Halloween is getting bigger every year, so sending the kids out trick-or treating dressed in a white sheet just doesn't cut it these days. More and more grown-ups have moved in on the game too, with fancy-dress parties being all the rage. The real trick is not paying a scary amount for your costume – and coming up with an original look, which can sometimes be just as frightening.
So what are some of the coolest costumes to wear this season?
As ever, it’s all about imagination and creativity! Think about what makes you giggle and then get to work.
Perhaps you want to dress up like Michael Jackson in his groundbreaking ‘Thriller’ video, or you may prefer to opt for a ‘Twilight’ inspired vampire costume? Whatever tickles your fancy – there are many inexpensive styles to choose on the Irish highstreet.
Celebrities such as Lady Gaga are top of the list this Halloween and staff at Wigwam in the St Stephen's Green Centre have been inundated with requests for wigs that resemble her unconventional style.
The store is selling platinum blonde ‘Gaga’ wigs at €75 to hire but if your resessionista budget can’t quite stretch that far, check out ‘The Joke Shop’ next to the Gaiety Theatre on St Stephens Green – they do incredible wigs and costumes that start at only €15.
If you are looking for something a little different, try shopping on line. You can pick up incredible costumes on sites like eBay and just about any outfit can be bought, fairly cheaply if you're organised and have time to wait around for the postman.
Costume-hire companies also have hundreds of outfits to choose from. Most people don't opt for traditional "scary" Halloween costumes any more. For women, the shorter the skirt the better, says Dublin Costume Company, in Fitzwilliam Street, which hires costumes for €60- €70 for three days. Wonder Woman outfits are its biggest hit with female customers, while the men tend to keep it old school, playing cowboys and Indians.
Of course, there’s always Elvis.
When I visited a hire shop recently, there were more than 30 Elvis outfits in a room containing costumes for everyone from Sid Vicious and Ozzy Osbourne to Marilyn Monroe and the Blues Brothers. Truly, in the kingdom of the kitsch, the King is still king.
Brid McNally from the Dublin Company agrees Elvis and Marilyn costumes are always popular choices but this year there’s a lot of variety about: “Western styles are becoming increasingly popular,” she says. “This time of year there’s also a lot of Georgian balls going on, so dramatic ballgowns and period style costumes are all the rage.”
She tells me that one of the best sellers this year is the Amy Winehouse wig, which is a steal at only €25. “Lots of people want to dress up as Amy and her look is relatively easy to achieve because most girls have a fitted pencil shirt or a leopard print top hanging at the back of their closets.”
If you are looking for something sweet for your little darlings to wear on Halloween’s night, you’ll be also be spoilt for choice. Pennys, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, and Tesco sell super-cute costumes for the kids, at a low, low price.
There’s everything from adorable witch and fairy outfits to skeleton and spider outfits for little boys. The selection at Tesco, which starts at only €6.00, is great value and they also sell Ladies witch and vampire dresses at an astonishing €15, so you can pick out your fabulous new party look along with your weekly food shop. Perfect.
If you want to emulate the look of a Hollywood starlet,
the site Beyond Retro is well worth taking a look at – not only are their dresses and suits absolutely stunning but they’re so gorgeous; you may be able to get another wear out of them when the Christmas parties roll around.
If vintage is your thing it’s also worth popping around to Jenny Vander on Drury Street. The shop, which is Ireland’s oldest vintage store, stocks the most incredible flapper style dresses, fifties prom dresses and extravagant ballgowns. Many of the styles are available to hire, so if you want to go for a Dita von Teese inspired look that should be your first port of call.
There are plenty of companies hiring and selling costumes around the country. Nomac, which is based in Waterford, creates its own breath taking costumes. It offers superheroes, musketeers, brides of Frankenstein, wizards of Oz and Moulin Rouge characters, as well as the house range of designer zombies and rental prices range from a modest €45 to €65.
Alternatively, you can easily create your own outfit by using your imagination and shopping in one of the hundreds of charity shops around the country. You won't spend much, you will be a true original and you will help out a good cause to boot.
