THE VINTAGE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

That Defined Our Childhoods

- by ABBEY BENDER

There's nothing quite like the magic of Halloween as a kid—pulling on a costume fresh from the package or lovingly homemade, racing out the door with a pillowcase, aka the trusty candy tote, and feeling the spooky excitement in the crisp night air. Back then, it wasn't about perfectly put-together outfits or elaborate décor—it was about the thrill of treat hauls, neighborhood adventures and becoming your favorite hero. Here, we take a trip down memory lane with the costume trends from our childhood that lit up Halloween.

50s Cowboys and homemade costumes

“In the '50s, it was all about cowboy heroes like Roy Rogers,” says retro Halloween and Christmas expert Bob Richter, author of A Very Vintage Holiday. While there were some store-bought costumes—courtesy of the company Ben Cooper, that was ubiquitous from its 1937 founding through the late '80s—most were still homemade. “The '50s had a lot of 'throw on a sheet and cut two holes in it and you're a ghost,” he says, adding that clowns, cats and even chimney sweeps (shown above) were popular options.