30 DIY Halloween Costumes For Empowered Ladies

Beyoncé in “Hold Up” music video, Screencap via Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records

“Hold Up” Beyoncé – Lemonade

Why She’s Awesome: So, we don’t have to go over why Queen Bey is a feminist icon, right? The success that she has amassed as a woman of color making political art is reason enough in itself. Her most recent visual album, Lemonade, has already become iconic, thanks to the intense, personal music and incredibly moving video element.

One of the most memorable characters occurs in the video for the song “Hold Up.” Beyoncé traipses down the street in a breezy yellow dress, contemplating her man’s potential affair. Upon deciding she’d rather be crazy than jealous, she cheerfully destroys everything in her path with a baseball bat. Seeing one of the most powerful women in the world both own and refute the stereotype of a crazy, jealous girlfriend is not just powerful – it’s straight up legendary.

What You’ll Need: Beyoncé’s dress in the video is most likely a crazy expensive designer number, but that doesn’t mean you can’t replicate it on the cheap! Go thrifting for a flowy yellow dress, or top/skirt combo. Since the dress has many layers, you might want to stack several breezy garments on top of each other. Top it off with high black heels, gold hoop earrings, and maybe even a fancy visible bra (if you’re into that).

Next Level Move: The baseball bat is definitely an important piece, but those can be expensive – at least, too expensive for a one-night costume. If you don’t have one, see if you have a friend you can borrow from. Once you’ve procured a bat, take another close look at the “Hold Up” video. Beyoncé’s bat is emblazoned with the words “Hot Sauce,” as in, “I’ve got hot sauce in my bag.” Add it to your own weapon in a non-permanent way by writing it with Sharpie on some masking tape.