Last updated: September 2, 2026·🔄 Guide reviewed and refreshed ahead of Halloween 2026.· By Seckin Peker

Halloween Costume Idea For Movie Fans

Paul Allen Halloween Costume Guide

Better card, better reservation, worse night.
CigarclassySuitvintageMale
💼
Quick Answer: Paul Allen’s costume is a sharp pinstripe suit and a stack of business cards that get someone killed.
  • Pinstripe 3-Piece Suit (essential)
  • Custom Business Cards (essential)
  • Gold-Red Stripe Ties
  • Stainless Steel Signet Rings
  • Puff Cigar

Paul Allen is a Wall Street executive whose better business card and better dinner reservation push his colleague Patrick Bateman into murdering him with an axe. Jared Leto played the role in the 2000 film, directed by Mary Harron and based on Bret Easton Ellis’s 1991 novel (Wikipedia). The business card scene specifically has kept circulating as a reference and meme for over two decades, so this one still lands with people who know the film.

Items Total11 Items
DifficultyEasy
VibeWall Street Excess
Cost$90-$220

Paul Allen Halloween Costume Items

Paul Allen from American Psycho Halloween costume infographic showing pinstripe suit, tie, signet rings, business cards, and cigar

Paul Allen Costume Items

Affiliate links. We may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Paul Allen American Psycho Wall Street 80s
  • 1 Pinstripe 3-Piece Suit (essential)The base of the whole look. Go for a sharp, well-fitted pinstripe, not a loose or costume-shop cut. Bateman’s whole world runs on suits that fit perfectly.
    See on Amazon
  • 2 Oxford ShirtCrisp white, no pattern. Check your closet first if you already own a plain dress shirt.
    See on Amazon
  • 3 X Style Heavy SuspendersA period-accurate detail under the vest. Optional if you’re keeping the build simple.
    See on Amazon
  • 4 Gold-Red Stripe TiesA classic 80s power tie. Any similar striped tie substitutes fine.
    See on Amazon
  • 5 Stainless Steel Signet RingsA small detail that reads as old money. Check your closet before buying if you already own something similar.
    See on Amazon
  • 6 Brown WigSkip this if your hair already matches. It’s here for people whose natural hair color or style is far off from Paul’s slicked-back look.
    See on Amazon
  • 7 Business Card HolderCarry the cards in something that looks intentional, not loose in a pocket. It’s a small detail that sells the joke.
    See on Amazon
  • 8 Black Oxford ShoesCheck your closet first. Any clean black dress shoe works.
    See on Amazon
  • 9 Puff CigarAn unlit prop cigar reads as confident excess without the actual smoke. Optional but fits the vibe.
    See on Amazon
  • 10 Mehron Makeup Stage BloodOnly relevant if you’re doing a duo with Patrick Bateman and recreating the murder scene. Skip it for a solo costume.
    See on Amazon
  • 11 Custom Business Cards (essential)This is the whole plot point turned into a costume prop. Get “subtle off-white coloring” with a watermark printed if you want to actually recreate the scene.
    See on Amazon
Paul Allen from American Psycho wearing a pinstripe suit and holding a business card

How to Style the Paul Allen Halloween Costume

The business card is what makes this costume land as a joke instead of just “guy in a suit,” so don’t leave it in your pocket, hand it out. A loose or wrinkled suit undercuts the whole point, Paul is defined by looking effortlessly better than everyone around him. At a party where nobody has seen the film, expect “some finance guy” more than his actual name.

Paul mistakes Bateman for a completely different colleague for most of their relationship, which Bateman never bothers to correct. He’s genuinely warm and a little oblivious, he has no idea how much his card and his dinner reservation are about to cost him.

Hand out the business cards, don’t just carry them

Print a small stack with a fake title and pass them out at the party like Paul would. It gets a much bigger reaction than a card sitting untouched in a holder.

Call people by the wrong name all night

Paul confuses Bateman for someone else for most of the movie. Pick a friend and confidently call them the wrong name over and over, it’s a small bit that fans of the film will catch immediately.

