Trendiest Halloween Costumes
It seems Halloween is becoming a bigger deal each year,and 2010 is no exception, as the day serves as a great excuse for children and adults alike to take a brief escape from reality.
More adults than ever before are planning to get dressed up this year, with an estimated four out of every 10 Americans dressing up for the holiday, according to a National Retail Federation survey.
Click ahead to see some of the trendiest costumes for 2010.
By Christina Cheddar-Berk
Posted 4 Oct 2010
Alice in Wonderland
Suggested Price: $89.99-$49.99
Many costumes draw their inspiration from popular films, and this year’s release of Tim Burton’s "Alice in Wonderland” is obviously captivating imaginations.
“Alice”-themed costumes made the NRF’s top costumes for adults list for the first time, tying with “Star Wars” characters at No. 16.
The costumes shown here were manufactured by Jakks Pacific’s Disguise division, and are among the most popular of the season. In fact, the Alice in Wonderland costume was Disguise’s top-selling costume to retailers this year.
Jersey Shore Characters
Suggested Price, Costumes: $24.99-$29.99
Wig: $16.99
Plenty of people will be rubbing on fake tans, teasing up their hair and donning costumes depicting Jersey Shore reality-show characters Snooki and the Situation this Halloween.
So get ready to fist pump and G.T.L. (gym, tanning, laundry)!
Avatar
Suggested Price: $49.99
Wig: $24.99
We may see an invasion of Na’Vi aliens from the planet Pandora this Halloween, as costumes inspired by the movie “Avatar” are expected to be popular.
But look for the Neytiri costumes to dominate, rather than those depicting Jake Sully, according to Spirit Halloween President and CEO Steve Silverstein.
Lady Gaga
Suggested Price: $29.99-$49.99
Although few Lady Gaga fans are likely to recreate the pop star’s controversial raw meat outfit, her penchant for taking fashion to the extreme will provide plenty of inspiration this Halloween.
Retailers are showing a wide variety of Lady Gaga costumes this year, giving fans plenty of choices at different prices.
Disgruntled Airline Employee
Suggested Price: $39.99
So maybe you won’t tell your boss what you really think about your job, but overworked and underpaid employees everywhere can live the fantasy for at least one day.
This costume draws its inspiration from former Jet Blue flight attendant Steven Slater, who grabbed his 15 minutes of famewhen he flipped out at work after a disagreement with an unruly passenger. Emergency chute not included.
Michael Jackson
Suggested Price: $25.00 and up
The King of Pop still reigns. Retailers are seeing strong demand for Michael Jackson costumes this year.
In the wake of the legendary performer's death last year, manufacturers got to work on a wide variety of Jackson costumes for this year, giving fans plenty of styles to choose from.
Zombies
Suggested Price: $49.99
Gory costumes are a Halloween staple, but this year the undead will be walking en masse. It’s almost as if a virus was released, and everyone is catching zombie fever.
Expect to see both old and young zombies as well as different takes on the theme: zombie brides, punk zombies and zombie prom queens.
Sarah Palin Rogue Zombie Mask
Suggested Price: $24.99
Speaking of zombies, political masks may be so 2009,but sales are still strong for a mask depicting Sarah Palin as a zombie.
The mask is a spin on Barackula, a Dracula/Barack Obama hybrid that was popular last year.
Also, you can expect to see a lot of bruised professional golfers this year, according to BuyCostumes.com. There are several versions of this theme, which are based on the infamous fight between Tiger Woods and his now ex-wife Elin Nordegren.
Playboy costumes
Suggested Price: $49.95 and up
Playboy has licensed a number of costumes this year that go beyond the traditional Playboy Bunny to depict other popular Halloween themes including witches, nurses, cats and devils.
Sesame Street
Suggested Price: $47.95-$58.99
Jakks Pacific’s Disguise has taken a number of children’s themes such as the Sesame Street characters and created costumes for various age groups. Pictured here are costumes for adults from their Fabulous Flirts collection.
Pirate Dog
Suggested price: $28.00
Ready for Howl-O-Ween? Dressing up your pet is a growing trend. For the first time ever, the NRF asked shoppers if they would dress their pet and 11.5 percent of those surveyed said yes. Pirate costumes rank among the top 10 pet costumes. The top three are: pumpkin, devil, and witch.
The variety of costumes offered for pets keeps growing, as more retailers look to take advantage of the rising demand for these costumes. Martha Stewart has her own line of pet costumes at PetSmart and even traditional apparel stores such as Gap’s Old Navy are cashing in on the trend.
General Grievous
Suggested Price: $39.99
“Star Wars” remains a popular theme for both children and adults. This General Grievous costume is an exclusive item sold at Spirit Halloween stores.
Iron Man
Suggested Price: $39.99
Superhero costumes are one of the most popular themes each Halloween. With the release of the latest Iron Man film earlier this year, there are sure to be plenty of trick-or-treaters dressed as billionaire Tony Stark’s superhero alter ego.
Still, the most popular superhero is Spider-Man, which ranks second on the NRF’s children’s costume list.
Toy Story
Suggested Price: $29.99
According to the NRF, Buzz Lightyear will be one of the top costumes for 2010. But other characters from “Toy Story 3” are also selling well.
One trend has been for families or friends to dress alike or in themes. Here’s one such possible grouping that you may see: Woody and Jesse.
Princess costumes
Suggested Price: $54.95
Girls love to dress as princesses, making this type of costume the No. 1 theme for children, according to the NRF.
This fall's release of "Beauty and the Beast" may make Belle one of the more popular princesses. There also are a number of Rapunzel costumes ahead of Disney's release of "Tangled" this winter.
Octopus
Suggested Price: $26.99
Take inspiration from the famous oracle of this year’s World Cup, Paul the Octopus.
Light-up Witch
Suggested Price: $29.99
Want to stand out in a crowd in a crowd of witches? There are both children's and adults' costumes that light up with a flip of a switch.
Witch is the No. 1 theme for adults and the No. 3 theme for children, according to the NRF.
Gothic Vampira
Suggested Price: $118.00
Vampires are a perennial Halloween favorite, but with the popularity of the “Twilight” saga, blood-suckers have never been so trendy.
According to the NRF, vampire costumes rank second among the most popular adult costumes, and the theme tied pumpkin costumes at No. 8 for children.
In addition, this year, other familar themes (cheerleader costumes, for example) have taken on a gothic flair.
Bad Planning Jumpsuit
Suggested Price: $39.95
A Long Island company called Fun World has created a Halloween costume based on this year’s BP oil spill. Instead of the traditional blood-spattered Halloween gear, this costume appears to be splattered with oil.
Candyland
Suggested Price: 18.74-$54.99
Disguise also has introduced several costumes based on popular board games in styles for adults and children. Pictured here are the Candyland costumes, but there are also costumes based on Hasbro'sTwister, Monopoly and Scrabble.
