Last updated: May 18, 2026·🔄 Guide reviewed and refreshed ahead of Halloween 2026.· By Seckin Peker

Halloween Costume Guide

Mabel Mora Halloween Costume Guide

Fluffy Yellow Jacket  ·  Red Headphones  ·  Marigold Palette

The sharpest investigator in the Arconia, and the one most likely to have already named the suspect before anyone else has noticed there is one.

Only Murders in the Building Selena Gomez TV Series Casual Detective Glasses Hulu Style
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Quick Answer: The Mabel Mora Halloween costume is the orange-yellow fluffy jacket and the red headphones. The warm marigold palette is what identifies this as Mabel rather than a general fall outfit.
  • Orange-yellow fluffy jacket (essential)
  • Red over-ear headphones (essential)
  • Yellow pullover and slim-leg cuffed trousers
  • Yellow beanie, aviator sunglasses, gold hoop earrings
  • Black mini backpack and black boots

Mabel Mora is a true crime podcast co-host and amateur detective living in a New York apartment building where murders keep happening, which she finds inconvenient and also useful. Played by Selena Gomez in Only Murders in the Building on Hulu, Mabel’s marigold color palette was a deliberate costume design choice, drawing on the cultural significance of marigolds in Mexican tradition: creativity and passion, but also grief.

Items Total9 Items
DifficultyEasy
VibeStylish Sleuth
Cost$40–$120

Mabel Mora Halloween Costume Items

Mabel Mora Halloween costume guide infographic showing the orange-yellow fluffy jacket, yellow pullover, trousers, aviator sunglasses, red headphones, yellow beanie, gold earrings, black backpack, and black boots from Only Murders in the Building

Mabel Mora Costume Items

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Mabel Mora Only Murders in the Building Selena Gomez Detective
  • 1 Orange-Yellow Fluffy JacketCRITICAL. The fluffy jacket in warm orange-yellow is the costume’s most recognizable item at a distance. It needs to be the right tone: warm marigold rather than neon yellow or mustard brown. The color palette is the core of the look. Without this jacket, the headphones and accessories read as a stylish fall outfit rather than a specific character.
    See on Amazon
  • 2 Slim-Leg Cuffed TrousersSUPPORTING. Mabel wears slim, slightly cropped trousers rather than jeans. The cuffed hem is accurate to the show’s styling. Any slim dark trouser works. Check your wardrobe first.
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  • 3 Yellow PulloverSUPPORTING. The warm yellow layer under the jacket keeps the marigold palette consistent and visible at the collar and cuffs when the jacket is open. Check your wardrobe first; any yellow or gold-toned knit pullover works.
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  • 4 Aviator SunglassesSUPPORTING. Mabel’s aviators appear throughout the series and add to the deliberately cool, slightly guarded visual the character presents. Wear them on the face or pushed up. Any classic aviator frame works.
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  • 5 Red Over-Ear HeadphonesCRITICAL. The red headphones are the costume’s second identifier after the jacket, and the more portable one. Mabel’s headphones are her signal that she is not currently available for small talk. At a party, wearing them around your neck rather than over your ears is more social and equally accurate. The red against the yellow-orange palette is what makes the combination read as Mabel.
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  • 6 Yellow Beanie HatSUPPORTING. The yellow beanie is an accurate cold-weather detail from the show and keeps the palette consistent from head to toe. Check your wardrobe; any warm-toned knit beanie works.
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  • 7 Gold Hoop EarringsOBVIOUS. Small to medium gold hoops. Check your wardrobe first. Any plain gold hoop earrings work. This detail is accurate but not the identifier.
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  • 8 Black Mini BackpackSUPPORTING. Mabel carries a small black backpack that functions as a container for her investigative tools and general life necessities. At a party, it is a useful prop for actually carrying things rather than just a visual element. Any small black backpack works.
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  • 9 Black BootsOBVIOUS. Any ankle or mid-calf black boot. Check your wardrobe first. The boots ground the warm-palette outfit without competing with it.
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Mabel Mora in her signature marigold outfit from Only Murders in the Building, showing Selena Gomez's warm yellow-orange palette with red headphones

How to Style the Mabel Mora Halloween Costume

The palette needs to be warm and consistent, not bright. Mabel’s marigold colors are saturated but not garish. If the jacket reads as neon or the yellow pullover reads as fluorescent, the look shifts away from the character. The red headphones need to be visible: around the neck is fine, but tucked into the backpack removes the most recognizable element of the costume. The headphones and the jacket are the two items that will prompt recognition. Everything else supports them. At a general Halloween party, carrying the headphones visibly and wearing the yellow jacket is the minimum required for the costume to work.

In the second season, Mabel stabs someone on the subway while in a fugue state and then spends the next episode trying to figure out if she is actually the kind of person who does that. She asks the question with the same calm efficiency she applies to everything else. At a party, she is the person who has already worked out what is strange about the situation and is deciding whether to say anything.

Headphone Placement Over the Night

Red headphones over a beanie look accurate but get uncomfortable over a few hours. The more practical position is around the neck, below the collar of the jacket. This keeps them visible, stays comfortable, and still reads as the character. Switching between positions is fine; Mabel wears hers both ways across the series.

The Mini Backpack as a Working Prop

The black mini backpack is more useful at a party than most costume props because it actually carries things: phone, keys, lip balm, whatever you need for the night. Mabel’s backpack functions as her investigative kit in the show. Treating it as a working bag rather than a costume accessory is both accurate to the character and practically useful.

