Boo Cool
What will well-dressed Halloween revelers be wearing this year? Everything from ornate Marie Antoinette-esque gowns to creepy “Scream” masks to oversized M&Ms.; And they’re paying anywhere from $12.99 to $100-plus to live out their alter-egos.
It’s an almost-anything-goes holiday this year, with the “Scream” ensemble from the 1996 movie appearing to be a hit. With its black robe and toothless, gaping-eyed mask, it’s a version of Edvard Munch’s painting of the same name.
“That’s been really popular,” says Angela Togyer, manager of the Halloween Adventure store in Encino. “And it’s with all age ranges, from little kids [wasn’t that film rated R?] to adults.”
Adults are also crazy for the big brain head Martian from last year’s “Mars Attacks.” And the store carries vintage “Saturday Night Live” costumes, from the Bees to the Coneheads, appealing to boomers still trying to hang onto their youth.
At Adele’s of Hollywood, “People want something very elaborate,” says Theresa Saidy, owner of the costume house. “The most popular period seems to be colonial. The men want to be George Washington, the women want to be Martha. Maybe it’s because the style is so elegant and very graceful. And I find the men having a great deal of fun in dressing up. Before we had the wives dragging the husbands in, now it’s the other way around.”
The “Dangerous Liaisons” style is No. 1 with adults at the venerable Western Costume, followed closely by the “Maverick”/Southern belle look, harem outfits and showgirl get-ups. Older teens and young adults are crazy over colorful zoot suits, a la “The Mask.”
“Men want to look dashing and women want to look sexy,” says Susan Saldutti, Western’s Halloween costume coordinator and a third-generation costumer (she also does movies). “These days people don’t really dress up that much, and Halloween gives them that opportunity.”
She’s waiting to see if the austere “Men in Black” look is a hit this year--she’s pulled a couple of black suits just in case.
“Kids want the BeetleBorgs,” says Steven Craig, owner of Party City stores in Sherman Oaks and Hawthorne. Among children, the cartoon characters continue their popularity streak, along with Power Rangers and Ninjas. This year’s new favorites include “Wizard of Oz” characters (Craig chalks that up to last year’s reissue of the movie on video) and M&M; costumes for children and adults.
But some kids are bucking the trends. Saidy reports that some girls are requesting the Chewbacca costume from “Star Wars” instead of Princess Leia.
“Kids are more exploratory this year. They want to know how it feels to wear a certain costume. We had one young man, he was about 5 and he only wanted the pink Power Ranger. His mother kept saying, ‘It’s for a girl,’ and he didn’t care. There was no one convincing him. But she also bought a red one hoping he’d change his mind.”
