Halloween Costume Trends in Hermosa

Whether you’re a child going door to door in the name of justice and candy as Captain America, or you’re 28 years old and looking to storm the Hermosa Beach bars as a swashbuckler, this year select Halloween costumes are all the rage. 

• Earlier:

Hermosa Beach Patch over the weekend asked South Bay costume stores which Halloween outfits are hits and misses:

For trick-or-treaters

With kids, recent Hollywood superhero movies have had the biggest influence on their costume decisions, according to sales associates in the area.

"For kids it’s Captain America because the movie came out earlier this year," said J.J. Nielson, a sales associate at Party City in south Torrance. 

Likewise Halloween Illusions on Crenshaw Boulevard in Torrance reported that Captain America has been a popular sell as well as another recent superhero movie, Green Lantern.

Michelle Douglass, a sales associate with on Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach, said that young trick-or-treaters are choosing to be pirates, no doubt a great choice to plunder their neighbors for candy. 

For men

"There are definitely more adults buying costumes this year than kids, but that may be because we have a larger selection for adults," Douglass said. 

Those adults are buying everything from risqué versions of Alice in Wonderland to a zombie Osama bin Laden, according to sales associates. 

"A lot of guys come down here to dress up and barhop, so they come here for comedy costumes," Douglass said. "Superhero costumes are probably the most popular, and behind those are movie costumes like Top Gun. I’ve had a lot of people coming in looking for Dodgeball [the 2004 Ben Stiller comedy] costumes too."

At Halloween Illusions in Torrance, a costume called "Most Wanted" shows Osama Bin Laden with a little missile going through his head, a sales associate told Patch.

Meanwhile Leland Van Andler, owner of on Aviation Boulevard in Hermosa Beach, said customers are looking for costumes based off of a world far, far away.

"For some reason Star Wars is really popular this year with men and women. People have been calling me from everywhere looking for Princess Leia. That’s what people keep asking for," Van Andler said.

For women

Every store Patch visited said that women are buying more costumes this year, and their tastes varied.

"Fantasy bunnies, Alice in Wonderland-themed costumes, and sailor costumes for women are popular this year," Douglass said. 

Sales associates at Halloween Illusions said that Alice in Wonderland is popular, adding that more women are choosing to be pirates as well, which may be a result of the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie that released in May.

Both and Halloween Illusions mentioned that they have conservative and risqué versions of many types of costumes.

"We have multiple racks; the bottom rack has full-length costumes that don’t show stomach, then the mid and top racks have two-piece costumes. Like for sailor costumes, there is a full-length costume and one that fits more like a romper," Douglass said. "There’s always a selection."