Stand Up and Be Costumed at Value Village's Weekly Halloween Costume Catwalk
Fashion Shows

    
    Top Trends for Halloween 2010 include Jersey Shore and DIY Creations,
    According to New Halloween Shopping Survey by Value Village





    
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<p>BELLEVUE, Wash., <span class="xn-chron">Oct. 5</span> /CNW/ -- Stumped on what to wear for <span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> this year? Determined to finally win the costume contest at your friend's <span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> bash? You're in luck!  Value Village, an international secondhand store chain that offers the largest selection of <span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> merchandise of any other retailer, is inviting costume-challenged shoppers into their stores for free weekly Costume Catwalk fashion show events throughout October to help them create one-of-a-kind costumes for the whole family and for every budget.</p>
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<p>New this year, the Costume Catwalk events will be held every Thursday in October at <span class="xn-chron">3 p.m.</span> in all Value Village locations.  Set to festive Halloween-themed music, Value Village's specially-trained Costume Consultants will showcase that week's hottest costumes and help individual shoppers build outfits from scratch using Value Village's endless selection of gently-used clothing and costumes, as well as enhance brand new, ready-made costumes with unique makeup and accessories.</p>
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<p>"This year, we conducted a <span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> shopping survey that showed many consumers are unable to create the costume of their dreams every year due to a lack of time or inspiration," said <span class="xn-person">Meg Allan Cole</span>, National Costume Consultant at Value Village. "Only at Value Village will you find dedicated Costume Consultants helping customers find exactly what they need to put together <span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> looks that will set them apart from the crowd, all under one roof."</p>
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    Top Costume Trends for Halloween 2010
    
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<p>The Value Village "<span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> Shopping Survey" polled 1,000 adults about their <span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> shopping habits, and identified popular costumes and the hottest trends for this year. Below is a sampling of <span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> trends for 2010, courtesy of the <span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> Shopping Survey and the expertise of Value Village's national Costume Consultants:</p>
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    --  Do It Yourself - Fabulously: With the rise of the DIY and crafting
        movement, Value Village customers are increasingly combining new and
        gently used items to create one-of-a-kind costumes. According to the
        Halloween Shopping Survey, more than four in ten (42 percent) of those
        who dress up in a costume like to combine both brand new and
secondhand
        pieces to create their Halloween look.
    --  Attack of the Killer Tan: Celebrities and pop culture icons remain
some
        of the most popular costumes. According to the Halloween Shopping
        Survey, pop culture influences more than one in five costume-wearers
on
        their choice of costume. This year, Value Village is predicting
Snooki,
        "The Situation" and the rest of the cast of MTV's "Jersey Shore" to be
        top costumes, as well as looks from recent movie blockbusters such as
        "Alice in Wonderland," "Avatar" and "Toy Story 3."  According to the
        Value Village Halloween Shopping Survey, the cast of HBO's "True
Blood"
        was named the best group costume inspired by television (25 percent),
        followed by the castaways from "LOST" (14 percent) and Michael Scott
        and crew from "The Office" (14 percent).
    --  Steampunk Theme:  This year, Value Village Costume Consultants are
        expecting to see a lot of customers looking to fit into this
burgeoning
        trend, which combines styles from the Victorian era, classic goth,
        gypsy and industrial technology. Steampunk costumes can be easily
        created by mixing Victorian era clothing, leather vests or jackets,
        aviator accessories and goth looks like black clothing and makeup.
    --  Convertible Costumes: Ten percent of costume-wearers Value Village
        surveyed wear more than one costume per year (for example, one costume
        for the office party and another for going out with friends). For an
        easy way to create multiple looks, shoppers can combine one or two new
        costume pieces or accessories and mix with secondhand items to create
        two or more looks for the price of one.


    Online Inspiration
    
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<p>In addition to in-store offerings, Value Village provides a variety of spooky (and simple) DIY <span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> projects at <a href="http://www.valuevillage.com">www.valuevillage.com</a>. Visitors to the website will find a wealth of creative costume ideas, including Lady Gaga, <span class="xn-person">Katy Perry</span> and the popular Steampunk look, as well as makeup tutorial videos of the season's hottest trends, such as "Jersey Shore," "Avatar," and "Sparkly Vampire." To keep <span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> party planning stress-free, the site also features seasonal home entertaining inspiration to spice up your <span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> bash.</p>
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    Good Deeds. Great Deals.
    
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<p>Not only does shopping at Value Village for <span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> save money, purchasing secondhand items is a form of recycling and helps keep millions of pounds of goods from entering landfills each year. Value Village encourages its environment-conscious customers to donate their <span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> costumes after the holiday. Every costume donated to Community Donation Centers, located on-site at Value Village stores, benefits a local nonprofit partner and will be resold or recycled for someone to enjoy as a secondhand look next year. For more information, or to locate the nearest store, visit <a href="http://www.valuevillage.com">www.valuevillage.com</a>.</p>
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<p>*Methodology Note: The Value Village <span class="xn-chron">Halloween</span> Shopping Survey was conducted by Kelton Research during the summer of 2010 and polled 1,001 nationally representative consumers aged 18 and over.</p>
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    About Value Village and Savers, Inc.
    
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<p>Founded in 1954, Savers, Inc. is a privately held for-profit international secondhand store chain with nearly 250 locations in <span class="xn-location">Canada</span>, the <span class="xn-location">United States</span> and <span class="xn-location">Australia</span>. Also known as Value Village in the western <span class="xn-location">United States</span> and Canadian provinces (and as Village des Valeurs in <span class="xn-location">Quebec</span>), the company employs more than 13,000 people. By purchasing and reselling donated items, the company has paid more than <span class="xn-money">$1 billion</span> directly to its nonprofit partners - turning otherwise unused items into pure sustainable funding that supports their programs and services. The company also offers local communities a smart way to shop and is one of the largest recyclers of used goods in the world. Visit valuevillage.com or savers.com for more information.</p>
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For further information: Sara Gaugl of Savers, Inc., [phone], [email protected], or Amanda Watkins of Edelman Seattle, [phone], [email protected], for Savers / Value Village Web Site: http://www.valuevillage.com/