Zombie Costumes: A Primer

When it comes to zombie costumes one of the easiest angles is that you don't actually need special attire.  Since zombies are dead people you can get away with wearing normal clothes.  That's a plus right there.
Naturally if you are going for a theme of some kind you'll need clothes to match the theme, like say you wanted to be a zombie check-out clerk, you'll need to obtain some clothes that instantly read "check-out clerk" but that's still just normal clothing.
It is very important in the costuming world that your costume reads instantly.  What do I mean by reads?  I more or less made it up, so I guess it is incumbent upon me to explain it.
When you look at something, a picture, a statue, a piece of art, you need to get an instant mental image of what is happening with the piece.  Many joke or humor costumes are, essentially, visual puns.

Kosher Hot Dog

Like that.
You see it, you get the joke.  No long-winded complex explanation needed or wanted.  That's what I mean by read.  Tropes, people.  They serve a purpose.
As I said before, with zombies you can pretty much go with your normal clothes and still pull it off, or you can tatter some clothes, or you can buy a costume.  Appliances, masks, complete (more or less) costumes...you've got lots of choices.  It's a very easy way to do up a Halloween costume and most people like it so you're not going to catch Hell or anything.  You might not win a costume contest since you will be in a very large pool full of undead fish, unless you go the extra mile of course, but you probably won't get that booby prize for worst costume.  Anonymity, it's what the zombie is all about.  Just another rotting face in a rotting crowd.  You can get a mask or some make up and viola, zombie.
See, there's really not much to a zombie costume at all, come to think of it.  It's no sheet ghost, but it's pretty pedestrian.
Get it?
Zombies...walking dead...pedestrian...

Which is no excuse for not trying, kiddies.  Make an effort.

And keep your pumpkins lit.