What to Wear to Halloween in New York
Saturday, October 31, 2026 · 7pm · Sixth Avenue, Canal Street to 15th Street, New York
NOAA's 1991–2020 October normals for Central Park, the figures on our New York October guide. Halloween falls at the cold end of the month, so plan below the mean. Daylight is for 31 October.
Village Halloween Parade, Saturday 31 October 2026: 7pm on Sixth Avenue, 11°C / 52°F October nights, and a costume that is the only rule.
- A thermal base under the costume — you wait, then march, after dark
- A packable jacket over it — October nights fall to 11°C and lower at month's end
- Broken-in sneakers — Canal Street to 15th Street is a long walk on asphalt
- A belt bag — both hands stay free for the costume
- A beanie and touchscreen gloves — you will take photos for two hours
- New shoes or heels — the line-up alone can take an hour
- A handheld bag or prop you cannot put down
- Walking south on Sixth once you are in the parade — police turn you back
- Arriving at the line-up from the west side — enter from the east or south
Packing philosophy
Dress for the wait, not the march. The Village Halloween Parade lines up at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue from 6:30pm, steps off at 7pm and runs until about 11pm, and marchers stand in the line-up until they are let onto the route. NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for Central Park give October 18°C / 64°F by day and 11°C / 52°F at night, and the 31st is the cold end of that. Daylight saving time ends the next morning, so the sun is down before six. Put a thermal and leggings under the costume, a packable puffer over it that comes off for the photos, and sneakers you have already walked a mile in.
The Village parade has one rule, a costume, and one problem nobody plans for: the hour before you march, standing on Canal Street in October in whatever the costume left you.
What the dress code actually is
The parade's only requirement to march is a costume; there is no registration and no fee, and the organisers publish nothing about what the costume must be. This year's theme is Body & Soul, which the organisers frame around skeletons, dance and getting back into your body, but they have issued no rulebook for it, so a ribcage print under a jacket counts as much as a full construction. Watching needs nothing at all. What the organisers do publish is logistics: line up at Canal and Sixth between 6:30 and 9pm, enter the staging area from the east or south along Sullivan, Broome and Canal, and do not walk south on Sixth once you are on the route, because the police will stop you. Costume masks and face paint are part of the night; a prop you cannot put down is the thing to leave at home.
The capsule
01Black waffle-knit thermal crewThe line-up on Canal Street is an hour or more of standing on an October night, which NOAA puts at 11°C / 52°F on average and lower at month's end. A black waffle thermal goes under nearly any costume without showing, and the waffle traps warmth where a cotton tee does not. It is also the base for the skeleton print if that is your costume.
02Black fleece-backed thermal leggingsMost costumes leave the legs thinnest. Fleece-backed leggings go under a skirt, a robe or trousers, stay invisible in black, and keep your legs warm for four hours on the street. A wide waistband sits flat under anything.
03Cream packable down jacket, stand collarIt goes on for the wait and comes off for the march, when you are moving and warm and want the costume seen. A packable down jacket stuffs into its own pocket or ties at the waist. Bone-cream reads as part of a Body & Soul costume rather than a coat thrown over it.
04All-black leather low-top sneakersCanal Street to 15th Street is more than a mile on asphalt, after an hour standing in the staging area. Broken-in leather sneakers get you through both; all black disappears under a costume, and a black sole does not show the street by 11pm. Leave heels and new boots for another night.
05Black nylon crescent belt bagBoth hands belong to the costume, so the phone, a card and the lip balm go at your waist. A crescent belt bag sits flat under a jacket or over a costume, and nylon shrugs off a drizzle on one of October's 8 wet days. Black webbing and a black buckle keep it out of the photographs.
06Heather-grey wide-rib beanie, pompomMost heat goes from the head on a cold wait, and a beanie is the one warm thing that fits under many costumes or replaces a headpiece until the march. Grey goes with black and bone. Pull it off when you step onto Sixth Avenue.
07Black long-sleeve tee with a bone-white skeleton printThe quickest way into this year's Body & Soul theme: a ribcage and spine on the front, arm bones down the sleeves, over the thermal. It qualifies you to march, it keeps your arms covered at 11°C, and it still works as a shirt on Sunday. Add face paint if you want the rest of the skeleton.
08Thin black touchscreen knit glovesYou will take photographs for four hours, and bare fingers on a phone at 11°C go numb by nine. Conductive fingertips mean the gloves stay on. Thin black knit hides under a costume's sleeves or becomes part of a skeleton's hands.
Day to night
Black thermal · leggings · black sneakers · cream puffer · beanie · belt bag. A Saturday afternoon in the Village while the side streets fill with costumes, sunset before six.
Skeleton-print long-sleeve over the thermal · leggings · sneakers · gloves · puffer tied at the waist · belt bag. The Canal Street line-up from 6:30pm, then north up Sixth Avenue to 15th Street.
A suggested look — black skeleton-print long-sleeve tee, black thermal leggings, cream packable down jacket, black leather sneakers, heather grey pompom beanie.
What to avoid
- New shoes or heels — an hour's wait, then more than a mile
- A prop or bag you must hold for four hours
- Dressing for the monthly mean — Halloween is the cold end of October
- Entering the line-up from the west
- Walking south on Sixth Avenue once on the route
Frequently asked questions
A costume, if you want to march, with warmth underneath it. NOAA's Central Park normals give October 18°C / 64°F by day and 11°C / 52°F at night, and the parade runs from 7pm to about 11pm on the last night of the month. Wear a thermal and leggings under the costume, broken-in sneakers, and a packable jacket that ties at the waist for the march. Keep your hands free with a belt bag.
Saturday 31 October 2026. The parade steps off at 7pm and runs north up Sixth Avenue from Canal Street to West 15th Street, finishing around 11pm. It is the 53rd parade, and this year's theme is Body & Soul.
Wear a costume and turn up at the line-up at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue between 6:30 and 9pm; there is no registration. Enter the staging area from the east or south, along Sullivan, Broome and Canal Streets, and expect to wait until you are let onto the route. Once you are in the parade, keep heading north.
Cool and darkening early. NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for Central Park give October an average high of 18°C / 64°F and a low of 11°C / 52°F, with rain on about 8 days, and the 31st is the cold end of the month. The sun sets before six, and daylight saving time ends the next morning.
Body & Soul. The organisers tie it to skeletons, dance and the idea of getting back into your body rather than living through screens, and they have set no rules for how you interpret it. A skeleton print, a dancer's costume or something entirely your own all qualify.
Sources
- NYC Village Halloween Parade — March in the parade (line-up at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue, 6:30–9pm) — accessed 2026-09-29
- CBS New York — Theme revealed for the 53rd Village Halloween Parade, 2026 — accessed 2026-09-29
- Krewe of BOO! — New Orleans' official Halloween parade — accessed 2026-09-29
- New Orleans & Company — Krewe of BOO!, Saturday 24 October 2026 — accessed 2026-09-29
- City of West Hollywood — Halloween Carnaval, Santa Monica Boulevard, 31 October, 6–11pm — accessed 2026-09-29
- City of West Hollywood — Halloween Carnaval safety information and prohibited items — accessed 2026-09-29
- NOAA NCEI — U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (monthly normals by station) — accessed 2026-09-26
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information — Climate Data Online — accessed 2026-04-23
