PHOENIX — From princess dresses to classic horror, Halloween costumes are flying off the racks this time of year. With increasing costs haunting shoppers, many are turning to thrift stores and DIY ideas to save, letting creativity cut costs this spooky season.
Ordering a brand-new Halloween costume can cost upwards of $50. Contrarily, at Goodwill, shoppers can find a tiny, DIY lumberjack outfit for only $10. Store reps say that you can save a lot of money on costumes this Halloween if you're willing to do it yourself.
It’s something Brian Harris is looking to do on his quest for the perfect costume.
“Oh, here's some orange,” Harris said. “I'm trying to makeshift The Lorax, because I can just paint the ‘stache.”
The shopper from Tempe, Arizona, is hunting for Halloween gold at a Goodwill store in Phoenix, where a little imagination goes a long way.
“Found some shoes, got the cap,” Harris said.
A little money goes a long way, too.
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“It's looking to be about $15. Pretty solid!” Harris said.
Do-it-yourself costumes offer big savings and unlimited creative potential. Think Lilo, a construction worker, a biker, even a surfer dude – all for around the $15 price range.
“Specifically, when you're looking at costumes, the important thing to remember is to shop the entire store. Finding that one piece can really make the costume happen,” Mjellma Gashi, a Goodwill Marketing & Communications Manager, said.
She says you can easily build a look for under $20.
“We have a soccer player — we found a polo, and some shorts. Look at that, $6.99 for an Adidas polo in the back, and some soccer shorts for $3.29,” Gashi explained. “A makeshift Taylor Swift — $7 for that sparkly dress!”
Gashi adds that many of the items shoppers are using for costumes now can be repurposed in the future.
“The cool thing about DIY is you can use these items for Halloween, but you can also wear them outside of Halloween, so you're really maximizing the money that you're spending,” she said.
There are more hidden gems at Savers.
“There’s 34,000 new items every week to look through, so there's always something to find,” Majerle Ward, a Savers Community Donation Manager, said.
Those thrift stores also offer an extensive selection of secondhand and gently used costumes. Every donation helps the nonprofit Big Brothers Big Sisters. Even some brand-new costumes get in the mix.
“Everything categorized from eras to animals to superheroes,” Ward said.
Shoppers can stack up weekly deals and ongoing discounts, too.
“Every time you donate to a Savers, you get a 20% off donation coupon you can use as well,” Ward said. “So there are so many different options in savings to keep these costumes super affordable for anybody.”
Savings that even have employees joining the movement. Four employees found their own costumes at their Phoenix store this year — everything from a penguin to a pirate to a wizard.
“Twenty bucks for, like, the whole thing together,” Waylon Gilsdorf said. “You know, I work really hard for the money that I get, and I don't want to spend all of it in one place.”
New Halloween costumes now average $37.62, an 11% jump from last year, according to the National Retail Federation. As tariffs on Chinese imports also drive up prices, thrift shoppers turn to re-purposing.
“I'm not contributing, like fast fashion or anything like that,” Gilsdorf said.
Saying saving money matters for the important things.
“More money for candy, obviously!” Harris said.
This Halloween, savings just may be the real treat.