They make me angry with their stupid generic one-size-fits-all cheap fake-looking costumes. And their overpriced cheap masks which fall apart the minute you try them on. And the stupid animatronic pumpkins and skeletons and witch hands. And the horrible horrible cover songs they play relentlessly. And their cheezy goth-wannabe crap. They are taking all the fun out of Halloween!
Seriously, have you ever tried one of their costumes on? They are totally sheer, necessitating that one wear regular warm clothing underneath if you plan on being outside. They are unconvincing as hell - how many monks wore sheer shiny rayon black robes with a plastic cross? How many pirates wore black eyeliner? Even the joke costumes are stupid. Dr. Smellshercooch! Patient with fake butt sticking out of their gown! I hatehatehate their stupid slut section - sexy witch! sexy vampire! sexy pirate! sexy hooker! look at me, I’m a cheap whore…nurse! kitten. whatever. Cheap. Whore. Blech. If you wanna hoor it up, just wear your fucking underwear and a “look at me” sign around your neck.
So now at least half of the costumes you see are these totally crap uncreative one-size-fits-all and looks totally stupid and bought at the last minute.
Maybe it’s the old school goth in me, but dammit, Halloween costumes should be scary or creative or detailed, preferably all of the above.
And while I’m at it, I hate Hot Topic. In my day we had to hitchhike to Haight Street uphill both ways with our own hard-earned loot to buy buckle boots and spiderweb stockings bacause our parents refused to pay for anything that wasn’t day-glo or pastel. We had to regularly scour the thrift stores for ruffle shirts and black lace skirts and chokers. We had to drive across the valley to the one store that sold purple Doc Martens, chelsea boots and creepers. We had to stock up on face white at Halloween so we had enough to last for the year. You kids have it so easy nowadays, you get your replica Bauhaus concert T-Shirts and coffin-shaped lunchboxes at the goddamn mall and your mom pays for it! And stay off my lawn! :mad: :mad: :mad:
I stay away from the “Halloween Headquarters” retail-type shops. I shop Goodwill and put my family’s costumes together from scratch. I’ve been to the retail shops before and most of their stuff is crap - cheaply made and ill-crafted. I do confess though, that I might get some accessories there if I can’t find them at Goodwill, but there’s a huge Goodwill on the north end of the city and I’ve always been able to find what I’m looking for there.
Agree about the scarey thing - what I don’t understand is why Merkins dress up as Donald Duck or a Barvarian Bar Maid - what has that got to do with Halloween?
Because if everybody dresses spooky, it gets boring. Halloween (at least American Halloween) is about masquerade in general, not just ghaisties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night.
I admit I’ve shopped in one - otherwise how would I know the extent of their suckiness? I’ve even purchased a costume there - a nun outfit. Turned out it was a scary costume - my boss near had a heart attack when he saw me at work that day. 
Bad memories of Catholic school I suppose. The boyfriend likes it too…(TMI).
But on pure principle I will never ever ever buy a costume there ever again. Accessories, yes. Costume, NO.
Rise up and join the revolution!
The pre-made Hallowe’een costumes always suck. This is why I make my own, with obsessive attention to detail and thousands of hours of work.
What?
Halloween stores, IMHO, have been in a steady decline since they heyday in the mid 1980’s, but then again so has the “Party Store” that got by selling novelty gifts and risque birthday cards too. These were the people who went all out on the halloween stuff, and had enthusiasm. Now it’s just a temp store staffed by really bored teenagers who might not even get paid if the owner decides to bail on 10/30, and located in the building that H&R Block will have offices in after December.
There can still be some finds, and I still get excited when the Halloween Store takes up residence. The biggest dissappointment for me is the decline in the really expensive top shelf latex masks. They used to be awesome. Now they don’t even care. They still sell Bill Clinton. Who the hell is going as Bill Clinton for Halloween 2006?
Don’t know if this place sells this costume, but it’s one that I saw in an advertisement yesterday, and I found myself immediately filled with hate:
Susan
That just looks like some old woman with explosive diarrhea.
That reminds me of the ‘Yo Quiero Taco Bell’ advertisements on just too many levels… 
My friend Michelle has a halloween party every year and every year we’d go to lunch and walk over to Twin Cities Magic and Costume Shop and Halloween Superstore (same thing, I’m sure as HH) and peruse through the same damn costumes we saw last year. Oh, there’d be a new movie out since last year and a re-hashed Spiderman costume or some such, but it all was the same. I would go to see if they had something at least interesting, or maybe inspirational to build off of, but it became a creative vacuum.
So I just stopped going and started making my own costumes. The first time I made a priest’s outfit (luckily it was dark fabric, dark night, dark party and hid my sewing flaws) and my bf bought a robe from the local catholic shop and went as my altar boy.
The next year, I went to Ax-Man Surplus Stores and bought a yellow hazmat suit, a bunch of doll arms and legs, and some rope. I cut holes in the arms and legs and hung them from the hazmat suit with rope and then took a red marker and made marks all over the suit and went as “Planned Parenthood”. Total cost: $14.00
This year…well, right now the idea is to have each of us go as a WTC tower with a plane stuck in our sides. I *do * like to go for the completely inappropriate costume. But, I am having a hard time with the construction and the “drinkability” of a costume like that. (Drinkability is the main reason I avoid masks… while cool for a bit, a night of drinking through a straw and sweating isn’t much fun).
Maybe it’s just that they are very easily scared?
Done! I love that! Now, for the sake of the world, I hope I am not invited to any Halloween parties 
There is a local “Spirit Halloween” store that opened in a old Toys R Us this season. I was all excited thinking I’d find some neat stuff - but no. Overpriced cheap crap, the same old tacky costumes you find at K-Mart and no black cats. How in hell can you have Halloween without black cats?
I do have to go back to see if they have costume latex to make pointed ears. Does anyone have any tips for making pointed ears?
I find they are good the day after Halloween. Buy up lots of stuff to modify and use in next years costume cheaply. I agree that Goodwill and similar is the best place for most serious parts of a costume though.
Still waiting to find an ultr large ultra cheap brides dress. add to that a lizard mask and Bridezilla becomes the next great costume.
Well, if you decide to go as Hilary and Bill with her being the presumptive Dem front-runner for 08…but no.
I like them for the accessories and costume pieces and did buy a full costume a few years back (one of those skeleton outfits with the bones attached to a pullover robe) and it’s held up very well. The last couple of years, though, they haven’t really had that many new kinds of decorations and such, which is what they used to rock on.
I made some very nice ones for my daughter the year she wanted to go as a white cat. I bought a cloth-covered hairband the same color as her hair, then cut a sheet of white craft foam to the proper ear-shapes and glued them on. I believe that was the most difficult part, because I wanted them to stand bolt upright, yet have a natural curve. So I jerry-rigged something to hold them in place as they dried (I used either fabric glue or ordinary white glue). Then I cut slightly small ear-shapes from pink craft foam and used those for the inner lining. Turned out excellently and cost maybe five bucks.
YES! I used to work at a dedicated costume/makeup/theatrical supply company, and Halloween was the bestest holiday in the year EVAR!
Get some good quality liquid latex. Soak several cotton balls in the stuff. Let it dry slightly, pre-form it, and place it on top of your ear. Start molding it to get the height and pinching it to get the thinness you desire. Allow to dry fully and remove carefully from your ear. Re-attach using spirit gum. Practice makes perfect!
Thanks! We’re having a hockey-themed Halloween party, so I’m wearing my Starfleet Academy hockey jersey and I want to do pointed ears a la Spock.
:smack: I was so sure you were dressing up as a kitty-cat…