Halloween Fun

Princesses, witches, ninjas and ghosts decorate the streets annually one night a year, when kids have a reason to stay up late and consume massive amounts of candy.\nAs the years progress, so do children's costumes, until middle school or high school when they are "too old" to go trick-or-treating. However, you're never too old to go trick-or-treating and celebrate Halloween, a perennial favorite among IU students.\nNow, as college students and beyond, we begin to look at what we want our costumes to be this year. Wearing mom's old black dress and a pointed hat for a witch's costume was fine at age 10, but now at age 21 or 31, that old black dress won't cut it. \nWe all have our favorite perennial costumes, but being a witch, a vampire or a ghost gets old after 20 years. Now the big decision is what to do for this year. The main trends this year include superheros, along with anything retro and anything sexy. Tony Bianchi from the Halloween Adventure Shop, located at 104 4th St. in New York City, says this year it is OK to wear whatever the heart desires.\n"There really aren't any costumes people should avoid. I mean, here in New York we have a huge parade and anything goes," Bianchi said.\nJimmy Donner of Hollywood Toys n Costumes, located at 6600 Hollywood Bvd. in Los Angeles, agrees about the anything goes, but his store won't carry any costumes pertaining to Osama bin Ladin. Although many customers have inquired about the infamous terrorist, his store refuses to keep it in stock. George\nGarcia, from Fantasy Costume Headquarters, located at 4065 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago, says his store won't carry a Saddam Hussein costume because of the same reasons regarding American patriotism.\nLocally, Sharon Hays of Rags T Ritches, located at 1809 E. 10th St., says Arabian costumes have been low-key this year.\n"We haven't pushed our Arabian or far eastern costumes this year," said Hays. "We have them, but we have not pushed them because we haven't had anyone ask for that costume. We have not rented one so far. I still think people are skittish about that and they have always been one of our best rentals."\nThe big question is now, if anything goes, how do you know what's going to be the coolest costume of the season? The consensus among costumes shops is that superheroes and retro are sure to rock the parties this year.\nGarcia's store has sold large quantities of Spiderman costumes for kids and adults. College students and adults frequenting his store have purchased numerous 70s-ish Austin Powers costumes to wear this year. The female shoppers have headed towards the Renaissance costumes, as well as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis. Garcia explains the sudden interest in Marilyn and Elvis due to the anniversaries of their deaths.\n"This year is the 40th anniversary of Marilyn's death and the 25th of Elvis," Garcia said.\nBianchi's store has sold many of the same types of costumes, but his store has had a larger contention among children-themed costumes.\n"This year Harry Potter, Star Wars, Spongebob Squarepants, as well as your classic witches, vampires and Presidents are all popular," said Bianchi. "For the ladies, they have been in here looking for Snow White and other Disney Princesses, as well as nurses, Wonderwoman, and any other sexy costumes."\nBrittany Spears costumes and anything short and sexy have been among the main interests of female shoppers at Rags T Riches.\nWhat determines the trends for Halloween? Some costume shops say movies and the news heavily affect what people will don for All Hallows Eve, but others say manufacturers determine what people wear. Movie trends can be seen in the abundance of Spiderman, Scooby Doo and Austin Powers costumes, all which were box office blockbusters over the summer. The numerous requests for Hussein, bin Ladin, Clinton and George W. Bush are all due to the intense media coverage of their actions.\n"Austin Powers is now an icon after 3 successful movies. And do you know how many vampire moves have been made?" Bianchi said. "The Statue of Liberty costumes are big this year because manufacturers are making them. It's the same with any other patriotic or military costume, like firemen."\nHow much to spend?\nMost students are in a panicked state when it comes to purchasing or creating their costume. They are not sure of how much is too much to spend and how much is too little to spend. Estimates of what students and adults should spend varied from store to store, with the general average was around the $35 mark.\nHollywood Toys n Costumes said $100 was enough for students, with the average prepackaged costume running around $39.99.\nHalloween Adventure Shop said anywhere from $10 to $500 could be spent at their store, depending on where students are wearing the costume. Bianchi says students should spend more if they are entering costume contests, but spend less if it's just for a party.\nFantasy Costume Headquarters' customers spend an average of $45 to $75 dollars, but Garcia says you can go higher or lower depending on your tastes.\nRags T Ritches has a wide variety of costumes ranging form $10 to $100, with plenty below $30. The store even has sales and clearance racks outside, with costumes as low as $1.\nDeciding to stray away from this year's most popular costumes, sophomore Brent Moore is going to spend no more than $30 on his costume.\n"I'm going to be Scuba Steve from the movie 'Big Daddy'," Moore said. "I chose it because I was watching the movie and thought that all the fine young ladies would like to see me wearing a wet suit. Plus, it's original."\nWhile choosing a costume can be a difficult task, Garcia has one piece of advice to give to those dressing up: watch the extent of the costume.\n"I think some people get too technical. They think they are going to a wedding. Instead, they should just dress up, be down-to-earth, hang loose and have a good time rather than worry about the small details of the costume," Garcia said.\nJunior Lizzie Pope is unsure about this year's costume, but she's directing her attention towards anything in her house.\n"I usually look around my house for inspiration for my costume," Pope said. "I use stuff from around the house to make my costume. Last year I was a Christmas tree because I had lots of Christmas lights lying around."\nSome of the different and wacky costumes in stock this year around the costume shop circuit include one named "All-pooped-out" with a fake rear-end and fake poo on the butt, "White Trash" which is a garbage can with the head going through the lid and Neptune and his Sea Nymph, based upon Roman mythology, at Rags T Riches. The Neptune costume uses wigs with green stringy hair, shell bracelets and necklaces and a certain type of cape the store carries.