The National Retail Federation predicts that 179 million Americans will partake in Halloween festivities in 2017 and that 48 percent plan to dress up. That’s a lot of costumes! Those trying to stand out for a party or costume contest and those who want to fit in with the rest of the trick-or-treat crowd can both benefit from these predictions for the top costume picks for Halloween 2017 from the NRF and Pinterest.
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Most popular children's Halloween costumes for 2017
The little ones will be dressing up as heroes this Halloween, with more than 3.7 children planning to dress as action characters or superheroes, according to the NRF. That figure doesn't even include the Caped Crusader. Batman on his own will provide costume inspiration for 2.9 million child Halloween costumes, tied for second with a generic princess in the NRF rankings. Wonder Woman also makes a solo appearance on the list.
The entire NRF Top 10 list of the most popular Halloween costumes for kids:
1. Action/superhero
2. Batman character tied with Princess
3. Animal (cat, dog, monkey)
4. Spider-Man
5. Star Wars character
6. Witch
7. Marvel Superhero (excluding Spider-Man) tied with Pirate
8. Ghost
9. Disney Princess
10. Wonder Woman
Most popular adult Halloween costumes for 2017
In September, Pinterest and fashion search platform Lyst released predictions for the top Halloween costumes of 2017. The list included a frightening trend: costume ideas spawned by the kid-killing clown Pennywise in the screen adaptation of Stephen King's "It." Searches for clown makeup have increased by 941 per cent on Pinterest this year, and Lyst also reported a rise in searches for shirts with expansive ruffled shoulders and pom-pom shoes like the odious clown wears.
It may sound like a stretch but … giraffes are another go-to costume for Halloween this year. Pinterest data indicated pins for giraffe costumes ideas and makeup tutorials are up 1,200 percent compared to 2016, and Lyst data also indicated a 27 percent increase in searches for giraffe fashions since this past June. You can thank April the giraffe, and her long pregnancy that was one of the top viral stories of 2017.
The TV set and other streaming devices also helped make certain costumes popular. This is the second season for "Stranger Things" character costumes to be making the trick-or-treat and party rounds, with 40 percent more Pinterest saves year over year. These costumes have the added allure of being simple to make and wear, especially the trucker hats and '80s T-shirts Pinterest and Lyst are predicting.
Game of Thrones characters were up 91 percent on Pinterest and Jon Snow all by his lonesome had 280 percent increased costume saves on Pinterest. Quartz has a helpful hint for anyone wanting to jump in on this costume trend. Those gnarly Night's Watch capes are repurposed IKEA rugs.
Just in from the 2017 widescreen, Pinterest users currently have more than 230,000 Wonder Woman costume ideas saved while pins of Beauty and the Beast characters have jumped 680 percent, including some sweet group costumes for Gaston and the milkmaids.
Here are some other top choices on Pinterest for Halloween 2017:
Top group costumes
Daenerys and Jon Snow from "Game of Thrones"
"Baywatch" cast members
"Stranger Things" cast members
Top family costumes
"Beauty and the Beast"
"Jurassic Park"
Mother of Dragons (Daenerys)
Top solo costumes
Wonder Woman
Hippie
Girl Scout
Makeup
Unicorn
Giraffe
Spider-Woman