Thrift and treat: Going frugal and creative for Halloween

Any kid can dress up as a ghost or Elsa the Snow Queen.

But Halloween costumes that are typically shrink-wrapped in plastic bags can lack a certain originality and come at a steep price for something that may be worn only once. Retailers can charge $36.99 for a girl’s ghost white dress and the same look for adults can run as much as $54.99.

So more people are turning to Goodwill of Orange County, where its thrift shop prices on donated items won’t spook customers.

“Under $20, you can assemble a quality costume for a fraction of the cost you’d spend at a retailer,” said Corrine Allen, chief operating officer for Goodwill of Orange County, as she held a $7 silk kimono in the Westminster store recently.

Low-cost costumes at Goodwill’s secondhand stores have made Halloween the nonprofit’s busiest time of the year.

Last year, its 22 retails stores in Orange County generated more than $52 million from total sales. Halloween sales alone last October reached $4.8 million, marking a 7% increase from 2013 sales in the same month.

The $4.8 million represents more than 240,000 transactions at Orange County Goodwill stores.

“We’re all about value,” said Frank Talarico, president and chief executive for Goodwill of Orange County. “We want to make it easy for people to find and make a costume.”

The idea is to mix and match donated clothing and accessory items.

Goodwill’s retail team got a jump on the holiday by attending industry trade shows in February to learn about Halloween costume trends. Superheroes, princesses and zombies were big.

Next, store employees sorted through donations to choose pieces that could be suitable for a Halloween outfit and then grouped the themes on racks.

The retail stores then constructed Halloween build-outs, embellishing mannequins with clothing, wigs and masks.

At Goodwill’s Westminster location last week, more than 1,000 donated tops, pants, skirts, jackets and other items filled 10 round racks.

Customers could also find football jerseys, ball gowns, cheetah-print shirts and a suede jacket by designer Bob Mackie, best known for his dressing of Cher and Diana Ross.

“We’re all about putting a spin on a classic look,” Allen said. “Plus, people prefer to recycle so this is basically rent a costume.”

Allen said the key to building an outfit is to focus on one starter piece.

For instance, a donated ‘60s rayon brocade smoking jacket could be paired with flared jeans for a hippie look.

And that sought-after zombie look is easy to re-create, Allen said. Be it a sports uniform, black pants, white shirt or party dress, anything goes if it’s torn.

Costumes have no limit, she said.

Pet owners can shop for their furry friends from a selection of pirate tops, referee shirts and outer space jackets made specially for animals.

Ingenuity doesn’t have to stop in the clothing department. Shoppers can also try housewares. A pillowcase is a popular option, and for someone dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, a wicker basket can be added. Also, a child dressed as a flower or a gardener could tote a watering can.

Anna Sandoval, a Mission Viejo resident, was shopping Tuesday night for Halloween costumes at the Goodwill Store & Donation Center in Lake Forest. She said she had visited other retailers looking for costumes but couldn’t find correct sizes for her two children.

“Goodwill has a lot of mixture,” Sandoval said as she held a child’s Spiderman muscle costume. “They’re obviously cheaper and you can find a better variety.”

The day of orange and black in America brings in a lot of green beyond Orange County. Nationwide, it’s a $6.9-billion business, according to National Retail Federation’s Halloween Consumer Spending Survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics.

As consumers prepare to embrace cooler weather and celebrate fall traditions, shoppers will spend an average of $27.33 on costumes for the whole family, and an estimated 20 million pet owners will dress up their four-legged companions, the group says.

Goodwill, which provides job training for the disabled, said sales of costumes will benefit the thousands of people it serves annually.

“It’s part of our mission statement to help people in need,” Talarico said. “Helping others looks good on you — even if that’s being dressed in a costume.”