Female book lovers, teachers and librarians: get the best literary book character costumes for women here for Halloween, Book Week, and beyond.
I focused on curating ladies’ costumes for literary characters that are the most popular in the fictional book world. They are mostly female characters, as well as a few that I think can be worn by a male or female.
I also focused on female costumes that are more modest in appearance since they are generally meant for women to wear around children.
Most of these iconic costumes are from Amazon for quick and easy purchase, but I also linked to some of my easy DIY ideas for women’s book character costumes, in case you prefer to “do it yourself.”
The Best Book Character Adult Costumes (for Women)
Below are all the best book character adult costumes for Halloween, book week, and beyond.
Alice in Wonderland
This costume is a classic that would work well as a theme for a group as well — or even a tea party.
Anne of Green Gables
This pioneer outfit is a good start to get the look of Anne of Green Gables. You’ll likely also want to swap the bonnet for a straw hat, wear two braids, and draw freckles on your face.
Related Post: Anne of Green Gables Costume Ideas
Belle from Beauty and the Beast
Perfect for a librarian! I recommend you carry a book with you.
The Cat in the Hat
This costume is great for child-friendly events, and I think it works as well for women as for men.
Cinderella
Cinderella is one of the quintessential literary princesses.
Cindy Lou Who
This is such a cute and unique literary women’s costume based on How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and it would work best for events in the holiday season.
Coraline
This Coraline costume is great for a rainy Halloween!
Cruella Deville
Cruella Deville from 101 Dalmations is always a fun literary costume for women of all ages. The two-toned wig is essential to get the look!
Daisy Buchanan
To dress as the woman at the heart of the classic The Great Gatsby, you can wear any 1920s, Gilded Age flapper costume, but I love the gold tones of this one because they remind me of money and wealth, which is a central theme to the novel.
Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz
This costume is another classic that would work well as a theme for a group.
Goldilocks
This Goldilocks costume is so sweet for events involving very young children.
Handmaid
This costume is based on the classic dystopian novel A Handmaid’s Tale, and so it works best for high school, college, and adult events.
Harry Potter
I firmly believe that a man OR woman can dress as the uber-popular Harry Potter.
Hermione Granger
However, if you want a more feminine Harry Potter hero, Hermione is your gal.
Related Post: DIY Hermione Granger Costume Ideas
Holly Golightly
This classic fancy dress from the novel/movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s would work best to dress up as a glamorous icon at an all-adult and/ or black tie event.
Related Posts: Holly Golightly Sleep Mask Costume Ideas and DIY Holly Golightly Black Dress Costume Ideas
Katniss Everdeen
Fans of The Hunger Games will love this Katniss costume, which is a modest option for the popular character.
Little Red Riding Hood
This classic Little Red Riding Hood Costume would work well around younger children who will easily recognize it.
Madeline
While Madeline is a children’s storybook character, I truly believe this outfit is identifiable (and cute!) enough to be worn in any Halloween context.
Related Post: DIY Madeline Costume Ideas
Mary Poppins
As a long-time Mary Poppins lover, I think every woman should dress as her for Halloween at least once. She’s so magical!
Ms. Frizzle
How fun is this Ms. Frizzle costume from The Magic School Bus series?! It would be perfect for a teacher to wear, especially during storytime.
Nancy Drew
I love the idea of a Nancy Drew costume because her style is actually really good! I absolutely love her preppy/classic vibe.
Related Post: DIY Nancy Drew DIY Costume Ideas
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is another classic costume that I truly believe can be worn by a man or woman. Of course, you can also dress up as the fairy Tinkerbell from this book if you are ok with a costume that’s a bit less modest.
Raggedy Ann
This Raggedy Ann book character costume would be great for events involving very young children.
Sherlock Holmes
Because I believe a female Sherlock Holmes would be SO edgy!
Snow White
This classic princess costume is another one that would be great around children. Perhaps they can even dress up as dwarves!
Wilma or Wenda
Wilma or Wenda from Where’s Waldo is probably the easiest and most casual costume in this group, so that gets bonus points from this cozy introvert.
Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh gets the award for the warmest and coziest costume. You may want to sleep in this one after a long Halloween night!
Wonder Woman
While this Wonder Woman costume technically comes from a comic book, it’s still technically from a book, so I included it. Plus, this option is just so simple, as well as easy to wear as part of a group of superheroes. I also love that it celebrates a strong female character!
More Literary Character Halloween Costumes
If you loved the above costume ideas, you will love these DIY costumes for women:
- American Girl: Molly McIntire
- American Girl: Kirsten Larson
- American Girl: Samantha Parkington
- Eloise at the Plaza
- Pippi Longstocking
- Fern from Charlotte’s Web
- Olivia the Pig
- Coraline Jones
- Junie B. Jones
Those are the best book character adult costumes for women, teachers, and librarians. Happy bookish Halloween!!
Here’s a costume idea! When I was a kid, for Halloween, me and my sister dressed up as two strong, cunning spiders and our friend dressed up as a fly we had caught. He let us wrap white string around him. It was fun pretending to be strong girl spiders that had caught him in our web. We kept singing Itsy Bitsy Spider and tickling him. It was so fun! He had fun pretending to be caught by two cunning girl spiders!🕷🕸🪰