Boo! Hollywood influences Halloween costumes – again
Published 5:00 am Sunday, October 5, 2008
- From top: Dog wearing a Batman pet costume; infant wearing a Tinkerbell costume; child wearing a “Transformers” Optimus Prime costume.
NEW YORK — Hollywood is going trick-or-treating again.
Costume suppliers predict the top Halloween costumes this year will come from summer blockbusters and the Disney Channel.
Thanks to “The Dark Knight,” Batman is a top costume for children, adults and pets, according to the National Retail Federation, while iParty’s list of children’s favorites adds the Joker, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Hannah Montana.
Popular adult costumes are a pirate and a French maid, a variation on the revealing costumes popular for women. Politics is another popular theme.
“Ghosts, mummies, witches always sell, and sometimes they sell extremely well,” said Sal Perisano, the CEO of iParty. “However, pop culture in recent years has pretty much dictated what drives the best-sellers.”
Here are some of the year’s top options:
Infants/toddlers
Hooded furry animals continue to be popular choices for the littlest ones, said Cari Shapiro, the vice president for Babies “R” Us, adding that a monkey was on track to be a top seller again this year.
Trends include “girly-tutu-esque” costumes, such as Tinkerbell and a ladybug with a tutu, along with monster costumes that come in blue and pink, said Shapiro.
At Spirit Halloween, lion and bumble bee are popular baby costumes, said President and CEO Steven Silverstein. And Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street and Disney’s Handy Manny are top choices for toddlers influenced by television characters, he said.
Children
Disney princesses and pirates are top sellers at the Disney Store, with new Cinderella, Ariel and “Pirates of the Caribbean” costumes, said Disney Store spokeswoman Melissa Rozansky.
But this year, it’s all about the tweens, she said, with popular costumes including “Hannah Montana,” “Camp Rock” and “High School Musical.” Disney Store focused on kids ages 6 and under last year.
“Kids are watching these shows every day on the Disney Channel,” she said. “They want to be Hannah Montana.”
It’s the year of Star Wars at Toys “R” Us, with several costumes coming from characters in “The Clone Wars,” said Robert Giampietro, a senior vice president for the toy store chain.
Besides superheroes like Batman, Spider-Man and the Hulk, a Power Ranger, Indiana Jones and Transformers are popular. Girls are choosing Supergirl and Batgirl, along with fairies and princesses, he said. Perennial top-sellers include witches, skeletons and ninjas, according to iParty.
Adults
Halloween on a Friday bodes well for the adult costume business, said Perisano; more people are apt to host and go to parties.
Men are dressing up as knights and Sugar Daddies, while women are going for something more sexy and revealing like a cleavage-showing nurse costume, he said. On Amazon, it’s about pirates, with a wench and swashbuckler as best-sellers.
As with any election year, political costumes are also on top.
In iParty’s plus-size category, top costumes are a Mafia Mama and an emergency room doctor, while Amazon’s list includes a beer bottle for men and a sexy school girl costume for women. “Halo 3” and a sexy Marilyn Monroe are also popular.
Couples costumes include a plug and socket, ketchup and mustard, bacon and eggs, Fred and Wilma Flinstone and a Love Guru and Hippie Chick.
Pets
Fido and Kitty won’t be left out this year.
Amazon is offering costumes for dogs and cats, ranging from Dorothy to Yoda. Other popular pet costumes are a princess, bumble bee and the devil.
Anya Waring, a spokeswoman for Amazon.com, said some businesses allow pets, which is a great opportunity to dress them up for Halloween.
“There’s probably a lot more dogs following their kid owners around trick-or-treating as well,” she said.