Dear Gossips,

Lainey may hate Halloween, but I don’t. I’m writing this after handing out candy in gale-force winds, nothing keeps me inside on Halloween night, not even a dry hurricane. Halloween also brings out celebrities in force, often in elaborate costumes. But sometimes not!

Kirsten Dunst is a woman after my own heart in an easy witch costume with sensible shoes (my go-to Halloween night look, too).

Kirsten Dunst trick or treating in Toluca Lake, October 31, 2024

But many celebrities do go all-out on Halloween. And why not? They have the resources and access to top-tier makeup artists, costume companies, prop shops, the whole nine.

Janelle Monae gave an entire interview to The Hollywood Reporter about her elaborate costumes, which she calls performance art. This year, she was ET.

Some people pulled double duty, sporting party looks and a more accessible Halloween night costume for trick-or-treating, such as Anne Hathaway, who trick-or-treated in a family-themed Star Wars costume, but went as “Boo York City” last weekend. It’s giving The Purge.

Another family set are Irina Shayk and Bradley Cooper, with their daughter, Lea. Their costumes do not match, which is fine. I always award extra points to couples who don’t bother matching their costumes, so I bestow upon them this year’s “best non-matchy couple costume”, even though they’re not technically a couple but are co-parents. An actual couple that DID match is Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco as Tim Burton’s version of Alice and the Mad Hatter. Points off for being cliché, but I have to admit the execution is A+. Total score: B+.

Jennifer Garner did a video of her getting dressed as Jenna Rink to mark the 20th anniversary of 13 Going on 30. Ah, the power of starring in a beloved rom-com. It’s like singing a hit Christmas song. Everyone loves you forever.

In a fun bit of synchronicity, Halle Bailey, Coi Leray, and Tyla all dressed in Halle Berry-inspired costumes. Halle Berry herself, meanwhile, celebrated spooky season and National Black Cat Day dressed as a witch, complete with her black cat, Coco. I’m obsessed with Halle and her cats. This is, obviously, my number one celebrity Halloween costume for the year, no one beats witches, black cats, AND supporting animal rescue.

But the number one celebrity group costume, hands down, is Kerry Washington, Scott Foley, and Tony Goldwyn as the Challengers love triangle. Points for cultural relevancy, cross-generational appeal, and choosing to dress as their messy college years. They just needed a fourth to dress as Tashi Duncan’s blown out knee, and it would be absolute perfection.

Now we segue into pumpkin spice season. (I know they’ve been selling pumpkin spice lattes for over a month, the most boring people I know insist on announcing every time they buy one and go on about how much they “love fall”.) But the correct order of events is: spooky season, pumpkin spice season, holly dominance, liminal space, new year. This year we have the addition of the US election, which gives us the short but brutal “everyone is very normal about everything and we’re definitely not doomscrolling 24/7” season. I am totally fine and am definitely not doomscrolling, why do you ask?

Live long and gossip,

Sarah

Kirsten Dunst Gossip

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