How to Create Your Own Custom Halloween Costumes With Clothing from Haight Street Shops

By Monica A. Scribner Last updated Oct 11, 2022

English

Amazon, Spirit Halloween, and Party City are full of overpriced polyester costumes designed to make you look like any number of characters from popular TV shows and movies. But do you really want to give your hard-earned cash to a big-box store in exchange for a cheap outfit that you’ll probably throw away in a few years?

We suggest shopping locally for your Halloween gear. Sure, it’ll take longer and probably cost you more money than a prepackaged outfit from one of the aforementioned chains, but you’ll feel better, look cooler, and have a much more interesting story to tell. on cocktails and individual portions. Kit Kat.

To help you get started, The Standard worked with four local clothing stores to come up with custom renditions of several trending suits. Read on to see how we did it and hopefully get inspired for yourself.

Elvis

Haight Street Costumes

735 Haight Street.
(415) 621-1356

The King of Rock & Roll is a popular costume choice every Halloween. But with Elvis Presley back on the big screen in Baz Luhrmann’s legendary biopic, there may be more high-volume pompadours hitting the streets of the Mission than usual on October 31. Long-running costume shop Haight Street Costumes can sell or rent you outfits from nearly every era of Elvis.

Costume consultant Chantel, who wished to be identified only by her first name, models a pink costume that Haigh Street Costumes offers for hire. The costume was designed as a version of singer Elvis Presley, complete with aviator goggles and a black wig, on Friday, September 30, 2022, by costume consultants at the gay-owned store. | Camille Cohen/The Norm

If you’re taking inspiration from late ’40s to mid-’50s Elvis, you’ll want to go for something like the pink suits actor Austin Butler sports in some of the earlier scenes in the new movie. You can rent a rosy-hued prom suit ($75 for the week) from Haight Street Costumes and pair it with a pink Western-style shirt for purchase ($49.95), orange aviator sunglasses ( $12.95) and an Elvis-style puff wig. If ’70s Elvis is more your vibe, Haight Street Costumes has a sequined white jumpsuit to rent ($60 to $70 for the week) or buy (about $200).

The beauty of an Elvis costume is that it can transcend gender with an option to highlight his more masculine or feminine sides.

AJ Spaziano wears a wig and jumpsuit resembling singer Elvis Presley. Spaziano, owner of Haight Street Costumes, predicts Elvis will be a popular costume this year. | Camille Cohen/The Norm

Costume consultant Chantel, who wanted to be identified only by her first name, modeled aviator sunglasses and a black wig for an Elvis-inspired Halloween costume style. | Camille Cohen/The Norm

“He always wore tight clothes and showed a lot of skin, and really anyone can do that. So I feel like it’s not really gender specific,” the owner of Haight Street Costumes said. , AJ Spaziano “Sort of, put your own spin on it, and people will immediately know it’s Elvis.”

The Scarlet Witch

Piedmont boutique and decades of fashion

Piedmont shop
1452 Haight Street.
(415) 864-8075

decades of fashion
1653 Haight Street.
(415) 551-1653

If you’re looking to turn into the Scarlet Witch of Wanda Vision and the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe, Piedmont Boutique, and Fashion Decades have the crimson accessories you need to pull off the look. Piedmont Boutique has a handmade silky red cape ($48), a bright red bodysuit ($40), red knee-high boots ($120) and elegant evening gloves ($24) as well as horns devil’s hat ($10), a handmade red-kissed shirt collar ($24), or a triangular-shaped red collar ($12) that you can reuse in the Scarlet Witch’s crown-shaped headpiece.

