The owner of one of San Antonio’s largest and oldest family-operated costume shops says the most popular Halloween costumes this year were inspired by Hollywood productions and popular video games.
Julie Keck owns Starline Costumes on Bandera Road and has dressed up children and adults for 45 years. Her store also designed the Spurs’ Coyote and the Missions’ Puffy Taco, as well as local high school mascots, and for a recent film documentary “Texas Before the Alamo.”
For shoppers, deciding what to wear can be tough. The shop is full of 30,000 costumes, not to mention hundreds of hats, wigs, and other costume accessories.
“Michael Myers resurged back, which is fun — and the nun,” she said. “And also we get a lot of calls for ‘Fortnite.’ Everybody seems to be looking for games, video games, characters this year."
The nun Keck is referring too is inspired by a character from the movie “The Conjuring.”\
Ramiro Montemayor, a performer at Sea World, said he was browsing at Starline Costumes for the same scary nun look.
"I think the nun stuff is really popular. Also, another costume that is really popular are like ‘Fortnite’ people," he said.
“Game of Thrones” costumes are also popular as that HBO series wraps up its final season.
Abby Amick, who sells medical equipment, was going retro this year. She was picking out a Cinderella outfit.
"I like to do it because I'm a goofball, so I just like to make people laugh, and I think it does that,” Amick said. “I would dress up every day if I had the opportunity, but I can't."
Other retro characters popular this year include the international man of mystery Austin Powers and Elvis Presley.
This year's Halloween lands in the middle of early voting for the midterm elections. But Keck said don't expect to see a lot of masks of Senate candidates Ted Cruz or Beto O'Rourke — or anyone else. Not even President Trump.
"We want to have fun,” she said. “We don't want anything heavy during Halloween,” she said.
Brian Kirkpatrick can be reached at brian@tpr.org