Paul Allen Group Halloween Costume Ideas

Duo Idea

Paul Allen & Patrick Bateman

Excellent duo and probably the most obvious American Psycho costume pairing there is. The two men look nearly identical in matching suits, which is the entire point, and anyone who knows the film will get the murder-scene reference immediately.

Paul Allen Patrick Bateman

Duo Idea

Paul Allen & Jordan Belfort

Strong pairing built on theme rather than plot, two different films’ takes on Wall Street excess. Jordan’s version is louder and more real-world grounded, Paul’s is quieter and satirical, and the contrast works well for a finance-villains group.

Paul Allen Jordan Belfort

Group Idea: American Psycho Cast

Paul Allen, Patrick Bateman, Timothy Bryce, Craig McDermott, Jean

Strong group if you want to recreate the film’s Wall Street inner circle. Only Bateman has a dedicated guide here, so the rest of the group is a build-from-scratch job, but the matching-suits gag carries the concept even without full accuracy.

Paul Allen Patrick Bateman Timothy Bryce Craig McDermott Jean

Group Idea: Iconic 80s Wall Street Excess

Paul Allen, Patrick Bateman, Gordon Gekko, Bill Lumbergh

Strong group for a corporate-villains theme. Bateman and Lumbergh have dedicated guides here, Gordon Gekko doesn’t yet, so most of this group is buildable straight from the site with one build-from-scratch look.

Paul Allen Patrick Bateman Gordon Gekko Bill Lumbergh
Paul Allen from American Psycho in a pinstripe suit holding business cards

Paul Allen Halloween Costume DIY Tips

Building the Look

Thrift-friendly for the suit, but this is a costume where fit matters more than most, a baggy pinstripe suit undercuts the whole point.

  • Suit: thrift stores sometimes have pinstripe suits, but check the fit carefully before buying.
  • Shirt and shoes: check your closet first, plain white shirt and black dress shoes work.
  • Tie and rings: cheap accessories, buy if you don’t already own similar pieces.
  • Business cards: buy or print these, it’s the single most important prop on the list.
  • Cigar: optional, skip it if you’d rather not carry a prop all night.
  • Stage blood: only needed for the Bateman duo bit, skip it otherwise.

Playing Paul Allen at the Party

Paul is friendly, a little oblivious, and completely unaware of how much his casual confidence bothers the people around him.

  • Hand out your business cards unprompted, then react with genuine confusion if someone doesn’t seem impressed.
  • Mention a dinner reservation somewhere hard to get into, said casually, like it’s not a big deal.
  • Call at least one person the wrong name all night and never correct yourself.

Paul Allen Halloween Costume: FAQ

The pinstripe three-piece suit and a stack of custom business cards are the whole costume. Add a gold-red stripe tie, signet rings, and a cigar for the full Wall Street excess look.

American Psycho has stayed a cult favorite for over two decades, and the business card scene specifically keeps circulating as a meme and reference point. This one holds up well, especially paired with a Patrick Bateman for the joke to land.

“Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh my God, it even has a watermark.” It’s his reaction to Bateman’s business card, and it’s the line most people quote when they reference the character at all.

Jared Leto plays Paul Allen in the 2000 film, directed by Mary Harron and based on Bret Easton Ellis’s 1991 novel.

Patrick Bateman kills him with an axe after a dinner where Paul’s business card and his dinner reservation at a hard-to-get restaurant push Bateman over the edge. The film keeps the details around his death and disappearance deliberately ambiguous afterward.

Mostly status envy. Paul has the better business card, the better reservations, and the same easy confidence Bateman performs but doesn’t actually have, and that gap is what sets him off.

Optional, and only really makes sense if you’re doing a duo with Patrick Bateman and re-creating the murder scene. On its own, Paul Allen is a clean, put-together look, the blood only matters in context.

Which actor plays Paul Allen in American Psycho?

What two things about Paul push Patrick Bateman over the edge?

What weapon does Bateman use to kill Paul Allen?

Leave a Comment