BOISE, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press and Boise Weekly.
Halloween is just around the corner which means, if you haven't yet, it's time to get your costume ready for the season. It's fun to see how the costume trends change, or stay the same, over the years. In order to get an idea of what this year's Halloween trends will be, fashion experts at Boohoo recently analyzed Google Trends data to determine what the top four most Googled pop culture and traditional costumes were throughout September.
Pop culture costumes
It will probably shock very few people that Barbie is by far the most searched character costume this year, considering that "Barbie," the movie, became Warner Bros. highest grossing film of all time, earning nearly $1.5 billion worldwide after its July 21 release.
In a viral TikTok video posted on July 29, TikToker Sophia Panella asked, "can we all agree, collectively as women, that we're going to be dressing up as Barbie for Halloween? … We're all gonna be our own version of Barbie and then we'll just say 'hi, Barbie!' down the streets," Panella continued. "This Halloween will be a Barbie World." Her TikTok has over two million likes and nearly 10 million views, with thousands of people commenting what their "version" of Barbie will be — many TikTokers have even started referring to this Halloween as "Barbieween."
The second most popular pop culture costume search is Wednesday Addams, from the Addams Family. The Addams Family has inspired an array of popular costumes over the years, but the release of Netflix's "Wednesday" last November has caused a massive spike in searches for Wednesday costumes.
Coming in third place in pop culture is Princess Peach from Super Mario Bros. The "Super Mario Bros." movie released in April of this year and while Mario and Luigi are the film's "stars," only one character had a song about them chart on Billboard Global 200. "Peaches," a love song from Bowser to Princess Peach, was performed by Jack Black and peaked at 48 on Billboard Global 200. If you haven't watched Black's live-action music video for the song, it's definitely worth checking out on YouTube.
Tied for fourth place is Harley Quinn, which has been a popular costume since Margot Robbie played the character in "Suicide Squad" in 2016, and "Weird Barbie," which shouldn't be confused with just any Barbie costume.
Male character costumes
You may have noticed that all of the top searched pop culture costumes are inspired by female characters. That's definitely not from a lack of options; perhaps a lot of men just haven't started planning (or searching) for their costumes.
There are plenty of "masculine" costumes that go along with the top searched pop culture looks — Ken and Allan from "Barbie," Gomez Addams and Uncle Fester from "Wednesday," Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Bowser from "Super Mario Bros.," and the Joker from "Suicide Squad."
In addition, Amazon's top sellers in "men's Halloween costumes" include an array of other ideas such as Robert J. Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein, Fred from "The Flintstones," Willy Wonka from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and Elvis Presley.
"Traditional" costumes
While taking inspiration from pop culture can be fun and is ever-changing, there are some Halloween costumes, that no matter the the trend, seem to always be popular. The top searched traditional costume in September was a skeleton, followed by a ghost, then, tied for third was a zombie and a vampire, and in fourth place, a witch — all of the classic "monsters" are accounted for.
In Idaho specifically, the top traditional costume search was for a zombie; apparently Idahoans really like the undead. Zombie costumes can be especially fun because you could be a zombie and something else. A zombie cheerleader, zombie doctor, zombie cowboy, you could even be a zombie Barbie.
Where to shop
This year, seven Spirit Halloween stores have opened in the Treasure Valley between Boise and Caldwell, and they are good options if you have a specific costume in mind. Spirit Halloween is the biggest Halloween retailer in North America, according to the company website, and offers a wide range of costumes, accessories, makeup and decor. The stores have a ton of options for all of this year's trending costumes, including a new collection dedicated to "Barbie," the movie. I know some of you have been wanting to rock that sparkly, pink cowboy outfit ever since you saw Margot Robbie wear it.
Another excellent place to shop for costumes is at any local thrift store — it's convenient, affordable and can leave you with a costume that no one else has. Not only do thrift stores oftentimes have racks of unused Halloween costumes, it can also be easy and fun to put together a costume from "normal" clothing items you find. Your personal take on Barbie, a ghost, a zombie, even a Wednesday costume, with a little dedication, could be put together with pieces from a thrift store.
Good luck in your costume endeavors and happy Halloween!
This article originally appeared in the Boise Weekly, read more on IdahoPress.com/BoiseWeekly
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