 from Hawaii's Island Server, October 2000
Though Halloween has long been my favorite holiday, I've loved it more successfully as a voyeur than as a participant. My own attempts at costuming have been fairly ill-fated.
When I was a child, I wore little plastic masks from Woolworth's. Each year I trembled with jealousy when I saw my cousin's elaborate ballerina costumes, stitched carefully by my freakish aunt, who made Donna Reed look like a slacker bitch. After a few years, I rejected the plastic masks and devised strange costumes of my own: a bum one year, a robot the next. None were satisfying.
As an adult, I was free to dress as I pleased to celebrate the darkest holiday. When I was 21, my wild friend Myra talked me into dressing as a French maid to go to a costume party. "Maybe we'll get lucky!" she said encouragingly. With my plump thighs precariously encased in tight black stockings, I felt like a shiny overstuffed sausage. The costume had its desired effect, however. I woke up the next morning in a strange bed with a head the size of South Dakota, and decided immediately that I would henceforth enjoy Halloween as an innocent spectator.
However, if I ever decide to seek the princess gown of my dreams, I will surely be able to find it online. There are dozens of costume companies on the Web. Some even offer rental costumes to party-loving Halloweenies who would rather not invest hundreds of dollars in a full-blown Frankenstein disguise.
Dressed To Kill
As the company motto announces a bit clumsily: 'Somewhere in the world there is a Costume World costume in the spotlight tonight!'
"We are the second largest costumer in the United States," Kimberly Wick, co-owner of Costume World, told me proudly. With her mother and sister, Kimberly started the company as a cottage industry in the mid-1970s; it now has locations in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Texas.
Rentals start at $25; the average cost is $95- $125. "We have over a million pieces," Wick said, "and an elaborate selection of period costumes." The costume category lists are split between doomed couples (Bonnie & Clyde, Henry the VIII and Anne Boleyn, King Kong and Faye Wray), groups (killer bees, the Beverly Hillbillies), and specialty costumes (sharks, grapes, and something called the contented cow). Wick told me that 40 new photos would be added in just a few days, and this site really needs them.
And what of rentals for Hawai`i residents? "We rent costumes to people all over the world," Wick said. " Hawai`i, Zimbabwe - it's all the same to us!" Geographically a bit inaccurate, but her heart is in the right place. Island residents are given a generous grace period for costume returns - about 5 days. Skip the slow-loading request form and use the toll-free number to place your order.
Costume Holiday House, an Ohio company that has been around since 1959, sells and rents theatre, holiday, and mascot costumes.
"We accessorize as much as we can," the customer service rep told me. For some reason, she was reluctant to give me her name. Perhaps she was worried that the Accessory Police were bugging our conversation.
What about renting and sending costumes to eager Halloween celebrants in Hawaii? "Oh, no problem," she assured me. "We've actually shipped costumes to Scotland!" A bit of text on their site confirms that the company will ship any costume, even a rental, to all 50 states.
Though this site also needs photos, it offers a long list of costumes with rental charges starting at $45 and rising to $100 or more. One can go trick-or-treating as the Pope for just $50! A deposit, generally equivalent to the value of the costume, is required. Folks who don't see what they're looking for can inquire by phone or e-mail.
Talk about lousy image! Stu Miller's Halloween Costumes looks like it's probably a pretty good site, but it's rather hard to tell. Why? Because my search took me to a page with a goofy-spooky red-fanged that looked suspiciously like a monster in the Legend of Zelda. "Sorry, we're sold out for the season!" it announced, though it was only September 18. I felt like I'd arrived at Liberty House five minutes after the end of the Zooper Sale. Seems like a wasted opportunity to show prospective customers what they missed!
If I were still trying to concoct a homemade costume to satisfy my aspirations to Halloween fame, I would visit the Costume Idea Zone. This site has hundreds of wonderful costume suggestions, many sent in by loyal Halloweenies. There are sections for wacky stuff, traditional costumes, super quick costumes and more. It's a four-star destination.
My favorite costume suggestion? The One-Night Stand, which consists of a "large box with a cutout for your head. Cover with tablecloth and use a glue gun to attach items for a nightstand (plastic champagne glasses with nylons draped over them, ashtray, cigarettes, condoms, candles, Tic-tacs, alarm clock, etc)."
Hey, if I added a bottle of Alka-Seltzer and a lampshade for my head, I'd be all set for Halloween - and the morning after.
SITES TO SEE
Costume World
Costume Holiday House
Stu Miller's Halloween Costumes
Costume Idea Zone
Caroline Wright, of
WRIGHT FOR YOU
Word Services, is a freelance writer. A former resident of Hawaii, she now
lives in rural South Carolina. Feel free to e-mail your comments to Caroline
at
kiihele@wrightforyou.com.
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