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For those of us who grew up mid-century, Halloween costume ideas originated at home or were an easy purchase at a chain drugstore. But costumes for trick-or-treating became more sophisticated in both directions toward the turn of the millennium. Increasingly inspired by pop culture on the commercial market, DIY Halloween costume ideas also returned with a vengeance as an ecologically sound approach. Which way to go wasn’t just a matter of budget versus imagination. They were responding to a flood of characters who came out of Marvel, Pixar, Disney, and other Hollywood movies in retail chains and online sales outlets. These commercial figures covered the streets, parties, and malls the week of Halloween. They included Shrek, Batman, Spider-Man, Star Wars characters, Pirates of the Caribbean, zombies, the Avengers, and an array of Disney princesses. “Toy Story” and its sequels not only gave us the new faces of Woody, Jessie, and Buzz Lightyear, but reminded Boomers of beloved companions of their childhood, such as Barrel O’ Monkeys, Barbie, Mr. Potato Head, and green plastic toy soldiers. With the growth of environmental consciousness, some consumers felt queasy about buying retail costumes to wear once and toss in the trash. Perhaps the old-fashioned method of making a costume at home, from leftover fabrics and objects, is the greener option. Like many other holiday practices, Halloween costumes are a fairly recent development in history. Though masqueraders reportedly went around in Scotland at the end of the 19th century, there is no mention of people wearing costumes in England, Ireland, or the United States until the early 20th century. Of course, in those days Americans built their Halloween costumes from scratch. Not until the 1930s did a couple of U.S. companies such as Ben Cooper, Inc., and A.S. Fishbach, Inc., begin to fabricate Halloween characters to offer for sale through retail stores. The stock figures of the era were witches, ghosts, vampires, devils, and the scary figures and things from outer space that turned up in horror movies and science-fiction films. In the latter half of the century, historical and political figures, sports figures and other celebrities, and cartoon characters increasingly took the stage among trick-or-treaters. Because of the “unreality” of the occasion, some older teens and grown women took the opportunity on Halloween to wear sexy and revealing outfits that showed more skin than would normally be acceptable in public. Some Americans have also purchased special costumes for their pets and babies on Halloween. They dress their long-suffering canines as birds, insects, machines, dinosaurs, or caped superheroes. Infants become bears, honeybees, frogs, and penguins. (Most cat owners automatically avoid trying to stick their fussy feline in a Halloween costume.) Green-minded shoppers know that a brief web search easily locates websites that offer simple and easy DIY Halloween costume ideas. A few online sites delineate last-minute creative ideas. Recycling has come to Halloween, as well: thrift stores like Goodwill not only sell raw materials for building your own costume, they also provide commercial costumes that got dumped on the market by retail outlets that shut down or merely wanted to make room for their new stock. If you're looking for great Halloween costume ideas, visit Savers.
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