Halloween is easily one of my favorite holidays. Maybe it's the kid in me that still likes to binge on candy. Maybe I like spooky ghosts. But I know that I love when people dress up in costumes. Dressing up in costumes is a great way for people to be creative, or silly, or witty, or scary. I love all of those things. I look forward to Halloween every year and love browsing through costume shops as soon as I can. Well, at least I used to. Now I tend to shop for most of my Halloween costumes online.
The are some benefits (and a few downsides) to buying my Halloween costumes online. First of all, you don't have to try to find a Halloween costume shop. Many of them are seasonal, and spring up and hard locations to find. Even once you get inside, Halloween stores don't get any easier. They're usually under-staffed and a big mess, to put it nicely. There's usually no system of organization to speak of - good luck finding something in particular. Especially as it gets closer to Halloween, the place resembles a junk heap - and the people swarm in like vultures. No thanks.
You don't have any of those problems if you opt to buy your Halloween costumes online. The online costume stores have thousands of different costumes to choose from. You'll never be at a loss for ideas or inspiration; and you won't get lost like you might in a store. Unlike the physical stores, a simple Internet search will direct you right to a online costume store. No mess, no crowds, buying Halloween costumes online is the way to go. The best thing about Halloween costumes online is that you never feel like you're "stuck" with something; if you can't find what you're looking for, you can simply try another web site. Many Halloween stores are difficult to find in the first place; you want to go across town to another one in the mere hope that they have something else?
Of course, this isn't a perfect solution. Of course, you get plenty of pictures of the Halloween costumes online, but pictures can always be a but deceiving. Furthermore, sizes aren't exactly standardized with Halloween costumes, so you're playing a bit of a guessing game as well.
Overall, I prefer to purchase my Halloween costumes online. They majority of them offer costumes in the thousands, all throughout the year. You can sometimes find deals in the "off-season"; and if you plan ahead a bit, you'll get exactly the costume you were looking for.