THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 1995 TAG: 9510300202
SECTION: REAL LIFE PAGE: K1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KERRY DOUGHERTY, Staff writer
LENGTH: Long : 109 lines
IF YOU'VE WAITED this long to think about Halloween costumes for your kiddies, you might as well forget Pocahontas.
Scratch the Power Rangers.
Batman, too.
The early birds already snapped up all the moccasins, spandex suits and batcapes in town.
Your kid will have to be satisfied masquerading as a clown, pirate or that tired old standby - a bum. Or you can take a cardboard box, cover it with wrapping paper and stick a bow on your kid's head - voila! he or she is a Christmas present.
And will hate you for it.
Halloween this year is going to be populated by Indian princesses. Trust us on this one. Costume manufacturers have known that since last summer, when their suppliers bombarded them with beaded faux buckskin dresses and feathered head pieces.
Pocahontas this year replaces Jasmine and the Little Mermaid, who dominated girls' costumes in the past.
And all around the country, talented seamstresses have been bent over their Singers sewing little brown sack dresses decorated with Indian trim.
Over at the Piece Goods shop at Hilltop, weekly supplies of Indian-style trim have barely kept up with demand, and Simplicity pattern 0685 is flying out the door.
Lucky Nicole Long, a second-grader at Windsor Woods Elementary School, has had her costume for months. Ever since Evelyn Long, her grandmother, sewed it for her.
Nicole's handmade costume, with custom fringe, hangs in the shop where her grandmother works, causing other little girls to beg their mothers to get busy.
But what are the boys wearing this year?
That's anybody's guess.
At Party City on Virginia Beach Boulevard, ready-made Pocahontas costumes are flying out the door - with price tags of $16.99 for the official Disney costume and $11.99 for a generic Indian princess outfit.
But no particular boy's costume is No. 1.
``Nothing really jumps out as the single most popular costume for boys,'' said manager Jennifer Gary. ``The boys are going for ghoulish things like the Crypt Keeper, The Riddler and the grim reaper. And oddly enough, we've also had a run on Darth Vader ever since the re-release of `Star Wars.' ''
At Halloween Adventure Shops in Cherry Hill, N.J., manager Mary Wideman said one of last year's favorites, Batman, was doing well, along with Casper and the Ninja figure Street Dragon Stinger.
Same thing locally. But one mask you won't be seeing, if Betty Hermann has anything to say about it, is O.J. Simpson.
``No way, absolutely not,'' said the owner of Novelties Unlimited in Ghent, where they traffic in all manner of tasteless Halloween gear, including severed limbs and theatrical blood. ``I'm not getting into that. I didn't carry O.J. masks last year, and I'm not taking them this year. To tell the truth, I've only had one or two customers even ask about O.J.''
Not that she's vetoed the entire O.J. theme.
``I've ordered Judge Ito masks,'' Hermann admitted. ``I keep thinking he goes right down the middle and won't offend anyone.''
Not every trick-or-treater wants to follow the crowd.
Mindy Ess, a seventh-grader at Virginia Beach Middle School, says older girls are shunning Pocahontas costumes and going for French maid ensembles instead.
Not Ess.
``I'm Pippi Longstocking,'' Ess said proudly. ``I love her because she's cool. And I love her clothes - those big socks that don't match.''
And then there are the pigtails.
``I figured out the best way to make my hair stick straight out from my head was with wire coat hangers,'' Ess said, laughing. ``They feel kind of weird, but they look great.'' MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to this story. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/The Virginian-Pilot
Like many girls inspired by the Disney film ``Pochahontas,'' Nicole
Long, 7, plans to dress as the Native American maiden. She's wearing
a costume made by her grandmother Evelyn Long.
VICKI CRONIS/The Virginian-Pilot
Robert Hunter of Norfolk tries on a Mike Tyson mask, one of many in
the large selection of disguises at Novelties Unlimited in Norfolk.
Graphic
SAFETY TIPS
Costumes should be light-colored and flame retardant. Use
fluorescent tape on dark outfits to reflect headlights.
Tell kids to stay away from candles burning in jack-o-lanterns.
Keep costumes short so children won't trip on them.
Don't make costumes too realistic. Swords, knives, etc., should
be made from soft, flexible material.
Make sure eye holes in kids' masks don't hamper vision.
Trick-or-treat only ast homes of friends and neighbors.
Use battery-powered flashlights or ``Lite-Stiks,'' not candles in
jack-o'-lanterns.
Remove stuff in your yard or driveway that might trip kids
dressed in costumes. It's hard to see when you're wearing a mask.
Be sure to dump all the candy on the table when the kids get home
to make sure it hasn't been tampered with.
And be especially careful to keep small children under
supervision when they're out trick-or-treating.
by CNB