Costumes for a Song Title Theme Party

Dressing as a song title is not an uncommon costume theme for parties. When planning for it, people tend to think of a song first and then try to think of a costume to go along with it, with varying degrees of success. For example, I know someone who went as an empty vase for the song, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone." Sometimes you can be too clever for your own good!

Though there's nothing wrong with this approach, for this article I'm turning things around. I'm going to keep it simple and give you a list of costumes which you should be able to find at most costume stores, and at least two songs that would work for the costume. Hopefully this list will inspire you to think of several songs or costumes!

Some other notes on this approach:

a) I'm going off of mostly classic ‘middle-of-the-road’ pop songs and chart hits because in my experience, most people will think of the most recent songs for the theme. The exception, of course, would be favourite oldies songs.

b) Because I am based in Britain, some of the songs may be unfamiliar to international readers. This is why I give two song choices, both of which are easily found on YouTube. You could also easily your own "local" song.

I hope you benefit from these costume ideas and, most of all, have a great party!

Ace of Spades Card Costume
Ace of Spades — Motorhead
Leader of the Pack — Shangri-Las
Poker Face — Lady Gaga

Angel Costume
Angel — Robbie Williams
There Must Be an Angel Playing With My Heart — Eurythmics
Angel — Shaggy ft. Rayvon

Army Uniform
You're in the Army Now — Status Quo
Army of Two — Olly Mers
Battlefield — Jordin Sparks

Baby
Babe — Styx
Don’t Call Me Baby — Madison Avenue
...Baby One More Time — Britney Spears

Ballgown
Ballroom Blitz — The Sweet
Dancing Queen — Abba
Murder On the Dancefloor — Sophie Ellis Bextor

Cat
What’s New Pussycat? — Tom Jones
Mean Eyed Cat — Johnny Cash

Cleopatra
Walk like an Egyptian — The Bangles
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World — Prince

Clown
Tears of a Clown — Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
Cathy’s Clown — Everly Brothers
Ha Ha Said the Clown — Manfred Mann

Cowboy
Rodeo — Garth Brooks
Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? — Paula Cole
Rhinestone Cowboy — Glen Campbell

Devil (Female)
Devil Woman — Cliff Richard
You’re the Devil in Disguise — Elvis
Devil with the Blue Dress — Mitch Ryder

Dick Turpin
Stand & Deliver — Adam Ant
Stop in the Name of Love — The Supremes

Doctor
Doctor Doctor — Thompson Twins
Doctor Jones — Aqua
Doctor My Eyes — Jackson Browne
Dr Beat — Miami Sound Machine

Doll
Living Doll — Cliff Richard
Barbie Girl — Aqua

Einstein
Einstein a Go Go — Landscape
She Blinded Me with Science — Thomas Dolby

Genie (or Arabian Belly Dancer)
Genie in a Bottle — Christine Aguilera
Jean Genie — David Bowie

Ghostbuster
Ghostbusters — Ray Parker Junior
The Spirits Having Flown — The Bee Gees

Superhero
Heroes — David Bowie
Hero Heroine — (Boys Like Girls)

Knight
December 1963 (Oh What A (K)night) — The Four Seasons
(K)Night Fever — The Bee Gees

Magician
Abracadabra — Steve Miller Band
It’s a Kind of Magic — Queen
Could It Be Magic — Barry Manilow

Marathon Runner
Keep On Running — Spencer Davis Group
Born to Run — Springsteen

Panto Dame
Dude Looks Like a Lady — Aerosmith
There Is Nothing Like a Dame — South Pacific Soundtrack

Prince Charming
Prince Charming — Adam Ant
At Last — Etta James

Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy — The Coasters
Itchycoo Park — Small Faces
I’ve Got You Under My Skin — Frank Sinatra

Puss-in-Boots
Puss-in-Boots — Adam Ant
These Boots Are Made for Walking — Nancy Sinatra and Jessica Simpson

