BY MATT HOWELL
Halloween is the one time of the year when you are encouraged to be someone else – whether it is someone humorous or sexy.
David Buckle, operations manager for the Spirit Halloween store in the Bridgeport Plaza, 75 Weber St. N., in Waterloo, said there are definitely some costumes that you will be seeing more of if you are handing out candy to the little monsters this year.
“Licensed Disney costumes are always really big with the kids for sure. The movie Frozen was really big this year and every little girl, and boy for that matter, wants a Disney Frozen costume,” Buckle said.
But Halloween isn’t limited to the kids having all the fun, adults can get into the dressing up game too – usually with more X-rated and wacky costumes.
“With girls, especially in a university area like this, it’s kind of cute. With the guys, it’s usually something funny,” Buckle said.
A lot of people will go out and pick a costume off the rack, but there are also the imaginative folks who will put their own costume together for something completely original.
“We get a lot of people who piece together their own costume so they will grab a mask and add a voice disguiser and different props. It definitely is really popular. I had a woman at the bank ask me how she could make a unicorn costume. Well, we have stuff for that too,” Buckle said.
The store is packed full of things to dress up as, with superhero and zombie-themed costumes taking up most of the space. A wall of masks offers everything from creepy clowns to disgusting monsters.
Now, if you can’t find the perfect costume in the stores or aren’t great at putting something together, there are other options such as ordering online.
Luke Reeve and his girlfriend were walking around in awe at the Spirit Halloween store as they looked at all the masks and costumes.
Pointing at his girlfriend, Reeve said she wants to be Belle from Disney, and Reeve’s girlfriend pointed at him and said she wanted him to be the beast. With a beard and long hair, he was well on his way to making that happen but they had to order his costume online.
As for what they had planned for the evening, Reeve said, “We want to go to a bar or something.”
With Halloween only a few weeks away, people are flocking to area costume shops.
Chris Garrett, a first-time costume shop employee, said it’s a lot of fun working at Spirit Halloween but he has noticed how busy the store is starting to get.
“Weekends are a little bit crazy compared to during the week, and the closer we get to Halloween, it’s picking up a lot,” Garrett said.
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