Hot Halloween costumes: Lady Gaga, The Situation, Buzz Lightyear

October 18, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Inside a Ricky’s NYC store, Lucie Sudmeier selects a Hogwarts uniform from racks filled with sexy pirates, blue Avatar makeup and vampire fangs.

“I was going to be a runaway bride, but when I saw this costume, I had to grab it, said the 19-year-old. “My friends know me as the Harry Potter nerd. I have a Harry Potter tattoo!”

Potter’s hot for Halloween this year, including prominent billing on kid costume lists for the first time, according to a survey conducted by BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation. But he’s going to have some pop culture competition as retailers stock a wider variety.

Think Snooki versus Gaga, Buzz Lightyear versus Spiderman.

The NRF said more people plan to dress up for the holiday than ever before — 40.1 percent compared with 33.4 percent last year and the highest percentage since the group started tracking Halloween trends in 2003.

“We expect 2010 to be the year of the costume,” said NRF spokeswoman Kathy Grannis, who cites the poor economy as a possible reason people are investing in some fun.

“It’s relatively affordable, purely discretionary spending and a great way to kick back and forget about what lies around the corner,” she said. “We saw a rise like this in 2008 as well as in 2002 after 9/11.”

This season’s Halloween costume trends also include rises in classics, humor and lighthearted gear:

TOP ADULT COSTUMES

According to the NRF survey, “witches” are still the No. 1 costume for adults, followed by vampires, pirates and nurses.

“Nurses and political costumes completely fell off the list last year,” Grannis said. “It was right when health care was in the news every day and we had already been through an election year. Both categories are back on this year.”

Though classic costumes still top the list, Grannis cited a rising influence of pop culture. Leading the pack is a certain blonde chameleon who’s tailor-made for the holiday.

“In our online business, it’s Lady Gaga hands down,” said Todd Kenig, chairman of Ricky’s NYC. “The wigs, her outfits, the accessories, it’s all Gaga.”

Ricky’s NYC sells no less than seven different full Lady Gaga costumes and dozens of her accessories, including a hair-shaped bow and soda-can wig.

Expect MTV’s Jersey Shore characters — Snookie, Pauly D and The Situation — to be a hot ticket for men and women. Snooki wannabes will sport orange “tan” makeup, a skintight leopard dress and the quintessential “pouf” wig, while men can become DJ Pauly D with a spiky wig, or “The Situation” with a muscle tank and fake set of ripped abs underneath.

“The ‘Jersey Shore’ has been hot, even since the beginning of the year when people started throwing Jersey Shore parties,” said Dorice Dionne, senior vice president of merchandising for iParty. “I can’t tell you how many fake tattoos we’ve already sold.”

The characters in “Alice in Wonderland” are another big trend, according to the NRF survey, and several retailers specifically cite the Mad Hatter as one of the top costumes for adults.

Retailers report big sales in scaly, blue Avatar costumes and Mario Brothers, along with “classic” and more Twilight-modern vampires.

“Clearly pop culture is driving what we’re seeing,” said Dan Haight, chief operating officer of BuySeasons Inc., which owns one of the biggest online costume sites, BuyCostumes.com. “Vampires had a resurgence this year and ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ in particular Tim Burton’s Mad Hatter, is huge.”

Humor and lighthearted looks are back in a big way as well, led by giant yellow bananas and woolly sock monkeys.

“Right now, humor is almost half of our total sales,” said Mary Ginnaty of Savers, a chain of secondhand stores across the United States. “The campier, the better. ... The mullet is still our best-selling wig.”

Top costumes for children

The princess has held her reign over popular girls costumes for the last six years, and she’s not budging. In fact, though princess is No. 1, “Disney princess” is No. 5 with its variety of tiara- sporting royalty: Tinkerbell, Snow White, Belle, Tiana and, Disney predicts, Rapunzel from Disney’s forthcoming animated feature, “Tangled.”

Other popular options for girls include Jessie from “Toy Story,” witches, gypsies and mermaids.

SuperheroEs are still a strong choice for boys, including Spiderman, but so are pirates, the Mario Brothers and “Toy Story,” specifically Buzz Lightyear. He made his way into the top picks for the first time this year.

“Buzz, Woody and Jessie are big for us this year, and even the toddler costume of Rex,” said Molly Adams, vice president and general manager of Disney Store North America.

Ladybugs and bumblebees are other top picks for toddlers.

Retailers said not much has changed in the kids category, although some are seeing a rise in retro, ’80s costumes and even Goth costumes for kids.

“One difference for boys,” said Ginnaty of Savers, “is that while heroes like Wolverine and Spiderman are still strong for boys, we’re also selling the personal heroes: the combat soldier, the firefighter and the policeman.”