What’s HOT for Halloween: humorous & unique costumes

Goodwill’s First National Halloween Poll in partnership with ORC International research - what to expect at your front door Friday

According to a random national poll of American adults commissioned by Goodwill, funny, minimalist and unique costumes are America’s top adult Halloween choices this year.

Funny and minimalist costumes topped the charts at 17%, closely followed at 14% by “very unique attire.” The iconic or classic costume was preferred by 11% of Americans, followed by couple’s costumes at 10%. 

Gory (4%), trend costumes (2%) and risqué attire (1%) lagged far behind the popular choices.

The Halloween costume trends for 2014 include:

62% of women and 57% of men prefer do-it-yourself costumes over packaged products. Do-it-yourself includes “separates” where shoppers can combine individual pieces around a theme to create that custom look. Ages 45 – 54 are the strongest group of DIY at 68% (ORC).

First Goodwill National Halloween Poll: after two weeks of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) costume hunting and sales at Goodwill stores in Washington, California, Nevada, Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida, customers report zombie, pirate and vampire costumes appear most consistently in the top ten lists of adults and children this year.

Goodwill’s National Halloween in-store straw poll of 8,019 shoppers between Sept 29 – Oct 6 revealed:

• Ninja Turtles, Spider Man, Frozen, Batman, Superman, Friday the 13th and Day of the Dead are strong movie themes among DIY shoppers.

• Zombie, pirate and vampire costumes are trending unisex (gender neutral)

The poll reflects the imagination of Washington residents this year as the vast majority of Goodwill costumes are assembled from a non-Halloween base product that is accessorized.  (For example, a fairy would be centered around tights, a leotard, a tutu and slippers accessorized with wings, a wand and make up.  A “ghost bride” would consist of a real wedding dress with a white hat, parasol and makeup for accessories – and all for 20% of original cost).

Need help putting a costume together or finding the right items for your outfit?  Visit the Goodwill website to see how classic costumes can be created using different items found at Goodwill.