Beetlejuice Costume & Outfits: How to Dress Like Him

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A ghost with a sales pitch: black-and-white stripes worn like he's slept in them for six hundred years, chalk-white skin, hair going green at the edges. Here is how to build it.

Beetlejuice owns exactly one outfit and has clearly never taken it off. The striped suit does all the work; the shirt, the tie and the hair just have to look like they lost a fight with a crypt. Buy clean, then distress.

Scene: The Suit

Black-and-White Striped Suit

Bold vertical stripes, about a finger wide, black on white, jacket and trousers matching. Loose enough to look borrowed — never slim, never pinstripe.

Budget pick

fun shack Striped Suit Costume (jacket, trousers, shirt bib and tie)

★ 4.3 · 1,025 reviews

The whole skeleton of the look in one box: striped jacket and trousers, a shirt bib and a black tie, and the stripes are the right width. Size up so it hangs loose, and never iron it.

$30–35 See it on Amazon

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Scene: Underneath

Crumpled White Shirt

Plain white button-up. Cheap cotton beats good cotton here; it should never meet an iron.

Budget pick

Amazon Essentials Men's Long-Sleeve Pocket Oxford Shirt, White

★ 4.4 · 19,838 reviews

The bib in the suit box passes at a party; up close, a real shirt does not give the game away. Buy it a size large and let it crease.

$15–20 See it on Amazon

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Scene: The Ghoul

Wild Green-Grey Wig

Shoulder-length and matted, chalky blond going green at the ends. Messier is more accurate.

Budget pick

Ruina Mens Green Wig for Halloween Costume, Soft Wavy

★ 4.2 · 182 reviews

The right mess: matted, chalky green, with the receding crown already built in. Tease it out further, never tidier.

$20–25 See it on Amazon

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White Face Paint & Mould Shadows

A cream-white base plus mossy green and dusty purple shadow for the patches around the eyes and jaw.

Budget pick

BADCOLOR White Green Purple Face and Body Paint Kit with Brushes

★ 4.4 · 741 reviews

White base plus the exact green and purple for the mould patches, brushes included. Set it with powder or it ends up on the jacket.

$10–15 See it on Amazon

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Why it works

The stripes are a joke that lands from across a room: it's a suit, technically, but nobody has ever worn one to anything that mattered. Bold black-and-white reads as prison uniform and carnival barker at once, which is exactly the character — a con man who happens to be dead. The grime matters as much as the cut. A crisp striped suit is a mime; the same suit rumpled, with chalky skin and a green-tinged wig, is unmistakable. Keep the stripes vertical and wide, keep everything else filthy, and you won't need to say his name three times.

Written by Screenfits Editors.

Questions people actually ask

What does Beetlejuice wear?

A black-and-white vertically striped suit, worn loose and rumpled over a grubby white shirt with a narrow dark tie. Michael Keaton's version adds chalk-white skin with green and purple mould patches and wild, greenish hair.

How do I make a Beetlejuice costume without buying a bagged costume?

Buy the striped jacket and trousers as separates, then age them: crumple them, skip the iron, and dust a little green eyeshadow along the seams. A plain white shirt and a thin black tie finish the clothes; the face paint and wig do the rest.

Does it work as a couples costume?

Yes. Pair it with Lydia Deetz in all-black gothic layers, or in the red wedding dress from the film's finale. It reads instantly from either side of the room.

What should I avoid?

Thin pinstripes and a neat fit. The stripes need to be bold, roughly a finger wide, and the suit should look like it has been buried. Clean and tailored turns him into a referee.

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