In Search of the Frightfully Predictable

An employee at Oona’s Experienced Clothing urges shopper and traveling nurse Kyle M. Griffith to consider yellow pipe cleaners and foil. Griffith’s wanna-be costume? “Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Showers.”

Surprisingly, such creativity is the exception rather than the rule among Oona’s shoppers. Hollywood-themed costumes abound: “Everybody’s pirate wants to be Johnny Depp,” says store owner Kathleen M. White. Sunday morning alone she sold two Marie Antoinette costumes, inspired by Sofia Coppola’s recent ouevre. According to White, even the tubes of fake blood don’t end up on zombies or vampires, but on customers looking to imitate Stephen King’s Carrie.

While Halloween might provide a seasonal boost to Oona’s revenue, the shop sells costumes all year round. In addition to theater supply and the occasional Harvard theme party, annual “Gatsby Balls” at Tufts and Boston College keep flapper outfits in constant demand. Few shoppers at Oona’s are looking for the traditional (read: bloody and disgusting) Halloween look; while the store has sold a number of drapes for those special people who want to dress as walls, White says that “most people want to look good...They try on clothes that look good on them and then they make up a costume.”