As a single mom raising a kid, my desire was to purchase whatever Halloween costume my son wanted, and of course, I always wanted him to have the best of everything. (Unless he threw a fit, which meant we left empty-handed, and I put him down for a nap the moment we got home).
One Halloween several years ago, we went back and forth on costumes until, finally, I had to look him in the eye with a regretful sigh and gently inform him that I didn’t have $50-plus for a brand stabbin’ new Michael Myers costume.
My son took a deep breath and with a crestfallen look told me I didn’t need to spend that much money. I suggested we try shopping at budget-friendly thrift stores and explained that he might have to piece something else together. I asked him if he had any other costume ideas in mind and I started throwing out ideas until he said “I know Ma, let’s go!”
In a pinch to buy Halloween costumes? You might consider the following stores I recently visited:
My first stop was Assistance League (1149 Willamette), which is 100 percent volunteer-driven. I love that it has a boutique vibe without the boutique price tag. I was greeted by two friendly volunteers when I walked in the door. I was told that the store collects costuming year-round and will have everything out on the floor by the end of September, including tutus and T-shirts for painting.
You can feel good about shopping there because Assistance League gives back to the community in a myriad of ways with philanthropic programs that serve children, students, veterans and the elderly.
My next stop was SuperThrift (555 River Road) where Aaron Albrecht, assistant store manager, shared the secret to finding great costumes at secondhand stores: “It helps to have a particular theme that you’re trying to dress up as.” He explained that the best way to find a costume is to make sure you have a few good ideas in mind before going shopping.
SuperThrift has costume pieces, masks and complete costumes in the original package for $15 or less. It has zombie brides covered, with wedding dresses starting at $50 and up, and also a fair assortment of jewelry, shoes, boots, bags, scarves, hats and rainbow suspenders to pull your costume together. The stores are operated by Adult & Teen Challenge PacWest, and proceeds go to faith-based recovery programs, mission trips and global outreach.
Next, I popped into locally owned Kin Clothing Exchange (1241 Willamette), a vintage and modern resale boutique that buys, sells and trades clothing, accessories, footwear, etc. Sales clerk Alexis Horn said that “Kin Clothing is a destination for curated Halloween costume pieces and accessories.” According to Jo Alberts, store manager, Kin primarily has adult costumes out on the floor. There are skimpy, vampy slip dresses, naughty adult costumes, lumberjack and construction worker outfits, and “really beautiful, super-detailed ballerina costumes with sequins, beading and tutus.” Alberts says most of these garments can be mixed in with your regular wardrobe and worn year-round. Prices range anywhere from $8 to $48.
For killer deals, you gotta try St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP, aka St. Vinnies). My last stop was the Springfield Q Street store (199 Q Street), where I spoke with Rachael Noa, person in charge (PIC). “Our customers like to piece together fun and unique ideas for their costumes,” she says. Every SVDP store boasts a costume selection with adult costumes and a wide variety of children’s costumes. When you donate to SVDP, you can snag a 20 percent off coupon to save money. Every day St. Vinnies has color tag sales, so you can take 25 percent or 50 percent off items with the corresponding color tag. Look for the big colorful sign hanging near the register.
This is the very store where my son found a unique long-sleeved white shirt with a large red sun pendant attached with a chain. He also happened upon a black cape which inspired him to dress up as a vampire. We stopped at a grocery store afterwards and as we were checking out, there were several packages of candy that included plastic vampire teeth. He did all the hard work, and all I had to do was drive him around and fork out a little dough — the rest I saved to splurge on candy for trick-or-treaters.