Halloween is back again and the shops of State Street are ready to provide students with costumes, props and gags galore.
For a student who does not have a lot of time to hunt for individual pieces of a costume, many different shops provide ready-made costumes in a bag. A number of stores have a wide assortment of pre-made costumes also available.
From vampires and goblins, to pirates and princesses, the World of Magic has it all. Specializing in costumes, wigs of all kinds line the wall, and an array of costumes fill the warehouse-style store.
Next to the wigs is a wall of tombstones and skeletons for those who would like to have their own graveyards to insure a spooky Halloween setting.
To the left of the entrance, a joke and magic trick section can be found for the perfect Halloween pranks to pull on friends.
They have fake vomit, whoopee cushions and even fake fingers, to drop in someone’s drink. Those who prefer tricks-to-treat will not be disappointed.
So what are this year’s most popular costumes?
“For adult males, it’s Lord of the Rings, Grim Reaper and Mike Meyers,” said Jeff Dutch, co-owner of World of Magic.
Popular women’s costumes are all about “slut-wear,” or anything that is vinyl, sexy and short, said Dutch.
Keeping the frightening spirit of Halloween, students can also find the scary and gross costumes here.
“We have a bleeding chest, that you pump the heart and blood runs out,” said Dutch.
Another employee, Sophie Alvaro, displayed what she thinks is the most disgusting costume at World of Magic: “All pooped out.” When one squeezes the pump, the diarrhea on the back of the costume poops out. Lets just say its name is self-explanatory.
Matt Jordan, World of Magic employee and City College student, suggested that “the addition of blood to any costume” would send a costume well on its way from gruesome to gory.
Shauna Milton, owner of Scavenge, a popular clothing store as well as Halloween costume shop, said that her two most popular costumes this year were the “Fraulein girl,” and the “Pimp.” The “Fraulein girl” imitates the maiden mascot from St. Pauli Girl beer.
Costumes aren’t just for Halloween in Scavenge. “We sell (costumes) year round, for the college parties,” she said.
New Deal, has a decent assortment of costumes, and carries a fair amount of the essential go-go boots. They even have zebra-print go-go boots for men.
“So far the most popular has been the sexy cop outfit, that and the pirates,” said Melissa Macias, manager of New Deal.
Sometimes buying a costume just isn’t ideal. Many ponder the idea of the need to buy a whole costume when it will only be worn for one night.
At Vintage Vogue Costume Shoppe, the costumes can either be bought or rented. Both men and women would find this shop very accommodating with its vast assortment of clothing that won’t cost an arm and a leg or be destined to end up in storage later on.
While getting a costume that is already put together, ready-to-go is sometimes preferable, but there are those who find it more satisfying to piece together their own creation. Stores like RADD or Alpha Thrift are an affordable option for do-it-yourself costumes.
Yellowstone Vintage Clothing offers an eclectic assortment of vintage clothing and accessories. “Mostly we have 70s stuff,” said Kristin Harper.
Polyester shirts, pants, jackets, and accessories to complete the popular “pimp” costume can all be found in this shop.
For women, many skirts, sweaters and shirts straight from the 60s and 70s are available-with the occasional sequined number snuck in of course.
Depending on whether the costume is pieced together from thrift store finds, bought in a ready-to-go bag, or rented; prices range from $10 to $100.
In the end, whatever your Halloween costume needs may be, the perfect attire can all be found in one trip down State Street.