For Northwestern students planning to pick up a Halloween costume this weekend, the most frightening accessory they find might not be a gory mask or a bloody T-shirt.
It might be a price tag.
Some Halloween costumes are priced at $60 or more at local stores and online retailers.
That’s why Weinberg freshman David Baylor is making his own. He admitted it might look less professional than a store-bought costume but said he “can’t fail in having an original idea.”
“I didn’t see a costume at The Alley for under 80 bucks,” he said, referring to the shopping complex at 854 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. “So I’m going to be ‘Crunkenstein.’ (I’m going to) thread beer cans on a headband and put them so (it looks like) they go through my head, kind of like the bolts of regular Frankenstein.”
Other students are heading to local costume shops in search of good deals. At Lost Eras, which has more than 1 million pieces of clothing for sale, there are clearance racks with items costing between $4.95 and $9.95. The store, 1511 W. Howard St. in Chicago, also offers a 10 percent discount for NU students, according to Charlotte Walters, the store’s owner.
This year, Walters said, shoppers are looking for “everything sexy.”
“(Shoppers want) traditional costumes with a twist, like sexy fairy costumes and gothic vampire bat costumes for girls,” she says. “Guys are really big on the pirates and Renaissance costumes this year.”
She said she expects a big rush of shoppers this weekend. Many people, she said, are waiting until the last minute to do their costume buying.
At We Are Halloween, 1926 Dempster St., costumes range from $9.99 to $65, according to Mary Rickey, the district sales manager.
“We had a beer keg that was sold, (and) a bottle of vodka,” Rickey said. “We have lab coats that have doctors names on them like Dr. Love. And some (students) are just buying accessories and kind of making their own costumes.”
McCormick sophomore Lauren Gochman found the perfect costume online.
“I knew I wanted to buy it online because there’s more variety than there is here in Evanston,” said Gochman, who purchased a Minnie Mouse costume for $34 plus shipping from buycostumes.com. “I didn’t want to spend more than $45 so this one was pretty much in my price range.”
The Web site, which says it has more than 10,000 items, sells products starting at 99 cents and ranging up to more than $100. Among the more expensive items is a Collector’s Edition Darth Vader suit, priced at $798.99.
Gochman said buying online makes sense because of the wide selection and the flexible return policy. She won’t need to use the return policy this time, though; her Minnie Mouse costume is definitely a keeper.
“I walk around (my sorority) house wearing the costume and people laugh, think it’s really cute and want to know where I got it,” she says. “I think it’s just fun and silly.”
Reach Matt Presser at [email protected].
