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UK shoppers to spend it all on the perfect costume for Halloween 2017

By Vivian Hendriksz

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Fashion

London - The nation is set to embrace its spooky side this autumn as Halloween overtakes Valentine’s Day as the UK’s third biggest retail event. More than 2 million searches for ‘Halloween costume’ were made last year on eBay.co.uk between September and October, and this number is predicted to rise this year.

Although the US-borrowed holiday has been traditionally linked to children in spooky costumes and trick or treating, adult interest in the holiday has continued to grow, with more and more parents, brothers, sisters and friends dressing up for the day. Halloween costumes for women, men and children were listed in the top 20 searches under the fancy dress category on eBay between July and October last year.

Consumers to go big for Halloween 2017

However, the majority of searches for the perfect Halloween costumes were a bit of a last-minute attempt, as the third weekend of October last year saw a 67 percent increase for costume searches compared to the first weekend of the month. UK shoppers were also in full party preparation mode last year, as searches for “Halloween decorations” including fog machines, pumpkins and skeletons also grew during the two week run-up to the event.

“When it comes to the fancy dress category, Halloween is one of the biggest revenue drivers every year,” commented Lorna Dunne, Head of Fashion Business Development at eBay. “But it’s also a growing opportunity for retailers across the fashion and beauty – and even consumer electronics – sectors as consumers continue to push the boundaries with their outfit and party efforts.”

With the growing interest in Halloween in mind, UK retailers across the nation may be asking what the most popular costumes for the spooky holiday this year are. Something creepy, or something pretty, perhaps something ghoulish or even quirky? Which is why social platform Pinterest teamed up with fashion search platform Lyst to predict what the top costumes choices may be for this Halloween. After analyzing search data and saved looked from both parties, which combined count 210 million monthly users, they narrowed down their prediction to the top 10 costumes for Halloween 2017.

1. Pennywise, the clown from ‘It’

Scary costumes are a Halloween staple and clowns have always been ranked among leading fancy dress costume ideas. However, with the new adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘It', which features the iconic bloodthirsty clown, opening in theatres a few weeks ago and becoming an instant blockbuster hit, it should come as no surprise that clown searches are up this year. Pinterest saved looks forclown make-up and costume ideas are up 941 percent year-over-year and fashion searches for exaggerated ruffled shoulder shirts and white gloves grew 14 percent the last month according to Lyst.

2. The kids from ‘Stranger Things’

Following the success of hit Netflix series ‘Stranger Things’, every girl (and boy) wanted to dress up as Eleven for Halloween last year. As the show is set to return for its second season on October 27, Lyst and Pinterest have noted that ‘Stranger Things’ remains a popular choice for costume inspiration. Pinterest saves on ‘Stranger Things’ images increased 40 times recently, although the two platforms foresee more people dressing up as the leading boys in the series this year rather than the little leading lady. Lyst data indicated that searches for trucker caps and 1980s print tees, as seen in the series, are on the rise.

3. Belle from ‘Beauty and the Beast’

Both ‘La La Land’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ led to spikes in searched for yellow dresses earlier this spring, and the favoured look has trickled into consumers source for Halloween inspiration. Pinterest reported a 680 percent increase in pins for ‘Beauty and the Beast’ characters, as Belle’s iconic yellow tiered gown was also a key search trend around US Prom time. Belle’s blue apron dress, and cute Chip the teacup costumes are also popular costume searches online added the report.

4. A giraffe

Although (sexy) cat remains a classic Halloween costume choice, the giraffe has been pegged as this year’s “must have” Halloween costume. Searched for giraffe print are up 27 percent since June and Lyst, and Pinterest pins of giraffe makeup and costumes are up close to 1200 percent compared to the same time last year.

5. ‘Wonder Woman’

Shoppers are looking for specific pieces to create their own ‘Wonder Woman’ look after the Marvel film. Searches for “red corset” are up 115 percent year-over-year on Lyst, and sales of chunky gold cuffs are up 15 percent since June. In addition, Pinterest users have more than 230,000 ‘Wonder Woman’ costume ideas saved, making the female superhero a strong Halloween contender.

6. Characters from ‘Game of Thrones’

HBO’s hit series ‘Games of Thrones’ saw a huge number of people dressing up as its leading characters over the years, with Daenerys Targaryen, taking the cake. Her amazing wardrobe on the show, along with her iconic blond hair, has led to global searched for Grecian gowns surging 30 percent year on year on Lyst, with searches for 'light blue gown', her favourite colourway, up 160 percent. Pinterest saves on Khaleesi looks are up 91 percent year on year, as the Mother of Dragons continues to dominate costume inspiration.

However, interest in dressing up as Daenerys love interest, Jon Snow, are also up 280 percent this year on Pinterest, as Lyst reports 4000 searches a day for black and grey fur stoles, as worn by the King of the North.

7. A Baywatch babe

This year’s reboot of the hit Baywatch tv franchise has also given shoppers some Halloween inspiration, as it led to a 147 increase in related costume ideas on Pinterest compared to this time last year. In addition, Lyst data saw a 240 percent increase for red one-piece swimming suits this summer.

8. A hippie

The 60s and 70s remain a popular source for costume inspiration as searches for pattern flares are up over 150 percent since June according to Lyst. Round lens coloured sunglasses and flower crowns have gone on to sell out and Hippie outfit idea saves are up 130 percent on Pinterest year-on-year, making for one groovy Halloween.

A post shared by WE THE CLASSY (@wetheclassy) on

9. A unicorn

It seems as if millennials love affair with unicorns is here to stay, as the mythical beast continues to infiltrate all aspects of daily life. Unicorn dressing was a popular trend during festival season and a leading saved costume on Pinterest last Halloween, as unicorn power surges strong. Searches including 'unicorn' are up 130 percent on Lyst since May, and ia up 110 percent on Pinterest, with unicorn headbands being the number one in-demand product.

10. A mermaid

In the UK, mermaids have already gained the upper hand on unicorns right now, and sexy sea siren looks are trending globally. With more than 1.4 million saves on Pinterest and 8,000 searches a month globally for 'mermaid leggings' on Lyst since July, be prepared to see a lot of Mermaid as this year’s Halloween party.

Homepage photo: courtesy of Tu by Sainsbury

Photo 1: courtesy of Penney's Ireland, Halloween

Photo 2: Left t-shirt, courtesy of Primark UK. Right, clown costume courtesy of Littlewoods

Photo 3: courtesy of Topshop

Photo 4: courtesy of Figleaves

Photo 5: courtesy of New Look

Photo 6: courtesy of PrettyLittleThing

Photo 7: both courtesy of Primark UK

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