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Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
One of the traditional Halloween costumes for adults is the black and white bars of the 'jailbird' costume, displayed here by Celebrations co-owner Joyce Conlon.
If you see a witch, a vampire, Austin Powers or Yoda walking down the street, it can only mean one thing.
Halloween!
According to Wal-Mart and Big Kmart spokesmen, Halloween is the second biggest holiday for sales, next to Christmas.
"Halloween probably ranks right in there because of all the costumes, makeup and all that," said Shirley Stayer, Wal-Mart.
She said, "They've been buying their Halloween costumes for the last month. The closer to Halloween, the more the mad rush."
Celebrations co-owner Joyce Conlon said, "My repeat customers begin the first week of September to reserve the costumes they want." Other customers began requesting costumes last week and the stream of customers has been steady, she said.
"Personal parties," Conlon said, "are mostly this weekend."
Big Kmart manager Karl Heid said they put their Halloween costumes out in late September and people began buying them as early as Sept. 30.
"Star Wars is doing well. Barbie is always a hot seller. The pumpkin costume and M&M costume are doing excellent," Heid said.
Stayer said costumes "across the board" are hot sellers. And as far as Star Wars costumes, she said, "We have a lot of the costumes. They seem to be selling."
Adult costumes aren't moving as fast, Stayer said, but adults usually wait until the last minute. "Kids come first," she said.
Celebrations specializes in adult costumes. Conlon said adults are telling her that they now like Halloween more than New Year's Eve because they get to dress up as their fantasies. "Believe it or not, it's the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood" that's most popular, she said.
"Batman and Catwoman always go out. Elvira. Cleopatra always goes out," she said. Other popular adult costumes include the nun, the priest and the black gorilla costumes.
"Besides costumes, we have a lot of wigs that go out, for, like, Sonny and Cher," she said. People wanting to dress up for the '70s also may ask for an Afro wig. Makeup is also available at Celebrations.
Only one of each style is available at the store, Conlon said, so that no two people in Warsaw will be caught in the same outfit.
Heid said adults and teen-agers are more likely to buy the scary costumes. He said the corporation has noticed that "parents feel the scary ones are too rough and violent (for children)."
Prices for costumes at Celebrations are for a day and night. "People who come in early, I ask them to put a deposit down, which is the cost of the rental," Conlon said. Prices range from $5 for the hula outfit to $40. The average price, Conlon said, is approximately $25. She said the difference between Celebrations and a department store is that Celebrations provides accessories and the costume material is more sturdy.
So on Oct. 30, remember to drive safely as Jar-Jar Binks, Barbie and The Great Pumpkin make their way around the neighborhoods looking for tricks or treats.
