a group of up to five men. Get a DEVO plastic dome hat for every member of your group. Then you can make your costume one of several ways. One way is to get matching yellow jumpsuits and black belts. Get black shirts to wear under the jumpsuits. Use decal letters to put "DEVO" diagonally on the right side of each costume. You can also wear silver jumpsuits with lapels over the black shirts. Another way is to get white sleeveless crew neck tunics with a black strip on top, black pants, belts and shoes. Attach a red turtleneck cowl to the neckline of each tunic. When you put on the tunic, pull the cowl up over your mouths. You can also come up with your own creative matching new wave rock DEVO costumes. As long as you're wearing the hats, the costumes should be recognizable.

For even more ideas, check out 70s Disco Halloween Costume Ideas and Gene Simmons KISS Halloween Costume Ideas.