Yesterday I walked into town (to buy a printer, look at me adulting) and had an overwhelming feeling of Octoberness - the leaves were a gorgeous array of yellows and reds and golds and the air was crisp and bright. All of which means Halloween will be here soon!

I don't usually get majorly into dressing up unless I have a fancy dress thing to go to, and even then I've always dressed as something 'scary' rather than just dressing up as whatever. I think it's quite an American thing to just dress up in general, but I've always done that kind of dressing up at Carnival and just 'scary' dressing up at Halloween. So I thought I'd turn to Polyvore and rustle up some simple, practical and easy to recreate outfits that could pass for Halloween without being over the top.

1. The Wednesday

My go-to Halloween outfit is the Wednesday Addams look. Just take any plain black dress with a contrasting white collar, add dolly shoes and stockings or tights, and there you have it! I usually plait my hair too because it makes the look more recognisable. The basic outfit would easily pass as an everyday outfit, but to be even more Halloweeny you could accessorise with a 'pet spider' or a headless doll (both very Wednesday!).

2. Skeleton

Sometimes it's all in the accessorising - with some bold statement jewellery, belts and studs you can turn a simple skirt-and-top ensemble into something far more costume-y. The top here is actually a onepiece swimsuit-style thing, which I imagine would be a good investment piece for Halloween outfits because you could style it in so many different ways. Also the shoes are fierce.

3. Gothic chick

Any all-black outfit is a good starting point for Halloween, and all the more so if you happen to have something like this poofy skirt lying around that you might not wear every day. I'm picturing this look with really intense black makeup for a seriously gothic look.

4. Vamp girl

For this last outfit I took inspiration from the whole vampire-cum-catholic-schoolgirl vibe (if that's even a thing, maybe it's just Tumblr). It's probably unlikely that anyone will have a sheer black dress like this one but any lacy number will do, even if it leans towards being a bit of a nightdress. This is another one where makeup can make all the difference!

Next time I'll be posting some more Halloween outfit ideas with a totally different vibe!

x