How do costumes differ from the most popular costume a few years ago? Every year there are trends and certain costumes that rise to the top for being the most desired. It could be because of a new video game that came out, people’s current favorite music artist, movie characters from newly released movies, and other determining factors. It is apparent that over the years the top costume has to do with something that is popular and trendy for that year. In addition to this, other aspects of Halloween have been altered over the years.
When asked what Bo Foust predicts will be the most popular costume this year he stated, “Some movie costumes, like, a popular movie for this year.” It is common to see people dressing up as a new movie character. For instance, last year the most popular costume was Barbie. This was probably due to the new Barbie movie that came out and was a hit among most. Foust was asked if he thinks costumes have changed since 10 years ago and he responded, “Yes, I would say so. Just different movies are out now and different movies are popular.” He directly relates the costume trends to the favored movies that come out. He recalls clown costumes being especially popular when the movie “IT” came out.
“Costumes used to be homemade-ish, now people are more, like, buying them. Used to be more effort, now there's less. More simple now.” Along with the costumes popularity depending on trending media, Ted Cotner believes that Halloween costumes are having less effort put into them. The switch from homemade costumes to buying the mass produced costumes at a store could correlate to more people having the same costume. Even if the costume is of the same thing or has the same theme, being homemade makes it unique to that person. As opposed to a store bought costume where each one is basically the same. Cotner also notices the decline in neighborhood trick-or-treating. He touched on the differences in trick-or-treating now and stated, “Trunk-or-treats, since they were introduced, kids just go there and get all their candy because it’s easier. It's easier than going around to houses and now there's less trick-or-treaters coming to houses.” He thinks that people are more prone to take the route of trunk-or-treating because it is less hassle and has become more accepted.
“Yeah, I think they change with whatever shows and celebrities are popular during that time.” Ava Hendricks predicts that the most popular costume will correspond with the shows and celebrities that are in style. She notices how when a certain show comes out during the year and it is well liked, you can assume that you’ll see Halloween costumes based on it. When looking at the most popular costumes throughout the years, it is prevalent that the trendy movies and shows produce the costumes that take the top spot. So, even though the costumes vary year to year, the differences come down to what is highly regarded. The Halloween stores produce the costumes they know people will want, causing them to put out the most recognizable ones. This makes more people buy them, hence the reason you see a lot of the same costumes.
Halloween has evolved over the past few years. As with anything else, different aspects play into something changing and staying relevant with the present. Halloween still has the same concept it has since forever, but small tweaks have been made to keep it connected to the modern age. Factors like the costumes, different ways to do trick-or-treating, new candy or snacks being introduced, all tie into the change that happens and can be seen over the years.
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