Patty Burnaman | WWL First News
New Orleans is the third most popular Halloween destination in the U.S., behind Salem, Massachusetts, and Sleepy Hollow, New York. Witch trials and headless horseman? Okay, we will let them have those.
New Orleanians love to costume, but also are notoriously last minute about everything. So, what are predictions for the hot costumes this year? Costume shops are in agreement that it is too early to tell.
"It’s hard to gauge," said Wingate Jones from Southern Costumes. "No one has been coming in yet asking for anything special."
Nicki, at Nicki’s Halloween shop in the French Quarter says the lack of any big horror movies this year means that people will have to be creative. She is looking for a resurgence in traditional costumes, like vampires and pirates. Nicki said zombies faded out this year, but if anyone wants to resurrect the walking dead, “I have tons of blood”.
Then there is the weather, always a factor in planning a costume. Oftentimes, we don’t know if it will be cold or hot on Halloween until a few days before.
Halloween is on a Thursday this year, so expect crowds in the costume shops during that week, because for sure, it will be last minute.
The National Retail Federation’s annual survey found the most popular costumes for 2019 are largely the same for kids and adults:
Children
The survey found 3.1 million children plan to dress up as their favorite princess, 2.4 million as their favorite superhero, 2 million as Spider-Man, 1.5 million as an Avengers character other than Spider-Man and 1.4 million as Batman.
Princess – 7.9 percent Superhero – 6 percent Spider-Man – 5.2 percent Avengers character (excluding Spider-Man) – 3.9 percent Batman – 3.5 percent Witch – 3.3 percent Ghost – 2.8 percent Vampire – 2.2 percent Frozen (Elsa, Anna) – 2.2 percent Pirate – 2.1 percent
AdultsThe survey found 5 million adults plan to dress like a witch, 2 million as a vampire, 1.8 million as a superhero, 1.5 million as a pirate and 1.4 million as a zombie.
Witch – 8.9 percent Vampire – 3.6 percent Superhero – 3.1 percent Pirate – 2.7 percent Zombie – 2.5 percent Ghost – 2 percent Avengers character (excluding Spider-Man) – 2 percent Princess – 1.9 percent Cat – 1.8 percent Spider-Man – 1.7 percent