2019 Halloween costume trends: Dinosaurs, evil clowns and … hey, what’s a ‘Descendant’?

A doorway survey of trick-or-treaters usually yields a mix of classic Halloween fashion and questions along the lines of, “Now, what are you, exactly?”

Knock-knock. Who’s there? Why, it’s …

  • A witch — and Pennywise the demonic clown.
  • A dinosaur — and an avatar from that Fortnite game.
  • A rabbit — and one of the “Descendants.”

Yes, Halloween costumes are a mix of bleeding-edge pop culture and … hang on. What in the devil’s name is a Descendant?

Google’s search-trend ranking of the most popular costumes, Fright Geist, doesn’t elaborate. See all of the rankings here.

What the Google search-trend rankings do say is that, somehow, the “Descendants” is the fifth most popular costume nationwide and the No. 1 costume search around D.C.

Who knew that the characters in the 2011 George Clooney film — in which a father of troubled daughters comes to terms with his comatose wife’s infidelity — could be so terrifying?

(A colleague tells me “Descendants” probably refers to Disney’s fantasy adventure franchise. Disagree. It’s definitely the Clooney film, because complicated marital strife is spoOoOoKyYyY.)

Rounding out the top five in the D.C. area are a witch (No. 2); Spider-Man (No. 3); a dinosaur (No. 4); and Pennywise the clown (No. 5).

Nationwide, it’s a reshuffling, with Pennywise edging out the witch (No. 2); Spider-Man (No. 3); a dinosaur (No. 4); and “George Clooney” (No. 5).

So that’s Big Data’s take. What does local retail say?

Pennywise is indeed big, as are characters from “Game of Thrones,” “Ghostbusters” and “Frozen,” according to a source working at the Halloween City in Bethesda, Maryland. That employee wished to remain anonymous; one assumes he was wearing a mask when he said this.

Side note: We are not quite clear whether Halloween City is an incorporated municipality in Bethesda or just a neighborhood. We’ve yet to confirm.

Online, the definitive authority is obviously Costume Super Center. Their popular men’s selections include Pennywise, as well as superheroes such as Aquaman and Captain America. Popular women’s costumes include (sigh) more superheroes, witches and something called a “Creepy Sister,” who just looks bored.

There are similar classic and trendy options if you wish to coordinate costumes with your boo or your bro. And, because it’s a man’s world, ladies still have the tedious option of dressing up as a “sexy” whatever instead of Dracula.

On a budget? Save your money and dress up as a pudgy dinosaur or a “neon stick light up man,” whatever that is. Thrifty ladies could go as a pants-less cupcake, a nun who doesn’t use moisturizer, or the Hamburglar on payday.

But why pinch pennies when you could make the safe choice and dress up as a demonic clown?

Or, a sexy Clooney?

Jack Pointer

Jack contributes to WTOP.com when he's not working as the afternoon/evening radio writer.

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