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Fairies, pirates prove hot. Superman? Not

Trick-or-treaters clamor for costumes, some predictable and some not.

By ABHA BHATTARAI
Published October 18, 2006

At Party City, Halloween is already here.

Working as cashiers are Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, a gothic angel and a foreign exchange student. Customers are transforming into Darth Vadar and devils, while kids run through the aisles holding axes and wearing Power Ranger masks.

On the hot list this year, according to general manager John Penuet, are superheroes, pirates and fairies.

Boys have been looking for ninja and Power Ranger costumes, he said. The zombie doctor has been a bestseller, too.

"Superman was supposed to be big this year but it wasn't," Penuet said, adding that costumes from The Chronicles of Narnia have been a surprise hit.

The Gothic Geisha and Mystikal Genie have been favorites among girls, but Penuet said, "it's mostly fairies. It used to be princesses, but now they all want to be fairies."

There's a forest fairy, a graveyard fairy, a flower fairy and butterfly fairy.

Eight-year-old Jazmyn Arend, though, wasn't interested in any of those on Monday at Party City in St. Petersburg. She wanted to be Supergirl.

"Well, I was kind of thinking of that one, too," she said, pointing to a Red Hot Devil costume.

Her mother eyed the glittery halter top and tight red pants and said, "No. You're not wearing that."

So Supergirl it was.

[Last modified October 17, 2006, 21:54:50]