Frightful Fashions

I love Halloween! Every year my best friend and I start planning a Halloween party while sitting on the beach in July. It has become a tradition and we look forward to the costume-required party more and more.

Outside of the fact that it is an opportunity to get all dressed up in crazy outfits, wear something you would never be caught dead in on a typical day and act just a little bit out of character, it is also the fact that my friends and I tend to try to keep our costumes a secret so that surprise each other. Now, most of the time our immediate circle of friends all know what we are being since we have to help each other in hunting down just the right pieces to make it perfect, however for the rest of the party guests - it's a wait-and-see event! For example, my Father, for the second year in a row, managed to enter the party without me knowing who he was - one of the very few people who can pull that off! But regardless I love seeing what everyone dresses up as and the creativity they each put into it.

There are many different routes that you can take when dressing up - for a girl there is always the "sexy_____," which essentially you could fill in the blank with anything. Sexy police officer, sexy cat, sexy witch or even sexy bumble bee... yes, anything works! Overall there are the funny costumes, scary costumes, creative costumes and then of course there is the current event costume. You know that someone this year will be Michael Jackson and at least one person you know bought a Kate (of Jon and Kate plus 8) wig (see photo)!

Regardless of which route you take, in the Lehigh Valley there are countless "goldmines" for finding costumes of all kinds. Whatever your budget ($1.00 to $100.00), here is a breakdown for you last minute shoppers to prepare for the Halloween weekend! Remember that you don't have to spend a fortune on costumes - if your still trying to figure out what to be, do some creative google searches and then hit your closet, a friends closet or one of the following stores! Halloween is a time to have fun so don't be afraid to go all out - you really can't over-do dressing up.

($$$) - Costumes run around $30.00 and up , ($$) Costumes are right around $20.00, ($) Costume for $5 and up

1. Halloween Adventure ($$$)

A haven for true Halloween fans the Halloween Adventure stores can be found popping up across the area in August and provide a wide variety of elaborate packaged costumes as well as detailed accessories. Prices are higher than other retailers but if looking for something extremely realistic - this is the best.

2049 MacArthur Road Whitehall, PA, 18052
610-432-3063

2. Halloween Outlet ($$$)

Similar to Halloween Adventure, the Halloween Outlet located in Quakertown provides a good variety of costumes as well as decorative items. The accessory bins in the front of the store offer some great ideas if you are still undecided or can provide the perfect last piece to make the ensemble complete. Prices seemed slightly better than Halloween Adventure but are still higher than most. If you go, check out the moving 5' witch decoration (see photo). My friend and I were amazed that it creepily traveled across the store in the time that we were there making her actually contemplate purchasing it for our party!

1465 W Broad St., Quakertown, PA 18951
215-536-2399

3. JoAnn Fabrics ($)

If you are crafty, or have a friend who is, JoAnn fabrics is a great place to go to make a fantastic costume on the cheap! With yards of fabric available for under $5.00 - check out their Halloween section - you can easily create something unique and inexpensive. I found some fantastic mummy-style material as well as an adorable spider-draped pattern that would be cute for any witch outfit (see photo). There were tons of other ideas around to implement into a costume, so many in fact that I wanted to make several this year! Outside of the fabrics, the ribbons, yarn and other decorative items such as iron on transfers and letters help turn a $2.00 t-shirt into an instant outfit. Going as a zombie bride? Check out the clearance flowers to make a simply frightening bouquet!

Quakertown Plaza

1465 West Broad Street, Quakertown, Pennsylvania 18951

215-538-2171

4. Target ($$)

A recent shopping trip to Target turned into a Halloween frenzy for me when I saw all of the great decorations and accessories that Target has this year! Perfect for those who are throwing a party, they have a great selection of skull plates and serving dishes as well as a decent selection of costumes. By now, the selection will most likely be fairly picked through, however it is worth the trip to check it out since their prices for packaged costumes are less than that of the Halloween stores. In addition, Targets selection of pet costumes was great. My favorite was a lobster costume for dogs (Target, $9.99) - which I unsuccessfully tried to get my friend to purchase (see photo)! Even if you can't find a costume that strikes your fancy, there might be something perfect for your furry friends.

610 N West End Blvd., Quakertown, PA 18951

215-529-2720

5. Walmart ($)

Typically, I am not a Walmart shopper. It's nothing against the store itself, it's just that I prefer to shop at Target due to their wider selection. This year, however Walmart makes my top five list for Halloween due to price and a fabulous selection! Walmart has their costumes separated out by accessories, children, adults - men/women, and teens by row so it is easy to navigate, and also has them separated by price - so helpful! The accessory selection was by far one of the best. You could easy purchase a $5.00 accessory and create an outfit around it using items already in your closet. For women, there was a great selection of eyelashes, makeup and nail polish as well. Everything seemed to be priced very well compared to other stores. When looking I found an adult outfit for a masquerade ball countess for $5.00! I also found a great selection of infant outfits for most around $5.00 such as this adorable tin man costume (see photo). Overall, one of the best Halloween stops you can make - hands down!

195 NW End Blvd, Quakertown, PA 18951

215 -529-7689

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!