Walk into any Halloween costume party, and it might seem like heaven.
According to area costume shops, angel outfits have been the costume of choice among young women this year. Many stores have stocked up on angel wings, halos and various accessories to support the demand.
"This year it's been angels galore," said Gary Filkins, co-owner of Gift Adventures, 137 E. Beaver Ave., who said that while angel costumes were popular last year, he's sold twice as many this year.
Filkins also said his selection of different types of wings has been popular, like angel wings, fairy wings and butterfly wings, along with a lot of cat ears and devil tails.
"All the basic stuff that you can put something cute together with (I am selling)," he said.
Bridget Jones (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) and Maura Miller (freshman-education) shopped at Rude Boyz, 200 W. College Ave., and bought angel and devil accessories to wear to a Halloween party.
"It's easy, even though it's not very creative," Jones said. "It's just to have something."
While every girl might not choose to dress in white and strap on wings and a halo, Filkens said there does seem to be a common theme among women's Halloween costumes — they like to show skin.
"People are dressing more provocatively," Filkins said, showing a sexy devil costume that was almost sold out, as well as a Marilyn Monroe outfit that he's had to reorder four times.
Another popular costume that has sold out is the police uniform, but not one you'd expect to see the State College Police Department wearing. Filkins said the provocative take on the traditional uniform involves a police shirt tied to expose the navel that is paired with a black leather skirt and heels. And, of course, handcuffs.
Jen Fletcher, an employee at Rude Boyz, agreed angel costumes were a big seller this year, as well as cowboy, pimp, nurse and doctor costumes.
"We sold out of doctor costumes a while ago," Fletcher said.
While patriotism has been abundant of late, it is not surprising that it has also been a popular Halloween theme.
Filkins said all the Uncle Sam costumes were gone in the first week, and a lot of men have been looking for patriotic costumes since then.
One costume in particular that was noticeably in the spirit of America was a patriotic lion seen at Players Nite Club's alternative lifestyles night. A man covered from head to toe in fur and a lion mask sparkled with his red, white and blue hat and skimpy underwear, holding a sign that read, "I ain't Lion, America is still king."
Another popular costume for men was the gladiator costume, Filkins said. Normally there is a big movie that influences costumes, but the only movie that seemed to have an effect this year was Gladiator. He said the gladiator costumes were all gone early, and the remaining accessories like swords and shields are all that are left.
While costumes like a bus, Miss Cleo the Psychic and a plug and socket couple can be applauded for their creativity, some students do not have a problem wearing unoriginal costumes.
"I'm going to be a frat guy — I'm wearing a rubber penis head, a blue shirt and tan khakis," said Andrij Geletkanycz (senior-economics), who belongs to a fraternity himself.
"I know, a frat guy dressing up as a frat guy, it's kind of a cop out," he said.
Paul Weller (junior-English) said he does not plan on spending a lot of time finding a costume either.
"I'm just going to have the simplest costume possible, so there's less preparation," he said. Weller said he was thinking of dressing up as the Willard Preacher, but would probably just wear a black T-shirt and skull for his costume.
Friday and Saturday were the busiest days so far for the local Halloween stores, although Filkins said he anticipates Halloween to be busy with people buying last-minute costumes.
