Costume crunch time
Carol Erb fixes the tiara of daughter Rebecca’s princess outfit at the counter of their costume shop. Jest For Fun has been a staple on Main Street in Bentleyville for almost 30 years.
Adam Robertson, 11, and his sister, Anna, 9, of Cecil Township, take part in the Halloween trail recently at Canonsburg General Hospital while sporting homemade costumes. Adam said his bionic scientist costume was inspired by his love of science.
Whether working on their costumes for months or looking for a last-minute idea, this week was crunch time for area residents pulling together outfits for Halloween. The Spirit Halloween store in South Hills Village Mall was ground zero for those who may have procrastinated. Jalena Matic, 21, of Whitehall, was putting the finishing touches on her ballerina getup. “I’m the kind of person who waits until the very last minute,” Matic said. Matic said she found a tutu at a local store and the rest was history. She was at the Spirit shop to purchase some leggings for her ensemble, which she said cost her about $40 total. “I knew I wanted to be something girly,” Matic said. “It matches my personality.” There are a few schools of thought when it comes to Halloween costume design. Some go for funny, others gruesome. But for many of those who have outgrown their trick-or-treating days, “sexy” is a popular choice. While Matic said her costume was more “cute” than risqué, her friend, Krystle Fanzo, said she was going for the latter. “I’m going to be a SWAT officer,” said Fanzo, 25, of the South Hills. “But I’m going with the sexy option this year.” Fanzo said she hadn’t dressed up for the holiday since she was a child. “This is my first stab at going the sexy route,” Fanzo said. “I want to do it now before I get too old. Use it or lose it, ya know?” Costumes of a different sort were on display at Jest For Fun, a costume rental shop on Main Street in Bentleyville. Carol Erb has been running the local costume store for 27 years and has the art of dressing up down to a science. “For the most part, people want to be comfortable and comical or they want to be pretty and sexy,” Erb said. “That’s timeless.” Jest For Fun has more than 1,500 costumes in store, all made by hand. While some are for sale, most are available only for rental and run from about $25 to $100 for a weekend rental. Anthony Merante, principal of St. Patrick Elementary School in Canonsburg, was picking up a frog and piggy suit that bore a striking resemblance to a famous puppet couple for a parade the children were having at the school. “This is my first time here, but my co-worker has been coming here for years,” Merante said. “I really love the décor in here. It looks like the inside of a castle.” Unlike the seasonal Halloween stores that pop up, Jest For Fun does a lot of business throughout the year dressing Santas and Easter bunnies and also makes custom costumes for plays and performances. A woman of faith, Erb said although she loves the idea of dressing up, she wasn’t a fan of overly grisly or horrific costumes. “You’ll find no zombies here,” Erb said. Although some costumes are timeless, like Marilyn Monroe and Elvis, others are cyclical. Workers at both costume shops were in consensus that this year’s hottest trend is the Avengers. This was evident at the annual costumed trail walk Wednesday at Canonsburg Hospital. But while there were many Iron Men and Captains America in the crowd of about 1,000, a lot of kids were rocking one-of-a-kind Halloween gear, too. Adam Robertson, 11, and his sister Anna, 9, of Cecil Township, were wearing custom bionic scientist and bunny outfits, respectively. “First, my aunt sent me a lab coat,” Adam said. “The glasses are my own. The bionic arm I made with a PVC pipe, foam and some duct tape.” While Adam spent a long time designing his costume, his sister wasn’t so picky. “My mom had it in a box from college,” Anna explained. “I didn’t want to be a princess this year.” While Adam said his costume reflected his love of science, 8-year-old Liam Bennett of North Strabane Township,was wearing an outfit that showed his passion for music: a snazzy pinstripe suit with a large, red deadmau5 head. The whole ensemble took about eight hours to put together. “He’s big into dub step,” said his dad, Rory Bennett.