AlamogordoTownNews.com & Stacked Classic Halloween Costumes and Local Halloween Shopping
Locally in Alamogordo and nationwide Halloween 2022 is starting to look a little more like it did in previous years. While COVID-19 is still a concern, people are getting back to trick-or-treating, parties, and parades. Spending on the holiday dipped from $8.8 billion in 2019 to $8 billion in 2020, according to the National Retail Federation. In 2021, it bounced back to $10.1 billion and this year, it's expected to reach $10.6 billion. Dressing up, in particular, is back to its pre-pandemic levels: 47% of respondents to the NRF's Halloween Spending Survey say they plan to don costumes, the same percentage as 2019.
There are many Halloween Spooky happenings planned for the area of Alamogordo. Zoo Boo is by far the biggest.
To celebrate the tradition of dressing up for Halloween, a question comes up about where to find the greatest costumes. Locally one can go to Walmart or the big box stores and find the imported mass produced products or you can get creative inspired by the costumers below and go to the local thrift and specialty local retailers to find one of a kind unique costumes. New 2 U Thrift Store, Helping Hands and Kings Treasures offers value priced options to explore. Visit the stores of New York Avenue for a high end princess dress go to Elite Memories Boutique, if seeking a fur or a custom designed costume by Marty Torres visit Roadrunner Emporium also on 928 New York Avenue, Alamogordo.
2nd Life Media AlamogordoTownNews.com in partnership with Stacker scoured the archives to find 50 photos of Halloween costumes from 1865 to today. The usual suspects pop up throughout the centuries—cats, witches, ghosts, and ghouls—but pop culture references also make an appearance, from Darth Vader to Ronald Reagan.
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London Stereoscopic Company // Getty Images
Halloween pumpkin mask
A figure wearing a white cape and a Halloween pumpkin mask takes a person by surprise in their kitchen, circa 1865.
Historic Photo Archive // Getty Images
Ghost
A person wearing a ghost costume behind a table with Halloween decorations in a rural schoolhouse, circa 1905.
Kirn Vintage Stock // Getty Images
Early 20th-century group photo
Young men in costumes pose for a group photo at the beginning of the 20th century.
Transcendental Graphics // Getty Images
A coven of witches
A group of women costumed as a coven of witches pose for a Halloween photo, circa 1910, in the United States.
Kirn Vintage Stock // Getty Images
Criminals
Three young men are dressed up as a jail prisoner, Annie Oakley, and spade playing card.
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Kirn Vintage Stock // Getty Images
Halloween elf
A young woman dressed as an elf for Halloween on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Kirn Vintage Stock // Getty Images
Little Bo Peep
A young woman dressed as Little Bo Peep poses for a Halloween photo on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Bettmann // Getty Images
A mixed bag
A group of children wear costumes ranging from a skeleton ghost to an angry pirate in an undated photo.
Kirn Vintage Stock // Getty Images
Ghosts
A trio of kids dressed up as ghosts are ready for trick-or-treating, circa 1925.
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
Witch
A young woman dressed as a witch holds a broom on Halloween in the late 1920s or early 1930s.
Bettmann // Getty Images
Good witch
A portrait of a young woman at a Halloween party dressed in a silk party dress and a pointed hat, circa 1940s.
Bettmann // Getty Images
Nurse and toy soldier
A group of young children dressed up for Halloween trick or treat in Jersey City, New Jersey, circa 1940s.
John Springer Collection // Getty Images
Skeleton
Louis Armstrong on stage is frightened by a skeleton during the song "Skeleton in the Closet," from the movie "Pennies from Heaven."
Kirn Vintage Stock // Getty Images
Devil
A man dressed as the devil and a woman dressed as an armless sculpture show off their costumes, circa 1940.
Kirn Vintage Stock // Getty Images
Pig
A woman with a pig mask poses for a photo, circa 1940.
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H. Armstrong Roberts // Getty Images
Pirate
A woman wearing a pirate costume, circa 1940s.
H. Armstrong Roberts // Getty Images
Jack-o'-lantern
A little girl poses in a fancy outfit holding a paper mache jack-o'-lantern, circa 1945.
Robert Abbott Sengstacke // Getty Images
Cowboy
American child—and future photojournalist—Robert Abbott Sengstacke (left) poses dressed as a cowboy with other children at a Halloween party, circa late 1940s.
De Carvalho Collection // Getty Images
Cat
American actress and model Dusty Anderson wearing a Halloween cat costume in the late '40s for a publicity shot.
Hulton Archive // Getty Images
Rabbit
Children in costumes arriving at a Halloween party, circa 1955. A sign on the door warns "BEWARE GHOSTS ARE WITHIN!"
Michael Ochs Archives // Getty Images
Sputnik and a Soviet officer
A couple dressed as Sputnik and a Soviet officer attend a party on Oct. 31, 1957, in Los Angeles.
Denver Post // Getty Images
Royalty, a clown, and a cheetah
Students (Michelle Gordon, Jimmy Dallarosa, and Wendy Meyer) at Secrest School Plans Carnival in 1969 trying on costumes.
American Stock // Getty Images
A knight and her friends
A group of children wearing Halloween costumes wait in a trick-or-treat line to receive apples from an officer at a police precinct, circa 1960.