Mabel Mora Group Halloween Costume Ideas

The Arconia Amateur Detectives

Charles-Haden Savage, Oliver Putnam, Jan Bellows, Howard Morris

Strong group for Only Murders fans because the cast is visually distinct and immediately recognizable as a unit to anyone who watches the show. Charles in his distinguished older-actor look, Oliver in his theatrical director wardrobe, Jan in her bassoonist attire, and Howard with his cat-themed accessories. The group requires the crowd to know the series to land, which is a real limitation at a general Halloween event.

Charles-Haden Savage Oliver Putnam Jan Bellows Howard Morris

Millennial Mystery Mavens

Nancy Drew, Jamie Hughes, Jessica Jones, Enola Holmes

Conditional group where the connecting theme is female detectives and investigators across different franchises. Jessica Jones and Enola Holmes are broadly recognized. Nancy Drew from the CW series is known to fans of that show. Jamie Hughes is a more specific reference. The group works well visually because each character has a distinct look, and the detective theme reads without explanation once you know who the characters are.

Nancy Drew Jamie Hughes Jessica Jones Enola Holmes

The Mabel Society

Mabel Pines, Mabel from Pirates of Penzance, Mabel Dunham

Weak group at a general Halloween party because the shared name is the entire concept and two of the three characters require significant explanation. Mabel Pines from Gravity Falls is recognizable to animation fans. Mabel from Pirates of Penzance is known to fans of operetta. Mabel Dunham from James Fenimore Cooper’s The Pathfinder is a nineteenth-century literary character that most partygoers will not place without prompting. The concept is genuinely fun for people who get it.

Mabel Pines Mabel (Pirates of Penzance) Mabel Dunham

Gen-Z Gumshoes Gone Stylish

Daphne Blake, Betty Cooper

Conditional group where the visual contrast between the three characters is the appeal: Mabel’s warm marigold palette, Daphne’s purple and green, and Betty’s all-American ponytail look. Daphne Blake from the Scooby-Doo live-action films is broadly recognized. Betty Cooper from Riverdale is known to fans of that series and to people familiar with the Archie comics. The group works well as a small trio and photographs clearly because each costume reads immediately.

Daphne Blake Betty Cooper
Selena Gomez as Mabel Mora in Only Murders in the Building, showing the character's signature warm yellow and orange color palette with red headphones

Mabel Mora Halloween Costume DIY Tips

What to Buy vs What You Probably Own

The fluffy jacket and the red headphones are the two items most people need to buy. Everything else is likely in your wardrobe or inexpensive to add.

  • Orange-yellow fluffy jacket: buy it, the color is the costume
  • Red headphones: buy them, this is the second identifier
  • Yellow pullover: check your wardrobe, any warm yellow knit works
  • Slim dark trousers: check your wardrobe
  • Black boots: check your wardrobe
  • Aviator sunglasses: inexpensive if you don’t own a pair
  • Yellow beanie: check your wardrobe
  • Gold hoop earrings: check your wardrobe
  • Black mini backpack: useful as an actual bag for the night

Playing Mabel at the Party

Mabel is observant, slightly guarded, and already thinking two steps ahead of the conversation. She is not cold, but she is not immediately open either.

  • When you enter any room: scan it once before engaging with anyone
  • “Was it Glitter Guy?” Delivered as a genuine question, mid-crisis
  • The headphones: put them on briefly when you need a moment
  • When something suspicious happens near you: notice it quietly, tell someone later
  • When someone explains something at length: let them finish, then ask the one question they didn’t expect
  • If someone asks what you do: “I solve murders. And some other things.”

Mabel Mora Halloween Costume: FAQ

An orange-yellow fluffy jacket and red over-ear headphones are the two essential pieces. Without both, the warm-toned outfit reads as a cozy fall look rather than specifically Mabel. Add a yellow pullover, slim cuffed trousers, a yellow beanie, aviator sunglasses, gold hoop earrings, a black mini backpack, and black boots for the full look.

  • “I can’t walk past the front gate without seeing her body. I can’t walk past Tim’s door without seeing what he looked like on the floor.”
  • “That’s what’s been scaring me. It’s something that I would do. I just don’t know if I did do it.”
  • “Was it Glitter Guy?”

The third quote is the one to use at a party. Say it as a genuine question, in the middle of something else entirely. That is exactly how Mabel says it in the show.

Yes, with one honest caveat: recognition depends on how many people in the room watch Only Murders in the Building. The show has a devoted following and remains active on Hulu, but it is not as broadly recognized as network-era sitcoms. At a party with TV-savvy guests, the red headphones and yellow jacket read immediately. At a general Halloween event, you may need to say the character name once.

Selena Gomez plays Mabel Mora across all seasons of Only Murders in the Building on Hulu. Mabel’s warm marigold color palette was a deliberate costume design choice linked to Gomez’s Mexican heritage, as marigolds carry cultural significance in Mexican tradition around creativity, passion, and grief. More on the show at the Only Murders Wiki.

Mabel’s wardrobe centers on warm tones: marigold golds, burnt oranges, reds, and yellows, often paired with black. The show’s costume designer described her style as armor, built from interesting pieces that create a deliberately curated, unique look. The fluffy jacket and red headphones are the two most recognizable elements across the series.

Mabel co-hosts the true crime podcast “Only Murders in the Building” with her neighbors Charles-Haden Savage and Oliver Putnam. The podcast investigates murders that occur within their Upper West Side apartment building, the Arconia. Each season follows a new case, and the trio has a complicated relationship with the New York Police Department.

Mabel has a whale tattoo on her left shoulder, shared with her childhood friends Tim, Oscar, and Zoe as a reference to a Hardy Boys mystery called The Mystery of the Whale Tattoo. Her red over-ear headphones are her most consistently visible accessory throughout the series. Her drink of choice is a mezcal old-fashioned, which is a detail that will impress anyone who watches the show.