With Halloween parties on lots of social calendars this weekend, many people will be rummaging for long-lost aviator glasses, donning pointy hats and picking through vintage clothing.
Dressing up and playing a character, scary or not, is one of the great joys of Halloween
Maureen Cue, owner of Disguise the Limit Costume Rentals in Colwood, says this year’s costumes seem to be trending “gentler and kinder” — the top-two requested costumes are wizards and clowns.
Assembling a wizard costume — such as Gandalf from Lord of the Rings — could be as simple as acquiring a pointy hat, flowing robes and a magic staff to complete the ensemble. Some may want to top it off with a white wig and long, flowing beard.
But the surprise this year was the return of the classic clown — not the scary or creepy clown.
“With what we have, people become a white-face clown, a hobo clown, a rodeo clown, sad clown. It can be as simple as getting a red nose and a wig and raiding a crazy friend’s closet,” said Cue, who is marking 30 years in business this year.
She said business “instantaneously” picked up last year when pandemic restrictions were relaxed, and this year has been even busier.
“Instead of parties for 10 from last year, we are now seeing 20 to 30 people looking for costumes as parties revert back to pre-pandemic levels,” she said.
With Halloween falling on a Monday this year, some parents are getting costumes they can wear to parties for adults on the weekend and using them again when they take their children trick-or-treating, she said.
A popular ensemble has the whole family dressing up as Mario and Luigi characters from the video-game series.
This year’s Top Gun revival with Tom Cruise has also inspired an uptick in requests for aviator jumpsuits for both men and women.
Cue says she has “thousands upon thousands” of costumes available to rent from about $20, with the average rental costing $50. At the high end, she has a suit of armour, complete with shield, sword or mace, available for $150. Customers are responsible for finding a page to help them get in and out of the garb, but at least red-wine spills would be easy to clean up.
Another trend this year is throwback outfits from the 1960s and ’70s, with bell-bottom pants, suede-fringed vests and other hippie gear.
Deanna Milligan, administrator of the Costume Loft at Langham Court Theatre — a collection of about 10,000 pieces of mostly donated pre-2000 clothing — says during the pandemic, a number of people donated these “authentic treasures” after cleaning out their closets.
“It’s like a resource for art projects, with beautiful, authentic pieces the public can borrow,” she said of the collection.
The inventory leans toward classic pieces that can be mixed and matched to create costumes ranging from medieval and classic Victorian — “something we do very well” — to Gothic and pirate themes, Milligan said.
This year, many people are leaning toward comfort items, with warm capes and fur coats.
There has also been an uptick in demand for Roaring Twenties-themed attire, sharply dressed men and flapper women — who often accessorize their beaded rhinestone or sequined and tasseled flapper dresses with the aforementioned warm capes to keep them comfy while travelling to and from parties.
“We have a large selection of capes, including snowy white ones to compliment a Cruella de Vil, Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones theme to complete the look,” said Milligan.
While demand for rentals from the Costume Loft is up about 30 per cent over last year, it still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, she said.
The Costume Loft charges per piece, which start at $5, with an average of about $40 per rental. Proceeds from the venture support Langham Court Theatre, as does a sale of donated clothing deemed not useful to the loft.
One note of caution: If you have disco fever and plan to step out on the lighted dance floor to boogie the night away on a pair of ’70s-vintage platform shoes, you may want to get some practice first.
“With Elton John currently playing his farewell tour, there has been a resurgence for the whole disco look,” Milligan said. “It is amusing to watch men try to walk in platform shoes for their first time.”
The Costume Loft is open Fridays and Saturdays and is also opening this Sunday. For more information, including hours and location, go to langhamtheatre.ca/costumes.