Bettmann // Getty Images
Mickey Mouse and Felix the Cat
Kirk, 6, and Carey Tressman, 7, wear costumes with reflective tape to keep them safe while trick-or-treating in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1960.
USC Libraries // Getty Images
Boy from Mars
Four-year old William Caban, dressed as a boy from Mars, visits a Los Angeles police station on Oct. 31, 1961.
The Boston Globe // Getty Images
A scarecrow, jack-o'-lantern, and some friends
A group of children dressed for Halloween stand together on a porch at a house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Oct. 21, 1961.
The Boston Globe // Getty Images
A record player and a ghost
Five-year-old Stephen Knapp, dressed as a record player, and 7-year-old John McNichol, dressed as ghost, ask for contributions to UNICEF along Newbury Street in Boston on Oct. 31, 1974.
Images Of Our Lives // Getty Images
A gypsy, Groucho Marx, and a witch
Four children in Halloween costumes get ready to trick or treat, circa 1975.
H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock // Getty Images
Mary Had a Little Lamb
A girl dressed as Mary from "Mary had a Little Lamb" for Halloween, circa 1970s.
The Boston Globe // Getty Images
C-3P0 and Darth Vader
Louis Seltvitella as C-3P0 and Jim Webb as Darth Vader walk downstairs at Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Oct. 31, 1977.
Harvey L. Silver // Getty Images
Paul Stanley from Kiss
An 11-year-old Kiss fan poses in his Paul Stanley makeup on Halloween 1971.
Francois LE DIASCORN // Getty Images
A chef and Uncle Fester with Thing
A chef with a knife in his head stands near Uncle Fester and Thing from "The Addams Family," circa 1980s.
Francois LE DIASCORN // Getty Images
Spider-Man
A young child trick-or-treating in a Spider-Man costume in Suncook, New Hampshire, circa 1980s.
Francois LE DIASCORN // Getty Images
Phantoms
Ghostly phantoms on Halloween Eve, circa 1980, in Salem, Massachusetts.
Bettmann // Getty Images
Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan
Two kids wearing masks of President Jimmy Carter and GOP presidential hopeful Ronald Reagan go trick-or-treating on Oct. 31, 1980.
ullstein bild // Getty Images
Various children's cosumes
Children and adults dressed up for Halloween 1985.
Joe Sohm/Visions of America // Getty Images
Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup, Snow White, a ballerina, and a football player
An adult and children dressed in Halloween costumes, Webster Groves, Missouri, circa 1990.
Photofusion // Getty Images
A cat and some ghouls
Children trick-or-treating wearing ghoulish costumes on Halloween in the U.K., circa 1990.
Joe Sohm/Visions of America // Getty Images
A witch, ghoul, ninja, and pirate
Children dressed in Halloween costumes in Oak View, California, 1996.
Los Angeles Times // Getty Images
Where's Waldo
Terry Hartshorn and Sharon Hartshorn pose for a caricature artist in "Where's Waldo" costumes during the Halloween bash to benefit theater company Stopgap in 1996.
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The Boston Globe // Getty Images
Lions
Aliyha Alleyne, 3, left, and Kadeem Dixon, 5, dressed as lions from "The Lion King" pose during a costume contest at the Franklin Park Zoo's annual Zoo Howl in Boston on Oct. 31, 1998.
Eric Miller // Getty Images
Uncle Sam and Statue of Liberty
Heidi Miller, an officer with the Bloomington, Minnesota, Police Department passes out candy to trick-or-treaters on Oct. 31, 2001, at the Mall of America.
Mario Tama // Getty Images
Dr. Evil
A person dressed up as "Austin Powers'" character Dr. Evil for the Halloween Parade in Manhattan.
James Devaney/WireImage // Getty Images
Donald Trump
Katie Couric dresses up as Donald Trump on the Halloween episode of "The Today Show" at NBC Studios in New York City on Oct. 29, 2004.
David Cheskin - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images
Scream and monster
Children in costume look in through a window in Peebles, Scottish Borders, in the U.K. on Oct. 31, 2005.
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Sergio Dionisio // Getty Images
Scream
A young boy poses in a "Scream" mask with an axe on Halloween in North Bondi, Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 31, 2008.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY // Getty Images
An iPad
Oscar the Bichon Frise dressed as an iPad during the Tompkins Square Park 20th Annual Halloween Dog Parade, Oct. 23, 2010, in New York City.
Anadolu Agency // Getty Images
Donald Trump
Masks depicting Donald Trump are displayed for sale at a Halloween costume store in Mexico City on Oct. 21, 2016.
Gareth Cattermole // Getty Images
Post Malone
Rita Ora dresses as Post Malone for the KISS Haunted House Party at the SSE Arena in London on Oct. 26, 2018.
Chelsea Guglielmino // Getty Images
Captain America and Wonder Woman
Participants dressed as Captain America and Wonder Woman—and baby Wonder Woman—are seen at the Haute Dog Howl'oween Parade at Marina Vista Park in Long Beach, California, on Oct. 27.
Whatever you do to celebrate Halloween or Day of the Dead festivities, shop local and support the local businesses to keep money in the local economy.
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