If you think Halloween outfits for dogs and cats are ridiculous, you probably won’t appreciate the latest fad: costumes for cell phones and iPods.
Yes, Americans are dressing inanimate, everyday objects in seasonal garb. One expert says that’s unprecedented – but to be expected.
Given how Halloween retail sales are now second only to Christmas, “It was probably inevitable that the holiday would collide head-on with the hottest products,” said Lisa Morton, author of “The Halloween Encyclopedia.”
“Since you can’t feed an iPod candy or carve it into a jack-o’-lantern,” she said, “all that’s left is dressing it in costume.”
Thus your iPod portable music player can become a jaunty pirate on Oct. 31, complete with teensy eye patch and sword. Your flip-phone can masquerade as a fuzzy monster named Ruphus. Or maybe a pink monkey.
“That’s good for Halloween, since you don’t find pink monkeys in nature,” noted Shari Maxwell of Extreme Halloween Inc. in Dania Beach, Fla. Sales of the $10.95 outfits on the “Cell Phone Costumes” section of the company’s Web site, anniescostumes.com, are so brisk that the staff is having trouble keeping up.
Shanalyn Victor’s Pixelgirl Shop (pixelgirlshop.com) sells furry “iPod monsters” in various colors for $30. They’re handmade by Ann Arbor, Mich., artist Marty Flint – and hard to keep in stock.
“It takes him an hour for each case,” said Victor, also of Ann Arbor. “We’ve sold 30 or 40 in the last month or two.”
And yes, Victor said, an iPod is fully functional while dressed as a monster.
Cell phone outfits have been around for at least seven years. That’s when the Fun Friends idea took root in Julian Parry, after he spotted a fisherman in South Africa carrying a phone inside a plush lobster toy.
Now, “We have 500 or 600 different styles,” Parry said from Funfriends.com headquarters in Sarasota, Fla. Standards include a dog, cat, bear, frog, pig and monkey, available for flip-phones as well as bar-style; most retail between $7.99 and $9.99.
Halloween-theme Fun Friends were offered (and sold out) in the past, but not this year. “We’re concentrating on Christmas right now,” Parry said.
Basketballer Shaquille O’Neal, actress Hilary Duff, singer Avril Lavigne and model Heidi Klum have been spotted with Fun Friends on their phones.
Parry also is the father of tiny floppy-dog costumes for TV remote controls and staplers. “It’s a fun little puppy dog, it’s like he’s taking a bite out of your paper,” he said of the stapler version.
Over at iAttire.net, it’s “Your Music in Costume.”
Jo Ann Villalobos of Los Angeles was in an Ikea late in August when she ran across finger puppets that nearly fit her iPod Shuffle, a slim version of the player.
“But it wasn’t a perfect fit. I’m a textile artist, so I started finagling with it,” she said. “I finally realized that rather than re-engineer it, I’d come up with my own.”
Her first design is still “everybody’s favorite” – a cowboy costume complete with hat, chaps and neckerchief. “My sister even found the tiniest checked fabric for the bandana,” she said.
Villalobos began handcrafting various designs (seven especially for Halloween), and partner Rob King of San Francisco created the Web site, which launched this month. Halloween costumes sell for $39.99.
“We had to put up an FAQ, and of course the first question we answered was, “Is this a joke?”‘ she said.
Nope.
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