By Andrea Alumbaugh
Whether you've planned for months or will be scrambling this weekend to find the perfect costume, Bloomington stores have just about every option you could think of. Not surprisingly, representatives from local costume shops said the biggest requirement for women looking for costumes is sexiness.\n"That's pretty much across the board," said Dyan Higgins, owner of Costume Delights. "Anything sexy is what they're going for."\nVintage Wearhouse owner Sara Harvey said the big wave of college students has not come in yet, so it's hard to say what costumes will be the most popular rentals.\n"They have to get a date and find out what party they're going to first," Harvey said. "So, there's no indication yet."\nHowever, Harvey did say people have been buying '70s costumes.\nJohn McGuire, who co-owns Campus Costume with his wife, said men are coming in for "obnoxious" costumes. Costumes of the "adult" persuasion have been selling out quickly, McGuire said. For example, he said, Campus Costume has already sold out of "A Knight to Remember" -- a costume of a knight whose unnaturally large endowment is hidden beneath his tunic -- and "Down for the Count" -- a vampire costume with a blow-up doll affixed to the man's waist and facing his crotch.\nIronically, pope and Jesus costumes have also been popular with the guys, McGuire said.\nHiggins said men have been coming in early to pick out costumes this year, and the selections they're looking for have run the gamut.\nFamous movie characters such as "Dumb and Dumber" pair Lloyd and Harry and "Super Mario Brothers" Mario and Luigi are always popular, she said. Higgins added that one of the most popular group costumes guys have been trying on this year has been that of the four men who make up the rock band KISS.\n"The guys are all trying to be unique and something individual," Higgins said. "Nothing real specific for the girls. They're trying to be individual, but they want to be sexy, so we're trying to accommodate that."\nThe basic goal for both men and women in choosing a costume is to get noticed, McGuire said.
