Don’t be alarmed when you hear a rapping at your chamber door on Oct. 31.
Odds are it’s just Spider-Man, along with some of the usual suspects: Harley Quinn, a police officer and a princess, together for some wholesome trick-or-treating.
Now, if you answer and the masked guards from “Squid Game” are standing on your front porch, on the other hand, that might be equal parts creepy and trendy.
After all, those are all among the most popular Halloween costumes for 2021, according to retailers.
As the holiday approaches and many households and communities plan to return to their customary celebrations after COVID-19 disrupted last year’s festivities, a lot of costumes that should feel familiar even to people who aren’t up on pop culture are back in style.
But one entry that’s showing up fashionably late to the party is “Squid Game,” the hit drama that’s taken the nation by storm since its mid-September release. It’s currently the most viewed and talked-about program on the streaming platform Netflix.
Don’t take our word for it, though. As of Wednesday, “Squid Game” guard costumes — a red full-body jumpsuit with black mask and gloves — ranked Nos. 4 and 6 on a list of best-selling kids’ costumes at e-commerce giant Amazon.
And since your chances of finding “Squid Game” costumes in brick and mortar stores is nigh impossible, given the the show only recently premiered, some fans are reportedly creating their own of the guards, contestants and even the chief antagonist, the “Front Man.”
So while you won’t see “Squid Game” on a lot of lists of the year’s most Halloween popular costumes, chances are you will come across a few of them in your neighborhood.
Superheroes far from the only option
With a new big-budget motion picture out this year — and the marketing machine that’s behind it — it’s no surprise Spider-Man is No. 1 on Amazon’s best-seller list, with a second costume cracking the top 25. Popular anti-heroes Harley Quinn and Deadpool have two costumes on the site’s top 50 as well.
Retail chain Party City, which has a location in Spring Township, also anticipated Spider-Man in addition to Wonder Woman would be sought after this year, based on a survey of 1,400 moms across the U.S.. And Spirit Halloween saw Harley Quinn as trending heading into the holiday season, per a news release.
But superhero franchises are far from the only movies expected to lead to sales at the costume shops this year.
Party City also named Michael Myers from the long-running “Halloween” slasher series, which has a new installment out this month, in addition to the “Ghostbusters,” with their latest big screen reboot due out in November.
Spirit Halloween saw some potential for carry-over from summer’s “Space Jam” revival and the new “Addams Family” computer-animated sequel that just hit theaters. Even classics such as “Beetlejuice” and “Hocus Pocus” are experiencing an uptick in consumer interest, according to the company.
Any way you slice it, movies clearly remain a huge inspiration for costumes. However, seasonal stores are banking on customers wanting more to choose from than the superheroes that dominate at the box office.
Trick-or-treaters can be anything this year
Of course, people don’t strictly play roles they see on a screen somewhere.
Among its list of TV and movie characters, Party City also heard from surveyed moms that a regular ol’ police officer costume would be in vogue for 2021. Amazon backed up the prediction, as police officer is No. 19 on its best-seller list, along with another high-profile profession, astronaut, at No. 13.
While not a profession, per se, princess costumes are always in, it would seem, with numerous outfits fitting such a description appearing in Amazon’s top 50.
And there is always a selection of general ghoulish outfits, available from all three stores and literally any place that sells Halloween costumes — that would be your devils, demons, witches, skeletons, vampires and the like.
If you’re looking for something unique and not a licensed character, however, Spirit Halloween might have just the thing.
The retailer is also pushing a line of food costumes, headlined by a big bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, along with avocado, pickle, banana, milk and cookies, or peanut butter and jelly sandwich costumes.
Source: Berkshire mont
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