It’s almost here. Lurking just around the corner—that time of year when kids of all ages can create their finest disguises. Whether trick-or-treating with the kids or attending the monster bash of the year, one great way to stand out in a crowd this season is to make a costume.
Local resale shops provide a great resource in the hunt for the perfect pieces to complete a one-of-a-kind look.
Goodwill stores in Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and Hollister each offer an extensive selection of Halloween get-ups, organized by theme and complementary accessories. Goodwill provides a one-stop shop for unmatched popular costumes including pirates, witches, cowboys, police officers and nurses. Steve Borasi, director of retail, and his team begin preparing for the spooky season in January to create “a bargain-hunter’s Halloween headquarters.” Borasi says each Goodwill store provides “costume experts” who will act as personal shoppers assisting guests in locating every item needed to achieve their look.
Consumers can feel good about the purchases that they make because, “Goodwill offers excellent prices, and every dollar that is spent goes toward someone that has had a barrier toward employment,” he says.
Jennifer Costanza, store manager of the Morgan Hill location, says because they are prepping throughout the year, they are constantly putting aside items for Halloween. “We are saving, preparing, and strategizing for what we think will be popular for the next year,” she says. Along with the standard “go-to categories” that Costanza and her team prepare for, she has noticed that “Steampunk” has become a popular costume request and she is working with her team to “figure out how to put [the look] together.”
Costanza adds: “Making costumes is simple and easy, and they turn out better, and so much cuter, than what you can purchase. You just put stuff together and people will be surprised and jealous and say, ‘Where did you get that costume?!’”
Another local retailer has been offering costume merchandise for several weeks and is also seeing shopping trends forming. Victoria Velasquez, co-owner of Mango Street Kids in Gilroy, has been stocking up on princess dresses in the downtown boutique, noting that the frilly frocks are “always a hit with little girls.” She also has witnessed a police officer trend this year when one guest asked for a costume for a little boy, but shared a plan to upcycle the garb into a police uniform with a modern zombie twist.
Velasquez says Mango Street Kids “offers costumes that are the same quality as those found in large corporate stores, and since children grow so quickly these second-hand gems are still in great condition and available at less than half the price of the same costume when purchased new.”
Mango Street Kids is located at 7581 Monterey St, Gilroy. As a special treat they will have goodie bags for kids who visit the store in costume on Oct. 28 and 29. There are Goodwill locations at 17630 Monterey Rd, Morgan Hill; 845 First St, in the Gilroy Plaza Shopping Center, and at 1703 Airline Hwy, Hollister.
