by Damian Garde
Daily Lobo
Sure you don't have a costume yet, but that's no excuse to cut holes in a sheet and dress as a ghost for the third year in a row.
Albuquerque's costume stores are still stocked with viable alternatives to the hackneyed costumes of yesteryear.
"In my shop, you can create whatever you want," said Angie Ortiz, owner of Angie's Costumes inside A Few of My Favorite Things. "It's like walking into your grandmother's closet."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Ortiz has dressed her customers in everything from the garb of an African king to the likeness of a Picasso painting.
Susan Ricker, owner of Off Broadway Vintage Clothing, recommends a well-fitted patch-and-parrot getup.
"Pirates are really fun, because it makes such great role playing," she said. "They're my favorite, and they make good group costumes."
Susan Van Disco of Disco Display House said retro costumes are the way to go.
"A lot of people are doing the old 'Chips' cast from the '70s," she said.
But you don't need an out-of-the box costume to impress your fellow trick-or-treaters.
"You can use accessories to make something," said Jessie Howell, assistant manager at Party City. "I've seen people get alien glasses, Martian antennae, paint themselves green and go as an alien."
Jerry Fields, an employee at Spirit Halloween Superstore, suggests customizing a plain costume to stand out.
"I watched a guy take a blank mask and turn it into the Spawn mask," he said. "It was amazing. It looked like the one from the movie."
But you don't have to limit yourself to the ghouls of movies and folklore - reflections of reality can be just as scary.
"We see a lot of George Bush masks," Ricker said. "Clinton and Hillary are also very popular."
Ortiz has noticed a similar trend in her store.
"Somebody went as Heather Wilson," she said. "(She had) an ugly polyester suit, a butch haircut, stuff like that."
Not everyone chooses to dress so unflatteringly, however.
"The most popular costumes are the Leg Avenue costumes, the more sexy female costumes," Fields said.
Howell said costumes have evolved over the years.
"Halloween's getting sexier and sexier," she said. "Horror and sexy - that's pretty much what sells."
No matter your choice, time is of the essence.
"You have to shop around," Fields said. "Most stores are only going to have things others don't want to wear, so you have to be creative."
