Me & Elvira!
Last week was the annual Halloween Show. It was held in Las Vegas at the Sands Convention Center. This is the show where industry manufacturers and wholesalers exhibit the costumes for the year.
It is our task to choose now what will be popular this Halloween and the rest of the year. the manufacturers make based on what is ordered at the show and they usually only go into production once a year. It is a daunting task, and while no one has a Halloween costume crystal ball, my dad and I are pretty experienced with this. I have actually been going to this show since I was 16 and he has been going since the late 70's.
Costumes and trends have changed a lot over the the last 20 or 30 years. Costumes are made and constructed much better now and many of the costumes come with cute accessories, trims, and add ons that make a costume more special and have better appeal. Every year costumes follow the fashion trends - especially costumes for women and girls. "Back in the day" a witch costume was a black long robe - type dress with jagged edges and a rope belt. Nowadays, if you want to be a witch, you have dozens of designs to choose from and many are not just black either.
Sexy costumes for women have been a growing trend over the past few years. the industry has had a lot of fun with this trend, voluptuous models in skimpy costumes are now a "staple attraction" at many booths at the show. Many of the manufacturers put on a fashion show, complete with emcee's, music, and even an occasional celebrity model.
Another new trend that has been growing in popularity is funny & humorous costumes. I love that these ideas bring the "fun" back into Halloween.
Matching costumes for couples, groups and families is also a growing costume category. It really brings in a celebratory and holiday spirit when you can have a group theme with your family or co-workers. It is one of my favorite Halloween trends. I always feel like "the more, the merrier"!
The one thing that really drives the costume market the most these days are movies and tv. 2008 will be no exception with a huge billboard of blockbuster summer movies coming out. Everyone likes to dress like a favorite character from movies and television. Many of the favorites this year are super heroes and movie icons. For die hard fans and children with big imaginations, movie character costumes are not just for Halloween! Some of this year's blockbuster costumes to watch:
Batman, The Joker, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Mutt Williams, The Incredible Hulk, Transformers, Hannah Montana, High School Musical, Harry Potter, Speed Racer and the list goes on.
For more pictures from the Halloween Show, visit AnniesCostumes Flickr page!
For more details on this year's hottest costumes for Halloween, stay tuned for the annual Extreme Halloween List of the Top Halloween Costumes for 2008.
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