In 2024, pop girls became the main characters of the music industry.
“Greedy” singer Tate McRae became the newest face of Kim Kardashian’s Skims brand on Monday for its holiday campaign as she continues to hit the stage in support of her “Think Late World Tour.” Charli XCX’s Brat summer-turned-Brat-autumn transcended seasons and has been an unavoidable reference for anyone on the internet, including the Harris-Walz campaign. Midwest princess Chappell Roan drew the biggest daytime set Lollapalooza has ever seen, while TikToker turned singer Addison Rae dropped her infectious single “Diet Pepsi” in August.
But more than going viral and setting records, these newer rising female artists have inspired their fans to dress up for their concerts and for Halloween. They may all be pop stars, but their styles differ considerably. No two of these women dress the same.
Aesthetically speaking, each of these pop girls is immediately recognizable, which is likely why they make for the perfect Halloween costumes. Seldom do fans see coquettish signifiers like corsets, heart motifs and pastels and not think of Carpenter.
Chappell Roan often comes to mind in discussions of drag-influenced makeup and campy, theatrical costuming. Charli XCX, pop’s resident club rat, has become practically synonymous with her unkempt indie-sleaze look.
In a Taylor Swift “Eras Tour” world, it’s become increasingly popular for fans to cosplay as versions of pop stars to express fandom. Rodrigo’s “Guts World Tour” saw crowds of fans dressed in one of the singer’s signature onstage looks: a white ribbed tank top, sparkly black shorts, ripped tights and combat boots. Attendees of Charli XCX’s “Sweat Tour” often opt for black sunglasses, micro shorts and knee-high boots, much like the singer is known to wear.
For Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet Tour,” the buttery yellow corset dress with a rhinestone heart cutout she wore at the 2024 Governors Ball Music Festival is among the most fan-replicated looks. Carpenter is also the ninth most popular Halloween costume of 2024, according to Google’s Freightgeist list.
Dressing up isn’t limited to arenas — and emulating a pop star, at least sartorially, doesn’t necessarily need to break the bank. For many fans, the items required to create these looks can often be found in their own closets.
Broadway actress Ava Noble knew she wanted to dress up as one of pop’s newest leading ladies to kick off her Halloween festivities. Noble dressed up as Rodrigo, while her fellow & Juliet castmates opted for fellow pop girls, including Carpenter, McRae and Rae.
“As an actor who dresses up every day for hundreds of people, this is one of my favorite holidays to go full out on,” she told Yahoo Entertainment.
In between their performances, Noble and her castmates focused their time on sourcing additional items for their costumes and bringing each look together.
“We spent the last couple of weeks embellishing our own versions of the pop stars’ costumes,” she said. “We went to our closets first to pull pieces that remind us of their most iconic looks, ordered what we were missing … then spent our time offstage to perfect the full looks — hair, makeup, nails and all.”
TikTok star Angelina Jacob, who has 2.3 million followers, posted a video on Oct. 7 showing off a variety of pop-star-inspired costumes for Halloween. The video has since garnered over 800,000 likes and 5.3 million views. Jacob, who will be attending one of Carpenter’s upcoming Los Angeles shows, told Yahoo that she plans on repurposing parts of her Halloween costume when she attends.
“These pop girls are some of my favorites right now, but it’s really about how each of them has a style that’s instantly recognizable,” she said. “When all these elements come together, it actually works as a costume, and you can actually recognize who I’m dressed up as.”
These days, Halloween is a playground for the very online. Costumes are often inspired by topical moments on the internet — whether it’s viral hippo Moo Deng or Australian Olympic breakdancer Raygun. Even Bachelor Nation fans are referencing their knowledge of viral moments in the fandom for Halloween — like when former Bachelorette Jenn Tran first met contestant Jonathon Johnson, who stepped out of the limo during the season premiere in a hospital gown with his face wrapped in bandages.
There’s something to be said about the playfulness that comes with dressing up as a well-known internet moment. With newer pop stars like Carpenter and Charli XCX constantly extending their reach online to fans, whether it’s by participating in a viral TikTok trend or even starting a trend of their own, they also fit the bill.
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