A ton of empowering Halloween costume ideas for women and girls. In other words, no sexy cop, sexy nurse, or sexy serial killer.

This Halloween, dress to impress with costumes that celebrate strong women from history and legend.

Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at coolmompicks.com.

A curated collection of empowering costume ideas for women and girls, featuring heroines like Jane Austen, Bessie Coleman, and Pharaoh Hatshepsut. Categories include glamour grrls, goddesses, notable women, and queens, with DIY tips such as creating a one-shoulder chiton for Artemis.

Directions

Visit Take Back Halloween, the site the post recommends, for empowering costume suggestions for women and girls.

Browse the site's categories of costume ideas, which include glamour grrls, goddesses and legends, notable women, and queens.

Look through the style boards for the look you want to recreate.

Use the site's DIYs where available, such as the tutorial for making a one-shoulder chiton for an Artemis costume.

Follow the site's helpful links to find the clothes, accessories, and other items needed to pull off a specific figure's look.

Spend time on the site with your daughters and sons, even if costumes are already sorted, to spark interest in learning more about these remarkable women.

Tips

Most of the site's costume ideas are still very feminine, since femininity, empowerment, and coolness are not mutually exclusive.
The site's suggestions are culturally and historically diverse, spanning figures like an Aztec water goddess, a female pharaoh, and a record-setting pirate.
There is nothing wrong with kids dressing as Elsas or Ariels, but the author finds a child dressed as Sojourner Truth more memorable.
The post credits Leslie for the tip.

The list

Artemis

Has a DIY tutorial on making a one-shoulder chiton for the costume.

Jane Austen

One of the historical/literary figures the site offers clothing and accessory links for.

Bessie Coleman

Named as a costume subject with shopping links to pull the look together.

Holly GoLightly

Listed as an option with links to needed clothes and accessories.

Ada Lovelace

Included among the figures with helpful item-finding links.

Isis

Listed as a costume idea with shopping links.

Billie Holiday

Named as a possible costume with links to clothes and accessories.

Byzantine Empress Theodora

One of the figures the site helps you dress as.

Chalchiuhtlicue

Aztec goddess of water; the author had to look her up.

Hapshepsut

Female Pharaoh; listed as an example of the site's diverse suggestions.

Ching Shih

18th-century young mother and the most successful pirate in history, per the post.

Sojourner Truth

Cited as the kind of memorable costume a child might proudly explain at the door.

Fran Lebowitz

Joked about as a possible non-standard costume idea.

Facts from the original

Take Back Halloween is a website that inspires women with costumes honoring their heroines or heritage, with the subhead 'for women with imagination'.

The site's costume categories include glamour grrls, goddesses and legends, notable women and queens.

The site offers style boards to browse, a few DIYs (such as the Artemis one-shoulder chiton), and links to find the clothes, accessories, and other items needed for a costume.

The author spotted a sexy Freddy Krueger costume at a local costume shop, which prompted the post.

The post was written by Liz Gumbinner and published October 23, 2015.