10 most popular Halloween costumes for 2015

Anne Godlasky | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Best pop culture Halloween costume ideas Halloween is almost here, and if you need a costume pronto, social media will help you brew up some ideas! Krystin Goodwin (@Krystingoodwin) has the best pop culture Halloween costumes posted to Instagram.

If you haven't picked a costume yet — or just want to know what you'll be seeing a lot of at parties and parades this year — here are top 10 lists from two reliable sources: Google, which tracks the most-searched costumes, and the National Retail Federation, which polls consumers in early September.

First, Google lists the top 500 costume searches — you can even look specifically at your city to see what's trending near you.

Nationally, here are the top 10 most-searched costumes of 2015:

1. Harley Quinn

What you need: Pigtails or a jester hat, and dual colors — usually red and black, although this lovely lady chose red and blue.

2. Star Wars

What you need: Just buy it already. Or, if you have a brown or black bathrobe you can pull off an Anakin Skywalker pretty easily. Still, every Jedi needs a light saber.

3. Superhero

What you need: Chiseled abs — or the foam to fake it. So many options here! Superman. Iron-Man. The Incredibles. Take your pick and find some Lycra.

4. Pirate

What you need: Embrace your inner Jack Sparrow for a swarthy-spooky-swashbuckling time.

5. Batman

What you need: The mask (duh). And a cape (he's the Caped Crusader!). Optional: Utility belt. Optional: The abs (see "Superhero" above).

6. Minnie Mouse

What you need: Yellow heels, a polka-dot dress and a bow for your hair — er, ears.

7. Witch

What you need: Anything goes. The witch costume is a classic, in part, for its versatility. Go seamlessly from cleaning to trick-or-treating (carry that broom right out the door!). Go old-school with green face paint or a wart. Go low-maintenance by not plucking that chin hair. Pointy hat and striped socks are a plus.

8. Minions

What you need: Denim overalls. Goggles. Yellow facepaint. Boom. (But you still won't meet Sandra Bullock, sorry.)

9. Joker

What you need: Green hair dye, white face paint and red lipstick for that creepy smile.

10. Wonder Woman

What you need: Gold sweat bands, a red tank top and a royal blue skirt. Or, in some cases, boy shorts. Buy some white star stickers (or, if you're willing to throw out said skirt or boy shorts, just use White-Out) and you're in business.

And here are the top 10 Halloween costumes for adults this year, according to the National Retail Federation:

1. Witch

See above.

2. Animal

What you need: OK, this is even more broad than "superhero." So. Many. Options. A little black face paint for your nose and you can be pretty much anything. Get the ears and go as a classic black cat. Got a brown hoodie? Sure, you're a bear. Gray? You're a mouse. Even better, grab a slice of pizza and go as pizza rat (which, if you're buying, was somehow made sexy but will set you back $90).

3. Batman character

See above.

4. Zombie

What you need: Face paint and the ability to walk erratically. Shouldn't be too hard.

5. Star Wars character

Again, see above.

6. Pirate

Above, people.

7. Vampire

What you need: Whether you're doing the classic "I vahnt to suck your blood" Dracula-vampire or fresher Twilight/True Blood vampire, just hit up the makeup aisle.

8. Action/superhero

See above. (Or see Beyonce do it better as Storm from X-Men at Ciara's superheroes costume party.)

9. Doctor/nurse

What you need: What nurse doesn't wear white fishnets and six-inch heels? The one that's isn't freezing and doesn't have blisters because she's in scrubs. That's right. And later, they double as pajamas. You're welcome.

10. (3-way tie) Slasher movie character

What you need: Just buy a Scream mask (or a hockey mask, for that matter) and you're good to go.

10. (3-way tie) Political

What you need: Again, buy the mask. Donald Trump is popular this year (ranked 105 on Google). Or, if you've got the pantsuits and you're feeling ambitious, you could try Hillary.

10. (3-way tie) Wench/tart/vixen

What you need: Not really sure what to say about this one, so let's end with this: Be safe and have fun.

Happy Halloween!