Halloween is a holiday that many consider synonymous with fun activities like trick-or-treating and carving pumpkins. However, its hallmark is also one of its most controversial elements: wearing costumes. In recent years, costume companies and families alike have been criticized for cultural appropriation. People of different ethnicities, religions, and races have spoken out about costumes are insensitive, disrespectful, or outright racist.

It can be hard for parents to navigate which costumes are appropriate for their children to wear and what crosses from cultural appreciation to appropriation. Pet parents face the same dilemma: what costumes should they or shouldn’t they dress their pets in? Considering it’s an animal wearing a costume and not a person, can pet costumes even be culturally appropriative? The short answer is yes. However it’s not as hard as you might think to find a fun and respectful outfit for your best friend.

What Is Cultural Appropriation?

Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate adoption of aesthetics, customs, or elements of a specific culture or identity by members of a different culture or identity. Note the use of the word inappropriate here. Acts like using a French coffee press, wearing a kimono-style robe, or buying African skincare products isn’t cultural appropriation.

There are several characteristics that separate cultural appropriation from cultural appreciation:

• The culture being appropriated without acknowledgement or in an inappropriate manner is usually a minority group that is historically disadvantaged or discriminated against.
• Conversely, the people taking elements of a different culture usually belong to a dominant group.
• This power imbalance is what initially allows members who don’t belong to a culture or identity to temporarily “borrow” it without suffering the same discrimination and negative consequences.

Animal costumes can be just as inappropriate and racist as costumes intended for people. Outfits from specific cultures or which reference elements of those cultures should only be worn by people that belong to that ethnicity, race, religion, etc. It doesn’t matter whether these outfits are historical or modern, sacred or secular, common or rare. Likewise, seeing a culturally appropriative costume online, in store, or on another pet doesn’t equate to permission for you to dress your dog in it.

As far as popular movie and TV characters go, such as Disney princesses and Marvel superheroes, it’s generally fine if you stick to the outfit. However, there are two caveats to this:

1. Make sure the outfit clearly reflects the character and is recognizable
2. Don’t add more “culturally correct” elements to the outfit

This means that you can dress your dog up as the Black Panther or Princess Jasmine, but shouldn’t try to add traditional African or Arabic elements to the outfit.

In some ways, it’s easier to dress your dog in an appropriate costume, since owners can primarily focus on the outfit itself. For example, it’s unlikely that owners would put cornrows on their dog, which people have been criticized for doing to their own hair in the past. However, there are still many outfits that are culturally insensitive and inappropriate, so owners should take care when dressing their dog. Considering that certain peoples were often compared to animals and cultures were disparaged as “animalistic” or “primitive,” it’s especially important that owners don’t accidentally reinforce such racist and unfounded stereotypes.

When in doubt, refer to the Internet and common sense. If you’re still unsure about a costume and worry it may cause controversy, it’s probably best to err on the side of caution and look for an outfit that is guaranteed to be adorable rather than harmful.

Costumes That Pets Shouldn’t Wear

There are tons of costumes that pets and people can wear, but several that the majority of the population shouldn’t, four-legged or otherwise. The costumes in the list below should be avoided since they represent significant cultural aspects or have been used in the past to promote insensitive and racist stereotypes.

• Native American – Costumes that include headdresses, feathers, and other elements from Native American culture shouldn’t be worn.
• Indigenous People – Outfits that depict indigenous people and groups like the Inuit, Polynesians, Adivasi, and African tribes should only be worn by individuals from those specific groups.
• Day of the Dead – Día de los Muertos, also known as All Souls’ Day, is a holiday that honors loved ones that have passed; it is not a “Mexican” version of Halloween.
• Mexican – Outfits that rely on Mexican or Hispanic stereotypes should be avoided, such as those that involve sombreros, ponchos, and maracas.
• Wigs – Wigs that depict box braids, dreadlocks, cornrows, and other hairstyles that have specific cultural origins and uses should not be placed on your dog.
• Headwear – Similarly, hijabs, bindis, and cultural or religious headwear are off limits.

Culturally significant jewelry, tattoos or body markings, and objects should also be treated with due respect and not included in a costume.

If you and your pet steer clear of these costumes, everyone will have a spooky great Halloween!

Costumes That Are Okay For Pets To Wear

For a quick and easy reference, below are some costumes that are absolutely okay for pups of all shapes and sizes to wear. The types of costumes included here are fun and appropriate for everyone:

• TV & Movie Characters – Dress your dog up as an iconic TV or movie character, like Woody, Eeyore, Minnie Mouse, Beetlejuice, and even Olaf. Check out over 200 of your favorite characters from brands like Disney, Marvel, and more.
• Superheroes & Princesses – Get ready for an adventure with superhero and princess costumes, featuring memorable characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, Snow White, Cinderella, and Belle.
• Funny – Prepare to laugh once you get a look at these funny costumes, including a shark fin, walking monkey, Where’s Waldo, and banana. These lighthearted costumes are fun for everyone and easy to slip on and off.
• Animal – What’s better than an adorable puppy? An adorable puppy dressed up like a bunny rabbit, bumblebee, turtle, or spider! Let your dog walk a mile in another animal’s shoes in search of candy and other (dog safe) sweet treats.
• Occupational – Instead of bringing your dog to work, bring your work to your dog. Dress your pooch up like a police officer, aviator, sailor, postal worker, and more. Sort through dozens of costumes to find the one that does the job best!
• Food – People and dogs love to eat food almost as much as they love to look at cute animals dressed like food. Pick out a sushi, donut and coffee, avocado, or pizza slice costume, or sort through the other options for one that’s more to your taste.
• Sports – Paying homage to your favorite team doesn’t have to be reserved for Thanksgiving or the Super Bowl (or Puppy Bowl). Dress your pup up as a cheerleader, football player, baseball player, or even a giant football. 
• Historical – If you and your pup have a flair for drama, these historical costumes might be right for you. With these cowboy, pirate, and Renaissance costumes, your dog will look like they just jumped off the big screen.
• Scary & Spooky – Get in the holiday spirit with these scary and spooky costumes! Choose a frightful favorite like the Ghostbusters, Jack Skellington, or Freddy Kreuger or pick a Halloween staple like a vampire, devil, or werewolf.
• Matching Human and Dog – Have double the fun with these matching human and dog costumes, including this hot dog and condiment couple, star wars characters, nurse and doctor duo, and Christmas costumes.

If your furry friend doesn’t like costumes, that’s okay! There are also festive options for them:

• Accessories – Try a simple cape, tutu, pair of wings, or toy accessories instead of a full costume. These will all allow more freedom of movement and may be more comfortable for your pooch while trick-or-treating.
• Collars and Leads – Your pet can still celebrate Halloween with these simple costume collars and leads, which can feature favorite characters like Batman and My Little Pony or light up with colorful LEDs.

These accessories are sure to make your dog stand out, without making them or anyone else uncomfortable. Focus on the fun this Halloween and have a blast with your pet watching scary movies, handing out candy, or taking a walk around the neighborhood.