Where to Find and Buy the best Haloween Costumes in Chicago?
It is almost October again and the Halloween candy and decorations have hit the Jewel, Dominick’s and Walgreen’s shopping isles. So, you know where to go to get candy and all the stuff to carve a pumpkin; but where do you go in the Chicago area and suburbs to find a great costume? Where can you find popular trends in costumes like Pirates, Movie Characters and plastic masks of your favorite cartoons? There are hundreds of sites online that offer costumes, but you can’t really see them in person or try them on over the Internet. If you want to go see the selection in person and pick something out, you can find some great stores and shops in this post.
Both kids and adults love to dress up for Halloween. There is something about leaving your real personality behind and being an actor for the evening, to be something you have always dreamed of (race car driver, pilot, astronaut, football player or president) or to be something funny (a movie character, a parody of a presidential candidate or a pop culture icon) or a character costume that scares everyone (like Freddy Kruger or other horror movie gross costumes). Chicago has a lot of stores and opportunities to dress up for Halloween. I am always surprised by how many adults I know are dressing up for Halloween and going to parties in Chicago and the suburbs. Here are some suggestions for cool, if not the best Halloween costumes you can buy in Chicago.
1. The Halloween Costume store chain from Spirit Halloween Superstores has everything from costumes for babies, to kids, to adults, to your pets!(see doggie star wars costumes pictured above) They have 22 locations all over the Chicago Area and a wide variety of costumes and prices. Some of the women’s costumes seem to double as pron outfits, but if you look around you can find some for average body types who don’t want to be half undressed too. (angels, witches and wenches) The men’s costumes seem to be somewhat traditional with Pirates, Football Players, Ghoulish Horror costumes and vampires. The kids costumes seem to be cute with snow white, princesses, spider-man and Star Wars. But they have everything from funny to traditional available.
2. Look to the news for inspiration and them use what you have in your closet. Have one sparkle glove, you’re Michael Jackson. Have a pair of old isotoners and you’re OJ Simpson. Ok, maybe those ideas suck, but I am sure that reading Perez Hilton’s blog will help you come up with celebrity pop culture ideas. Men in hip waders, a fishing pole and a bare chest? You’re Vladimir Putin. Ok. I’m done. I promise.
3. Go to another culture for inspiration. I am not sure if you have seen any Bollywood films or movies from China or Japan, but I love their traditional dresses. I think a Bollywood sari, Japanese style kimono or Chinese silk dress would be beautiful costumes. But I am not sure if this is offensive in any way to another culture, even if it is done in a way that you’re admiring the beauty of the traditional dress. Anyway, this might be harder for guys, because the cultural differences in dress don’t always carry over for men.
4. Vintage Stores. There is always a lot of cool stuff for cheap in Vintage stores. Wacky Cats, Strange Cargo, Silver Moon and Shangrila have been around since I used to go hunting for swing dancing vintage, and they offer much more variety now. You can find 40′s, 50′s, 60′s, 70′s and sometimes even 80′s and 90′s clothing at these stores. You can pick your favorite sitcom character from that era or just wing it as a vintage person from that era. My faves were always the 40′s and 50′s but today’s kids seem enamored with the 60′s hippies and 70′s bell bottoms.
I am sure this is just the beginning of the list. If you know of another store I missed, please post it and share below. Have a happy and safe Halloween partying in your costume.