Many adults plan to dress in costume this Halloween. A survey conducted for the National Retail Federation (NRF) found 34% of adults plans to wear costumes. The younger adults are the most likely to dress up -- 62.8% of adults aged 18-24 plan to wear costumes this year. The survey found that the witch costume is by far the most popular costume choice for adults. Other popular costume choices include pirate, vampire, cat and clown. That's the
and Flocked Vampiress Adult and CSI Jumpsuit Adult costumes from BuyCostumes.com pictured on the right. Here are the top 20 costume choices for 2006 according to the NRF.
1
Witch
17.5%
2
Pirate
3.7%
3
Vampire
3.7%
4
Cat
2.6%
5
Clown
1.8%
6
Fairy
1.6%
7
Gypsy
1.6%
8
Superhero
1.6%
9
Ghost/Ghoul
1.4%
10
Dracula
1.3%
11
Devil
1.2%
12
Woman of the Night
1.1%
13
Nurse
1.1%
14
Pumpkin
1.1%
15
Athlete
1.0%
16
Princess
1.0%
17
Zombie
1.0%
18
Angel
0.8%
19
French Maid
0.8%
20
Cowboy/Cowgirl
0.7%
Adult costumes tend to be either scary, sexy or silly. A New York Timesarticle quotes costume merchants who say the sexier women's costumes are some of the top sellers this year.
Salacious costumes — the most visible reminder that Halloween is no longer the sole domain of children — have been around longer than plastic Grim Reaper scythes. But there has been an emergence of "ultrasexy" costumes in the last couple of years, according to Christa Getz, the purchasing director for BuyCostumes.com, which sells outfits with names like Little Bo "Peep Show" and Miss Foul Play.
"Probably over 90 to 95 percent of our female costumes have a flirty edge to them," Ms. Getz said, adding that sexy costumes are so popular the company had to break its "sexy" category into three subdivisions this year.
Heather Siegel, the vice president of HalloweenMart.com, said her company’s sexy category is among its most popular. (The two best-selling women's costumes are a low-cut skin-tight referee uniform and a pinup-girl-inspired prisoner outfit called Jail Bait.)
"Almost everybody gets dressed up really, really sexy for it," said Carrie Jean Bodner, a senior at Cornell University in Ithaca who wrote about the abundance of skimpy Halloween garb for The Cornell Daily Sun last year. "Even the girls who wouldn't dream of going to class without their pearls and pullovers."
One major problem with a sexier costume trend is when costumes meant for kids are also made to look sexy. Target recently pulled some of these youth costumes after parents complained.
Other adult costume trends include dressing up as politicians or media moguls. George W. Bush and Martha Stewart ranked high in a BizRate Research survey.
No need to count hanging chads, president George W. Bush was the clear cut winner among men in the vote for most popular choice of costumes with 47% choosing the Commander-in-Chief over two other newsworthy subjects, Mel Gibson (36%) and Tom Cruise (18%).
Females would rather dress as domestic diva Martha Stewart (54%) than heiress Paris Hilton (27%) or television personality Star Jones (19%).
Overall, the pirates trend appears to be one of the most dominant adult costume trends. The Deseret Newsreports that the pirates trend is boosted not just by the popularity of the recent pirates film but also because it is not difficult to dress up as a pirate.
"Pirates is one category that really has been genderless and ageless," reports Deborah Radman, public relations manager for national chain Party City. "It has a lot to do with the popularity of the movie. Kids think it's cool, and adults can dress up fairly easily."
In a pinch, a procrastinator could throw on a white shirt, grab a bandanna, eye patch and plastic sword - all easy to find this time of year - and be ready to go, she suggests.
The pirate costume is the procrastinator's friend this year. A Chicago Sun-Timesarticle says the Capt. Jack Sparrow costume is a runaway favorite in Chicago. They article also lists a wide range of costumes that are popular this year including historical figures like Caesar and Cleopatra; the Twister board game costume; the Grim Reaper; religious costumes like monks and priests; 70s and retro costumes and athlete costumes like cheerleaders and football players.
Many adults plan to dress in costume this Halloween. A survey conducted for the National Retail Federation (NRF) found 34% of adults plans to wear costumes. The younger adults are the most likely to dress up -- 62.8% of adults aged 18-24 plan to wear costumes this year. The survey found that the witch costume is by far the most popular costume choice for adults. Other popular costume choices include pirate, vampire, cat and clown. That's the
and Flocked Vampiress Adult and CSI Jumpsuit Adult costumes from 
