By Monique Balas
News-Chronicle
Thirteen-year-old Autum Maddix was weighing all of her options at Party Perfect on Thursday afternoon, uncertainly holding a 1950s-style poodle skirt before inspecting a black Lycra catsuit.
But then Autum spotted a Dorothy costume from "The Wizard of Oz," a popular choice this year by all accounts.
"I'm not sure what I want to do, 'cause it's so hard to decide," she said. "Everything's last minute."
But Kyle Cavil, who turned 14 on Thursday, had no problem deciding on his Osama bin Laden costume.
"I think it's funny," he said, holding a mask of the terrorist and a white robe. Kyle hadn't thought about what he wanted to wear as he passes out candy Friday night until he came to the South Military Avenue store.
"I just came here and I seen it," he said.
The one thing in common among this year's Halloween costume-seekers is there is no real common thread.
At Party Perfect, where customers can rent or buy costumes, some of the more popular outfits this year included a "Big Daddy Pimp" outfit, outfits adapted from "The Matrix" movie, Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, said store associate Dawn Pamperin.
"His-and-hers" matching sets were popular rental items, while Scooby Doo, samurais, cavemen and the Scottish character in "Austin Powers in Goldmember" were popular purchase items, Pamperin said.
"Halloween is a time for people to be who they aren't and dress up as whoever they want," she said.
Store owner Dee Pasterski said during a bustling Thursday afternoon last-minute shoppers are common every year.
"People look and look and then they want to buy at the last minute," Pasterski said. "I don't think they're looking for the best deal; they want to get into the camaraderie."
She gestured around the store as people inspected packaged costumes, fake mustaches and other dress-up props.
"Everyone wants to wear wigs and mustaches," said Pamperin as she rang up a customer purchasing those items.
Meanwhile, employees at Celebrations Unlimited took a welcome break Thursday after a busy morning. Store events coordinator Missy Johnson estimated about 200 to 300 people came into the store over the last several weeks and at least 100 have rented costumes.
She said the fact that Halloween is on a Friday has more people going to private parties rather than gathering at bars.
"I would say more people are going to parties, and I think a lot more people are having more parties because it's on a Friday, not the middle of the week," she said.
Pamperin said the holiday's timing has jolted business.
"If Halloween is in the middle of the week, it's dead. When it comes on weekends, it's busier," she said.
Johnson, who dressed up as Fred Flintstone to get customers in the mood, said she hasn't seen much rhyme or reason to the way people pick costumes. "Most people have an idea of what they're looking for, I just help pick out something they might like and go from there."
She said popular rentals include large animal heads like chickens and gorillas, propped high on a store shelf.
But at Celebrations Unlimited, all the full gorilla costumes are all gone.
"No, we have a gorilla, but it's out for the weekend," Johnson told a caller.
The store has rented out all of its Dorothy dresses weeks ago, and most of the other Wizard of Oz characters are gone, too (the scarecrow and Glenda the Good Witch remain).
For the true last-minute costume seekers, she'd recommend the Flintstones. The store stocks most of the popular television cartoon's main characters: Fred, Wilma, Barney Rubble, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm.
"So it's good for, like, a family or four or five people in a group," she said.
For Autum, though, it seemed like she finally found the right costume.
As she plunked a Dorothy dress on the counter, she was told they were available to purchase, so she ran off to find one in her size.
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