Halloween is ten days away and a costume shop worker in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area says costumes are flying off the shelves almost as fast as vampire bats. Jeremy Lubash says sales are very brisk and many adults are planning to dress as cartoon characters or as one of a couple of pop singers.
“The thing that surprised me most is Scooby Doo,” Lubash says. “Anybody in Scooby Doo, especially Scooby himself. That shocked me, too. I couldn’t believe how quickly we sold out of all of our Scooby costumes. I know we sold a lot of Michael Jackson, obviously. Hannah Montana is another popular one. I guess you’re never too old to be Hanna Montana.”
Lubash says for kids, there are some unusual choices. “Boys are the Optimous Prime, and BumbleBee from Transformers is a very popular trend this year,” he says. “We’re selling a lot of G-I Joe costumes for the boys. For girls, I’ve noticed Strawberry Shortcake is a very popular one among them. Little girls like ‘I Love Lucy’ which surprised me because I didn’t think little girls knew what the T-V show ‘I Love Lucy’ was all about.”
He says Halloween sales are hot this year and they’ve had some difficulty keeping some items on the shelves. “People started shopping here earlier than normal and I don’t know if that has to do with the weather being colder this year,” Lubash says. “People young and old, we’re wall-to-wall busy in here. Sales are good and it’s the time of the year where people can be whatever they want to be.”
Lubash says one of the most unusual requests this year has been for a Michael Vick costume, complete with fake dogs and chains.