Soon many will abandon their blasé garb and temporarily transform into naughty school girls, Fembots, pimps, preachers and everything in between. Whether these Halloween enthusiasts hand out candy to little bright-eyed kitty cats and Pokémons or hit up that kegger down the street, this spook’s holiday is not just for the little ones. Booming business at local Halloween stores attests to this.
Lansing residents Hilary Buggs and Isaac Bueter were at the Lansing Civic Players Guild’s Costume Shop, 2300 E. Michigan Ave., earlier this week in search of costumes. They’d been shopping around, from Gags and Gifts to A-1 Rent-All, 4916 S. Cedar St., in search of a perfect match.
“We’re looking for a Robin Hood, Maid Marion thing,” Buggs said. “We want something that matches because we want to go somewhere together. Not for a particular party, just for Halloween.”
Political science junior Erin Kline and her roommate, elementary education junior Christine Richards, stopped by Halloween USA, 5002 W. Saginaw Hwy. in Lansing earlier this week.
Last year Kline and Richards were a cat and a butterfly, respectively. “Last year we didn’t dress up very well,” Kline concluded. “So this year we’re trying to make up for it.”
So the search began for a coordinated look with ‘Brady Bunch’ appeal.
“My roommates and I are dressing up as the Brady girls. We’re going to take home the wigs and see whose looks better before we decide,” Kline said.
Kline added that Marsha is her favorite Brady.
Gamaliel Poplar also visited Halloween USA, in search of a good way to attach a sword to his back like Wesley Snipes did in “Blade,” in preparation for the weekend before Halloween and the holiday. Poplar is beyond trick-or-treating, but will be handing out candy in his Blade attire.
“I’m trying to piece together a Blade costume,” he said, pondering the aisle’s array of fake weaponry and various other knick knacks. “I’m just trying to figure out how to put the sword on my back.”
Patti Campbell, manager of the Lansing Civic Players Guild Costume Shop, said the firehouse’s storage holds about “ten gazillion” costumes and accessories - everything but shoes.
The Players’ costume shop rents to theater companies and private filmmakers throughout the year and is especially busy during Halloween.
“We have a waiting list for Uncle Sam,” Campbell said.
“We can piece together any costume from any era,” she added. “This year people are doing more characters from a different era, like the ’20s or the ’50s.”
