Sailors, gypsy princesses and bumblebees will still roam the streets of State College this Halloween, despite the bad economy.

With local businesses catering to students' costume needs by selling dress-up pieces from $1 to $100, costume sales are said by storeowners to be as strong as ever.

How are sales doing?

Shop owners said that sales start slow every year as students wonder what their costumes should be. But as Halloween draws closer, a mad rush to find the perfect pick begins.

For Jezebel's Boutique, 366 E. College Ave., sales have remained consistent with previous years. Owner and manager Jessie Stover said people trickle into the store searching for a costume and then see what the competition has to offer.

"They'll be back later. They always come back," Stover said.

Jezebel's Boutique started selling costumes almost immediately after opening the store in State College, Stover said. The owners wanted a store where

women could feel comfortable trying on costumes.

Gift Adventures, 137 E. Beaver Ave., reported similar sales. Manager Gary Filkins said that people also tend to wait until the last minute.

A few days before Halloween, the store hires a bouncer to limit the number of people inside, making everyone else wait outside.

While a bouncer may not be needed at vintage store The Rag and Bone, 240 E. Calder Way, they still have had a good Halloween season.

Shelley Banker, owner and manager of the shop, said that so far sales are higher than they have been in previous years. People started looking for costumes as early as the end of September.

Another outlet for creative costume ideas is Goodwill Industries, 424 Westerly Parkway. Angela Warner, assistant manager, said their sales increase around Halloween because of students who are trying to find an original costume or don't want to spend too much money. Like most of the other stores that sell costumes, their sales were about the same as last year.

What's hot this year?

Just as fashions change every year, so do the most popular costumes.

Stover said that sailors are always popular costumes at Jezebel's Boutique. This year, Robin Hood, Snow White and American Indian costumes also sold well.

Sailors were also popular at Gift Adventures, along with the gypsy princess costumes. From year to year, the most popular costumes are pirates, cops, ladybugs and bees.

It might be difficult to find a creature with wings at The Rag and Bone, but there is always a chance for an original costume.

"Even if you go with the poodle skirt or as a disco princess, you still won't have the same costume as someone else," said Nicola McCarthy, a part-time employee at The Rag and Bone. "It's unique."

Banker said because she knows what clothes she has in stock, she could help students with their costume ideas. One group of girls wanted to go as the seasons, so they each bought a dress with a color that corresponded to their season.

The same originality could be said of Goodwill.

"The rush will begin this week. The costumes get more interesting. I can't wait," Warner said.

How do students feel?

For many students, Halloween is a chance to play dress up once again. Mike Taptich (senior-civil engineering) is especially excited because of when the holiday falls -- on a Saturday.

That allows for the whole weekend to be devoted to the festivities, he said.

"People need more than one costume because there's more than one night of parties," Taptich said. "It's also great because people need last-minute costumes."

Andrew Crisara (sophomore-political science) said he will spend Halloween as The Riddler. Instead of buying the entire costume, he bought various pieces at different places before ending up at Gift Adventures to buy a bowler hat and mask.

A cross between Disney's Alice in Wonderland and the newer Tim Burton rendition will be the costume for Jessica Parsons (senior-advertising and psychology). She said that because it was so difficult to find either whole costume, she is going to combine the two to make her own original costume. She added Halloween is exciting for her because of the way people act.