It’s that time of year again, when what-to-wear takes on an element of far greater importance than usual: Halloween. This year’s vast selection of costume options can be overwhelming, but when viewed by category, you’ll be able to select your holiday ensemble with ease. Whether you’re the type to have picked out your costume weeks ago, when everything was in fully stocked and well-organized piles, or you’re waiting until the last minute to drop into a superstore and pull some ideas out of thin air, you’ll never go wrong if you remember the three C’s of costumes: cute, comfortable and creative.

Of Wilmington’s Halloween stores, including Target, Walmart, Party City, Halloween and More and Spirit Halloween, the last- Spirit Halloween- contains the largest and most popular selection.

The store’s general manager, Mike, discussed this year’s always popular couple costumes: pirate-themed looks for both men and women, cops and convicts and superheroes, especially The Joker and Harley Quinn, a sparkly jester ensemble. The trend for store-bought couple costumes leans more toward men’s and women’s costumes in the same section, where matching seems to beat coordinating.    

As for the most popular new trend this year, the answer is unsurprising.

“’Frozen’ is definitely one of the biggest,” Mike admitted. “The costumes have primarily been mostly for kids, but we’ve gotten a good number of adult ones.”

So if you’ve been looking for a reason to keep belting out “Let it Go,” now’s your chance.

The second most popular trend in costumes this year is, of course, superheroes including Batman, Spiderman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Robin and Iron Man. Other popular costumes include a diverse bunch of styles and categories: Disney characters such as Elsa and Anna, Snow White, Tinkerbelle, Aladdin and Jasmine; Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter; fairy tale characters such as Little Red Riding Hood; popular television- and movie-related characters from “Game of Thrones,” “The Walking Dead,” “Star Wars” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”; career-inspired looks such as nurses, doctors and cops;  traditional scary themes such as slasher-flick horror masks, vampires, werewolves, zombies and skeletons;  Day of the Dead ensembles; gypsies and fortune tellers; Greek gods and goddesses; Catholic schoolgirls;  flappers; ninjas; minions; clowns; and as always, pirates (peg leg and parrot optional, of course.)

Mike mentioned a new trend among Halloween purchases this year: suspenders. Lately, customers buy items from suspenders to t-shirts to tights that may originate in a Halloween store but can be worn both to a Halloween party and year-round.

“[People] buy them here [at Spirit] because they’re cheaper,’ he said, “[And they] wear them all day.”

When acknowledging the vast number of costumes some customers (usually girls) try on in the store, Mike said most people typically buy one costume, though they may have several parties and occasions spread among several nights.

Indecision happens during the trying-on process, he said, partially because everyone, especially college students, seem to be looking to save money. People also want to make sure they really, really like what they’ve chosen, hoping to balance the risk that someone else may be wearing the same costume at an event.

Mike believes that since this is a college town, customers seem to buy for Halloween parties, rather than just dressing up for the occasion. He also explained that women and men visit the store at a fairly even ratio, though girls primarily try on looks and choose while guys hold and wait.  

“It’s mostly females buying costumes,” Mike said. “Guys [are] just like, ‘I’ll just throw on something, call it a costume.’” 

Though Spirit Halloween offers some floor-length costumes, they’re not as popular as shorter options. Mike said that popular costumes for girls continue to be the “sexier” looks such as corsets and tutus.

“Costumes get shorter and shorter every year,” he said.  

For guys, full-face masks, typically from the horror section, are on a bit of a decline.

“People want to dress up as a person they want to be,” Mike said. “They don’t want to dress up scary.”

Mike said it’s hard to surprise an employee in a Halloween store, because whatever they put out, people will buy. Yet, one thing that has managed to surprise them is a reemergence of “Zoolander” costumes. The original “Zoolander” movie released in the 1990s, but with a possible sequel coming, the costumes have once again made a reappearance.

One thing that never seems to go out of style is dressing up like a witch, a quick and easy option with a black dress and a great hat. A lot of people come in and simply buy new accessories, including hats, tights, gloves, jewelry and wigs, to enhance costumes or clothes they already own—often resulting in an exchange of ideas among customers and employees.

Spirit Halloween will remain open until Nov. 2. After that, unpurchased items will be stored, and the store will close until next year, when they will pick out a new location (based on size and their need for temporary availability) and set up their Halloween wares once more.

So remember, this year, enjoy seeing Michelangelo, the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle,” walking arm in arm with Elsa, or Batman showing up with Wonder Woman. Next year, everything will be just a little bit different.

 

Store Details

University Center

354 S College Road.

Wilmington, North Carolina 28403

Phone: 910-399-4771

Monday-Friday, Oct 1-22: 10am-9pm

Saturday, Oct 4 & 11: 10am-9pm

Saturday, Oct 18: 10am-10pm

Sunday, Oct 5, 12, 19: 11am-7pm

Monday-Thursday, Oct 23-30: 9am-10pm

Friday, Oct 24: 9am-11pm

Saturday: Oct 25: 9am-11pm

Sunday, Oct 26: 10am-9pm