Juan Villa / The Collegian

Halloween costume shopping can be exciting and funny, but also frustrating and expensive.

Halloween — a time of scares, carved pumpkins, haunted houses and costumeshopping.

For some, picking out a costume can take some time to think about and shop.

Halloween Express has two locations in Fresno, but the store located next to Dog House Grill on Chestnut caters more to the college crowd.

“Both stores have the same stuff, but our other store is more family oriented, and here we see more college students,â€Â said store manager Aris Borjas.

With the store being more college oriented, certain types of costumes are more popular than others.
“The most popular brand here in our store is Leg Avenue —the more revealing costumes,â€Â Borjas said.

Besides Leg Avenue, they also have brands that are more conservative, like FunWorld. They also carry Just My Size, which is a plus-size costume company and Cartoon Network, which carries costumes like characters from the Flintstones.

In the store, you can find anything from a sexy firefighters uniform to Disney characters. In the middle of the store and in the back, there are hair wigs, props for costumes, and party favors for your house.

For people who have no idea what they want to be, Halloween Express carriesmore than 2,000 costumes to choose from, that include hair pieces, props and other differentpieces to add to your costume.

“Sometimes I get ideas six months before Halloween,â€Â said Candice Crawford, a shopper looking for pieces for her costume.

She plans on being Hermine, a character from “Harry Potter.â€Â

In past years she has dressed up as a lion and a stewardess.

The most popular costumes for women have been anything law enforcement, such as police officers.

For men, the Joker has been the most popular.

For some, working at a Halloween store is a fun place to work and interact with customers.

“It is fun, and you get to help people pick out costumes, and help them try them on,â€Â said employee Kirsti Kachadoorian, working for the first time.

Halloween can be an expensive time of year, due to having to buying a costume and everything that goes with it,asuch as accessories.

“I have seen someone spend $500 on a costume, which included props to go along with the whole outfit,â€Â Borjas said.

Besides costumes, people also come into the store to buy props and decorations for their house.
A group of girls shopping together were looking for costumes to wear to a Halloween party.

“I’m going to be a baseball player this year,â€Â said Brittany Smith.

In past years she has made her costume, but decided to buy one this year.

Another customer, Jeanette Botello, was shopping for costumes for her two children as her son ran around the store with a toy sword from the pirate section.

“I let me kids decide what they want to be every year,â€Â said Botello.

In past years, her daughter has been Little Red Riding Hood and a baby.

Her son has been Woody from the movie “Toy Story,â€Â a cow and a clown.

Botello said she knows costumes can get expensive, but spends around $35 for her children̢۪s costumes.