Quasimodo
Ring My Bell — Anita Ward
Le Freak — Chic (Zombie version)
Dead Ringer for Love — Meatloaf

Queen
Killer Queen — Queen
Dancing Queen — Abba

Sailor
In the Navy — Village People
Sailing — Rod Stewart
I'm Sailing Away — Styx

Smurf
The Smurf Song — Father Abrahams
True Blue — Madonna

Spaceman
Spaceman — Babylon Zoo
Walking on the Moon — Police
Rocket Man — Elton John

Tiger
Maneater — Hall & Oates
Born to be Wild — Steppenwolf
Tiger Feet — Mud

Venus or Aphrodite
Venus — Shocking Blue and Bananarama
Venus in Blue Jeans — Jimmy Clanton

Witch
Witch Queen of New Orleans — Redbone
Season of the Witch — Donovan
Witchy Woman — The Eagles

Frankenstein
Frankie — Sister Sledge
Monster Mash — Bobby Pickett & The Crypt Kickers

Frankenstein's Bride
Living Doll — Cliff Richard
I Was Made to Love You — Queen

Adam & Eve
If You Were the Only Girl in the World — Doris Day and Perry Como
You Were Made for Me — Freddy & The Dreamers

Caveman or Woman & Dinosaur
Wild Thing — The Troggs
Walk the Dinosaur — Was (Not Was)

Flower and Bee
All I Want is You — Tristan Prettyman

Cowboy and Cowgirl
Cowboy Take Me Away — Dixie Chicks
Should Have Been a Cowboy — Toby Keith

For this section, I flipped it. I started with the song and then came up with a costume to fit it!

99 Red Balloons — Nena
Wear red and cover yourself in 99 small red balloons. You can either blow some up and stuff your outfit with them, or pin the uninflated balloons onto your shirt. Your evening will go bang at some point!

Hungry Like the Wolf — Duran Duran
Dress up in a wolf's outfit. Bring some food props if you're up to it.

Red Dress — Sugababes
This is an easy one from the Sugababes: Just wear a red dress! This is a great idea for a man to get an extra laugh!

Men in Black — Will Smith
Another easy costume to put together. Wear black from head to toe and don't forget the cool sunglasses.

Muscleman — Salad
Wear a muscle chest costume and skimpy shorts. This costume is sure to get a good laugh.

Beat It — Michael Jackson
Get the Jackson look with a sparkly red jacket, black jeans, and a white top.

Material Girl — Madonna
You could either take this literally and cover yourself with odd pieces of material, or go with a costume inspired by Madonna's music video where she wears elbow-length pink gloves, a pink evening dress, and a very sparkly necklace.

Black or White — Michael Jackson
Wear either a half black and half white or a black and white harlequin costume.

Come Fly with Me — Frank Sinatra
Wear a pilot or flight attendant costume.

Gangsta's Paradise — Coolio
Wear a gangsta or pimp costume.

Somewhere over the Rainbow — Judy Garland
Try a Dorothy costume (blue checkered dress, pigtails, and red sparkly shoes), or go a little bit more unconventional with a leprechaun outfit.

Breakfast at Tiffany's — Deep Blue Something
Wear an Audrey Hepburn costume.

Night Fever — The Bee Gees
Wear a white '70s suit.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight — Token
Wear a lion costume. For extra effect, act really sleepy.

Another Brick in the Wall — Pink Floyd
Wear school children outfits, or dress like a brick. Your choice!

White Rabbit — Jefferson Airplane
Wear a pair of bunny ears, or go for a more Alice in Wonderland look with a pocketwatch and a bow tie too.

The Boxer — Simon & Garfunkel
Lace up those boxing gloves and put on some shorts.

Sultans of Swing — Dire Straits
Wear a sultan costume and take a toy instrument if you want (or a real one that you don't mind dinging up a bit).

Billie Jean — Michael Jackson
Wear a lady's tennis outfit to dress as this tennis star.

Hound Dog — Elvis
Wear a dog costume.