It’s not all Dog-ald Trump and vampires this year. Pokemon Go, Snapchat filters, and even an exploding Note 7 costume promise to make trick or treating hotter (and techier) than ever.
We've compiled the Halloween costumes consumers are most searching for the most online, using data provided by eBay, Polyvore, and Pinterest. As you'll notice there are some definite themes, along with some newcomers stealing the spotlight.
eBay's Top Costumes and Themes for Adults
- Harley Quinn (Suicide Squad)
- Batman
- Pokemon
- Joker
- Vampire
- Game of Thrones
- Star Wars
- Deadpool
- Wonder Woman
- Alice in Wonderland
eBay's Top Costumes and Themes for Children
- Star Wars
- Witch
- Spiderman
- Batman
- Mickey and Minnie Mouse
- Mario and Luigi
- Vampire
- Superman
- Frozen
- Wizard of Oz
eBay's Top Costumes and Themes for Pets
- Lion
- Pumpkin
- Santa Claus
- Seasonal collar
- Pirate
- Superhero
- Star Wars
- Seasonal hoodie
- Witch
- Princess
"This year compared to last year, the [top-searched] costumes is much more specific to franchises," said Zoher Karu, eBay’s VP and Chief Data Officer. "Last year we saw costumes such as Minnie Mouse and French Maid, while this year we're seeing more Pokemon Go, Harley Quinn, and Deadpool [characters]."
Social e-commerce site Polyvore is seeing some similar trends, with a surprising wench, uh, wrench, thrown in the mix.
Top Halloween Costumes for Adults (According to Searches on Polyvore)
- Harley Quinn (+265 percent over the same time period in 2015)
- Beer Wench
- Poison Ivy (+48 percent over the same time period in 2015)
- Fairy
- White Queen
- Cheerleader
- Bunny
- School Girl
- Witch (+52 percent over the same time period in 2015)
- Unicorn (-36 percent when compared to 2015)
"Beer wench was a big surprise," said Amy Wicks, senior fashion expert at Polyvore. "Maybe our community is into Oktoberfest more than I realized."
"More than 24,000 sets (collages) have been created around Harley Quinn, the most popular costume search on Polyvore this season," added Wicks.
"Her choker necklace and edgy style are an eccentric play on the grunge look of the 90s, which is really popular this season. Also, cosplay is huge on Polyvore, so Harley Quinn hits on many popular search trends on the site right now."
Pinterest, which caters to the crafty, DIY personality, is seeing some trends that are fairly distinct from those noted by eBay and Polyvore.
"What we're seeing with a lot of the trends this year is people looking for ideas that they can personalize and make their own, like witty puns, and pop culture ideas that are very current," said Pinterest researcher Larkin Brown. "Last year, we saw a big focus on throwback ideas, but this year it's more about 'right now' costumes with nods to current events and popular entertainment," said Pinterest — such as Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, David Bowie, and Snapchat filters.
Pinterest is also seeing saved pins on pet costumes up 90 percent, year over year, with this season's focus revolving around "Dog-ald Trump" and "Howl-ary Clinton."
And, while dressing up one's dog as a presidential nominee is rather absurd, compared to some of the other costumes we've seen this year, these are hardly controversial.
Disney came under fire for its 'Moana' costume for kids, an outfit based on the star character, Maui, who, voiced by Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson, is covered in tribal tattoos. The costume, a brown zip-up suit decked out in tats, was perceived by some as racist and culturally offensive. Disney has since pulled the costume off shelves.
Another costume that was pulled this season seemed designed to attract sensational headlines, a costume that alluded to the recent burglary of Kim Kardashian. The costume was called the Parisian Heist Robbery Victim Costume Kit and showed a woman blindfolded and gagged. It was sold by the site Costumeish until social media users erupted in disgust and the listing was removed.
Also pushing the limits are various Halloween costume takes on Harambe, the gorilla who was shot and killed in his domicile at the Cincinnati Zoo after a young boy fell into his cage. Probably anyone dressed as a gorilla will be presumed to be Harambe and if social media commentary is any indication, they'll have plenty of haters staring them down.
Last but not least, one wily Facebooker announced his plans to trick or treat dressed as one of the year's hottest tech properties — a smoking Samsung Galaxy Note 7.