A pair of crimson gloves, leather boots, repurposed devil horns with a pendant or a red shirt collar and bodysuit from the Piedmont store at 1452 Haight St. can help you turn into a scarlet witch on this Christmas Eve. All Saints Day. Styling by Piedmont Boutique. | Camille Cohen/The Norm

If you want to go glam and vintage with this costume, stop by Decades of Fashion, known for their impressive collection of all-ages styles, which has a “red devil corset” ($39), black lace-up pants 1960s leather jacket ($399) and a full-length vintage red and black cape ($79). Finish the look with a metal thorn and jewelry tiara ($39), 1950s rhinestone necklace ($69), fingerless gloves ($26) and Odd Fellows red velvet sash ($29) .

Haight-Ashbury’s vintage boutique, Decades of Fashion, combined a scarlet witch look with a ‘red devil corset’, 1960s black leather lace-up trousers and a full-length vintage red and black cape. Styling by Cicely Hansen and Moraea Smith. | Courtesy of Decades of Fashion

“We were inspired by the Scarlet Witch’s dramatic red train, so we recreated it using a reversible full-length black and red cape that we attached to the waist of the corset,” Moraea Smith wrote, responsible for Decades of Fashion, in an email to The Standard. “These items were chosen for the Scarlet Witch look because, styled together, they create the right silhouette, color palette and overall mood for the character.”

Dragon House

Entertainment

1552 Haight Street.
(415) 252-8751

You are encouraged to spread your creative wings at Distractions, which has been serving Haight-Ashbury for approximately 40 years. The whimsical boutique, owned by longtime Haight Street owner Jimmy Siegel, caters to Burning Man and Edwardian ballroom crowds and specializes in steampunk-inspired styles that nod to the 19th century, or “New Victorian”, as Siegel calls it.

Model Misha Zatsman wears an American-made top hat and feathered cape for a dragon creature costume inspired by the HBO TV series “House of the Dragon.” Styling by Micah Mayell and Christina Campodonico. | Don Feria for The Standard

With help from stylist and store associate Micah Mayell, The Standard created a few looks loosely based on the fantastical creatures that lend their name to the new HBO. game of thrones derivative series, Dragon House. Drawing inspiration from fashion influences from Burning Man, Folsom Street Fair, BDSM and the medieval period, we experimented with a few bird-inspired leather headpieces and accessories to transform our model, Misha Zatsman, into a “dragon” and a royal courtier worthy of the House of Targaryen. (Check out the photos in our photo gallery for inspiration.)

Model Misha Zatsman wears a Victorian-era Odd Fellows dress ($200) with a feathered cape and medieval-style leather arm guards for a royal courtier look inspired by the TV show “House of the Dragon “. Styling by Micah Mayell and Christina Campodonico. | Don Feria for The Standard

Mayell, a self-proclaimed curator, encourages customers to get creative when entering the store. For a Dragon House-inspired by costume, Mayell recommends selecting pieces with leather, metal studs and feathers that evoke the medieval period. You can gear up with a pair of leather arm guards designed for Burning Man ($190 and outfitted with handy flashlights for your Halloween prowl) or locally crafted leather gloves ($60) for a look of tough knight or dragon prince.

An American-made leather top hat with reptilian eyes ($450) or a horned, feathered, or beak-like mask could help you turn into a dragon. Distraction offers several handmade leather caps with beaks made by local artisans, such as Vincent Dreamhouse, for the Burn. The trick to the weird animal look is a pair of black sunglasses ($15) under the mask. Add a fringed leather belt ($89) over your shoulders or a feathered cape ($100), and you’ve got “wings.”

Model Misha Zatsman wears an avian-inspired feathered headpiece over a costume inspired by fashion from the ‘Game of Thrones’ spin-off, ‘House of the Dragon’. Styling by Micah Mayell and Christina Campodonico. | Don Feria for The Standard

You do not know where to start ? The staff at Distractions is happy to help bring your imagination to life.

“What we’ve been proud of for over 40 years is being accessible to everyone,” Mayell said. “So if you just want to come here and get a mask that puts you in character and that’s all you can afford…great. If you want a complete wardrobe, this is perfect. We are here to help you. We are practical.