Wizard of Oz Costumes: Who Takes Which Character

Wizard of Oz costumes divide cleanly across a group of four: Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion. Give the Lion to whoever wants least fuss, the Tin Man to a child, and the Scarecrow to anyone who runs cold, since it layers over their own clothes. A full set of four from our range comes to $158.80.

Table of Contents

• Wizard of Oz costumes at a glance
• A group of four: who takes which character
• Adults and kids in the same group
• When your group is an odd number
• Going solo at an adult party
• Left it late: the one-piece answer
• What a group actually costs, and whether to make it instead
• Sizing, comfort and care over a long night
• Frequently asked questions

Wizard of Oz costumes at a glance

Most pages list the four characters and stop there. What decides an order is who in the group wears what, and what turns up in each box. Six costumes below, each with its pack contents and its real size range.

A group of four: who takes which character

Four characters, four completely different outlines: a stuffed farmhand, a girl in gingham, a silver figure and a lion. Nobody at the door needs the group explained. Who takes which is the part worth thinking about, since the four wear very differently over five or six hours.

Give the Lion to whoever cares least about the details. On our own US sales data it is the most dependable of the four: all three lion costumes we stock finished inside the top 100 of the 305 costumes that sold on our US store over the past year. Lions get bought for safari and animal parties too, so that is not purely Oz demand, but it does mean the lion holds up. Give Dorothy to whoever wants to be recognized across a room, the Scarecrow to whoever runs cold, and the Tin Man to a child.

Our Friendly Scarecrow Costume for Men is four pieces: a rustic top, matching pants, a rope belt and a floppy hat, in lightweight 100% polyester. It is also the one pick here where bulk underneath looks intentional, so a long-sleeve top and jeans read as stuffing rather than a mistake. Four sizes run M (38-40in) to XXL (48-50in) in a relaxed cut; between sizes, take the larger one.

Our Dorothy Costume for Women is the blue and white gingham dress plus a red headband with a bow. Shoes are not included, and no costume in this lineup includes footwear; wear your own flats, since a group night is mostly walking. Sizes run US 8-10 through 20-22, cut to your usual dress size rather than costume sizing.

Adults and kids in the same group

Nothing in the four roles fixes an age, which is what makes this the easiest group costume to run across a family. The Tin Man is the natural child's role: the silver suit works at any height, and there is no wig, no face paint and nothing to carry for two hours. A child in it next to three adults still completes the set.

Our Tin Man Costume for Kids is a silver top, silver pants and a hat, sized by age across four options from S (4-6yrs) to XL (12-14yrs). The pants have an elastic waistband, so the fit forgives a growth spurt, and the fabric is light enough that nothing about the costume is what ends the night early.

For a family group, our kids fairy tale costumes carry the rest of the storybook range if you want a fifth or sixth child in something adjacent. Our guide to the best kids Halloween costumes covers how to size a child's costume properly.

When your group is an odd number

Groups are rarely exactly four, and Oz carries a deeper cast than the travelers: the Wizard and the Wicked Witch of the West both belong in the picture without breaking the set. A fifth person does not have to be a second Dorothy.

Our Gray Wizard Costume for Men is the most complete pack in the range: robe, wide-brimmed hat, adjustable belt, curly wig, and a beard and mustache on elastic straps, five pieces with nothing left to source. Two sizes, Standard (41-44in) and Plus (44-48in); the robe is loose by design, so fasten the belt snugly to stop it shifting.

Going solo at an adult party

Solo, the Wicked Witch of the West is the strongest pick, because she is the one Oz character nobody needs the other three standing there to place. It also sits on the biggest costume category in the country: the National Retail Federation's 2025 consumer survey found the witch was the most popular adult costume in America, worn by an estimated 5.6 million people, ahead of the vampire at 2.7 million (NRF, September 2025).

Our Purple Witch Costume for Women comes with the matching pointed hat, the piece most witch costumes make you buy separately. Six sizes, US 4-6 to 24-26, is the widest run in the Oz lineup, with enough stretch through the chest and waist. Wash dark colors separately, to protect the purple panel.

More adult picks sit in our best Halloween costumes guide, and the two-person version of this problem is covered in couples Halloween costumes.

Left it late: the one-piece answer

The Lion is the only one of the four that is a single piece you step into, which makes it the pick when the party is tonight and nothing else has been ordered. It is also the only one with nothing separate to put on: no hat, no belt, no headband.

Our Inflatable Lion Costume for Adults runs on a built-in fan that holds its shape all night. Plan for two things: the fan takes 4 AA batteries, which you supply yourself and which run it for roughly 4 hours, and sizing is one-size-fits-most, with elastic cuff and opening seals doing the fitting. Wear a close-fitting layer underneath so the seals sit neatly, and take the battery pack and fan out before you wash it.

What a group actually costs, and whether to make it instead

Here is the number the character lists skip. At the time of writing, the four traveling companions from our range come to $158.80 together: the Scarecrow at $50.95, Dorothy at $35.95, the kids Tin Man at $30.95 and the inflatable Lion at $40.95. That is $39.70 a head. Add the Wicked Witch and a group of five is $191.75; add the Wizard as well and six people come to $242.70.

Whether to make them instead depends on the character. The Scarecrow is genuinely worth making: old clothes, straw and patches, and a homemade one often beats a bought one. The Tin Man is where that falls down, since the silver finish is the entire costume and paint or foil rarely survives an evening; buy the Lion too, since convincing fur is expensive to source and hard to fit. The real case for buying a set is not cost anyway, it is consistency: four homemade costumes made by four different people rarely look like they belong together.

Sizing, comfort and care over a long night

A group of four is only as good as its worst fit: one person orders off the wrong chart and the photo has a gap in it. Every design clears more than 30 measurement checks and the range takes over half a million quality checks a year, none of which survives somebody guessing a size. The four do not share a size ladder. The Scarecrow and the Wizard go by chest measurement, Dorothy and the Wicked Witch by standard US dress size, the Tin Man by age. Check each person against their own chart.

On comfort, the Scarecrow layers over your own clothes and Dorothy's dress does not, so plan a long-sleeve top or leggings underneath the dress for an October night. One of our own Scarecrow reviewers, dressing for a hurricane-hit night, found the fabric too thin for genuinely cold, wet weather, so layer under that one too if the forecast turns. The inflatable Lion takes up more room than people expect, and it is the hardest of the four to fit into a back seat.

Hand wash only, never machine washed: that much is identical across all six. Beyond that it varies by piece. Wash the Witch's dark colors and the Scarecrow's pieces separately from each other; skip the tumble dryer on the Witch and the Lion specifically, and air dry the rest flat, away from heat or sun. For the Lion, take the battery pack and fan out before washing it, then let it dry fully before you re-inflate and store it deflated. More storybook options sit in our fairy tale costumes range.

Frequently asked questions

If you are building the set, order it in one go. One delivery, one window to swap a size, and four costumes that look like they came from the same story.