Zombie, witch or vixen? What are the trendiest Halloween costumes for adults in 2014?
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Watch out for witchy women, black cats, pirates, zombies and vampires at your grown-ups-only Halloween bashes this season. Those classics, along with other costume staples such as doctors and nurses, princesses and superheroes, are likely to earn most popular honors as adults strut their stuff for the ghoulish holiday.
And anyone who thought costumes were for kids clearly hasn’t been out and about lately on Oct. 31. Of the $2.8 billion forecasted to be spent on Halloween costumes in 2014, $1.4 billion is in the adult category, according to the National Retail Federation. And if you’re in the 18- to 24-year-old age bracket, there’s a scary good chance you’re dressing up this year, with 78 percent telling the group they’ll be donning costumes.
In addition to the old standbys, YourTango CEO Andrea Miller predicts pop culture will influence costume decisions this year, with Guardians of the Galaxy, Game of Thrones, 50 Shades of Grey and classic movie and TV characters (think Top Gun, Married with Children) leading the charge.
TV characters, especially scary ones, also are popular, according to Spirit Halloween, with The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones costumes selling well. BuyCostumes.com includes Black Widow, Captain America, the Joker and Darth Vader among its top costumes of the year. And the folks at Party City say skeletons, rainbow ravers, nerds, superheroes, burlesque and zombies will be hits with adults. Tell us in the comments what you plan to be this Halloween—pop culture, classic or frightening? Or maybe just go the Walking Dead zombie princess route, and nail down all three.
The NRF’s top adult costumes for 2014
- Witch
- Animal
- Batman character
- Pirate
- Zombie
- Vampire
- Doctor/nurse
- Action/super hero
- Princess
- Wench/tart/vixen
