The other day, while I was packing my shopping at breakneck speed at the tills of a well-known budget supermarket, the cashier struck up a conversation about Halloween plans.

It wasn’t something I had given much thought to on account of the fact that the only social engagements I tend to RSVP yes to these days are the ones where it’s OK to rock up in jeans and a dog hair-covered fleece.

But as he started chatting away about a party he was attending with friends, it got me thinking about a raft of fun-packed, topical fancy-dress costumes. Here are some of my favourites.

Olympic heroes

Cast your mind back to the summer. Paris 2024 proffers a slew of inspiration, with the added bonus that they mostly involve wearing a tracksuit and comfy trainers.

You could dress-up as Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, aka “Raygun”, who found her name etched into the annals of sporting history for all the wrong reasons after she failed to impress the judges, scored a zero and her signature “kangaroo” move became a meme.

Or how about a Superman/Stephen Nedoroscik mash-up? The US athlete was nicknamed the “Clark Kent of gymnastics” after he casually whipped off his glasses and stepped up from the sidelines to perform a blistering pommel horse routine and secure team bronze.

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Then there was the silver medal winning Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec, whose uber-relaxed pose while competing was dubbed “Doing the Dikec”.

Not to forget the myriad fever dream sequences of the Olympic opening ceremony. One such moment featured Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and revelry, with blue skin and a ginger beard – a depiction which some viewers briefly mistook as an homage to us Scots.

Donald Trump

The chap at the supermarket reckoned this one was a bit too “low-hanging fruit” for his tastes, but we agreed it could be a popular choice.

Slap on some orange-hued fake tan, style your hair into a fluffy combover, find an ill-fitting, boxy suit with exaggerated shoulder pads and accessorise with an over-long, shiny red tie. Alternatives include a white polo shirt, golf shoes and wide-legged chinos. Fasten said trousers snugly at oxter height, using a belt so tight it could be mistaken for a tourniquet. Add a spooky twist with a thin layer of green face paint over the orange fake tan. Voila, Franken-trump.

Beetlejuice

Some 36 years after the original film, new sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has stoked fresh interest in the titular character whose wardrobe staples include a bad suit, backcombed wig and terrifying toothy grin. Oh, wait. That sounds like I’m describing Trump again.

Oasis

Dust off those parka jackets, bucket hats and Adidas Gazelle in a nod to the Oasis reunion. Although, it occurs to me that some Gen Xers have been dressing this way since the mid-1990s. Now there’s a scary thought. As you were.

Moo Deng

The crown for top diva of 2024 goes to Moo Deng, a pygmy hippopotamus from a Thailand zoo who won hearts worldwide after footage of her playful antics went viral. As the New York Times put it: “Defiant, sassy, slippery, chubby, loves to scream. We can all relate.”

Rivals

Between the Oasis reunion and Beetlejuice reboot, there are plenty of nostalgia-inducing themes to choose from this year and another in this vein is the newly released Disney+ adaptation of the best-selling “bonkbuster” novel by Dame Jilly Cooper.

Set in the cut-throat world of independent television circa 1986, Rivals features eye-catching fashions from the era, including geometric patterns, shoulder pads, puff sleeves and power suits. Move over Bridgerton. Apparently, this constitutes “period costume” these days.

We won’t mention the naked tennis and mile high club romps on Concorde. This is a family newspaper.

Susan Swarbrick is a columnist and freelance writer who specialises in celebrity interviews, TV content and musings on popular culture. She also loves the outdoors and regularly covers sport. Follow her on X @SusanSwarbrick