Scare or seduce? Laughs or looks? Getting the right Halloween costume takes brains and brawn.
Furs, swords, wigs, lace, sparkle, gore. Bring it on.
Hot this year for kids are “Frozen,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “X-Men” characters. Good luck finding an Elsa costume.
For adults, inspirations come from “Game of Thrones,” social media and the classics. Halloween lands on a Friday this year, so you can party all night and not worry about still looking like a member of the “Walking Dead” the next day at work.
About half of American adults plan to don a costume according to a Halloween survey released by Value Village. The thrift store has its own line of new costumes from sexy kitties to zombie bananas in addition to secondhand getups and pieces. Goodwill stores also stock a vast selection of new and used costumes.
Value Village takes Halloween so seriously that for two months some workers take on the role of costume consultants.
Taylor Davis, 21, is a cashier the other 10 months of the year. “I don’t wear much makeup, and typically just wear jeans and a T-shirt,” she said. “But then August hits and my Halloween box comes out.”
Every day, she’s dressed to kill, scare or amuse as she works the costume aisles of the Everett store on Evergreen Way. “You have to keep the creativity flowing,” said Davis, dressed as her version of the iconic villain Maleficent. “I piece it, make it my own.”
Tell her what you want to be and she’ll take it from there. She’s like an interior decorator and your body’s the room.
Packaged costumes are a start. The devil is in the accessories. “There is so much you can do with it,” she said.
Don’t have a costume consultant?
According to the Value Village survey, more than 60 percent of social media users who dress up report their social networks will impact their costume choices. Some want to wear what their Facebook friends are wearing. Others wouldn’t dare.
It’s not only humans that become fairies, sheriffs and Miley Cyrus. Many people dress their pets and some coordinate costumes with their animal pals.
Yeah, Davis can help you with that, too.
On a recent day at the Everett Value Village, Crissi Parry tried to keep her sons contained in the cart as she rolled by the superhero section. Employee Travis Ness, dressed as Iron Man, came to her rescue by flashing his light-up chest arc reactor.
A family costume theme is a ritual for Parry, her sons and her husband, who would never dress up by choice.
“Last year, we were a whole family of pirates,” Parry said. “We came here and bought everything. For $30, we dressed five people. The year before we did ‘Star Wars.’”
Superheroes is a possibility this year, especially if her sons get their way. “I like to have it hammered by about two weeks ahead of time,” she said.
If you like the thrill of waiting until the last minute, no problem.
“We’ll be dressing people up until 10 p.m. on Halloween night,” Davis said.
Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.
Costume Catwalk
Value Village stores will have free “Halloween Costume Catwalk” fashion shows at 3 p.m. every Thursday in October. Costume consultants will showcase costume looks and give Halloween shopping tips.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
