Fright night fantasy looks

For as long as Christian Greenia can remember, costume shoppers have come into his store looking to dress up like one of the many film characters played by Johnny Depp.

Be it Willy Wonka, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood or Sam from “Benny and Joon,” Depp costumes are hot. This year, all the boys come in asking for a Capt. Jack Sparrow costume, Greenia said.

Manager of two Spirit Halloween Superstores for the last five years and the family costume shop for 15 years before that, the 30-year-old Huntington Beach resident knows what sells.

Halloween is in Greenia’s blood. Costumes have been in the family since grandfather Louis St. Pierre opened Hollywood Magic on Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa, back in 1973.

“For the first 20 years, it was the only place you could go to to get anything,” Greenia said. “At that time, you went to Sears or one of the local magic shops.”

Hollywood Magic shut its doors permanently in 1997. Greenia took a few years off and then began working for Cassandra Peterson, best known for her role as Elvira: Mistress of the Dark.

“I’ve never done anything else,” Greenia said. “Halloween is the only job I’ve ever had.”

That is why Greenia is the guy to look for if you find yourself undecided shopping for the perfect Halloween outfit. Here are some of his costume suggestions:

For the kids, the Monster Bride sells big as well as anything about bugs and pirates, especially the Sparrow costume.

Ladies, check out anything from Leg Avenue, a company that established itself manufacturing nylon leggings, eventually expanding over the last few years into costume apparel.

“They sort of sexified the most popular caricatures from cartoons and stuff,” Greenia said. “I can’t keep it on the shelves.”

Also big from Leg Avenue, skimpy police and referee uniforms have gone fast for the females.

Keri Dunbar has noticed the same trend where she works at the Beach Store in Huntington Beach, where buyers’ choices have disappointed her.

“Halloween is a time to go all out, and a lot of people are kind of playing it safe,” Dunbar said. “I thought this would be the year of the pirate.”

The downtown Huntington Beach apparel store has more than 140 costume styles to choose from. However, the big buys usually occur with the skimpy mock male uniforms.

Racecar driver, baseball, construction and referee uniforms unload like lightning, said Leia Cha, owner of the Beach Store. Other outfits, such as a long, sheer, sea-blue mermaid dress selling for $120, remain on the shelves.

Plus, shoppers seem to feel most comfortable spending no more than $50, so the simpler costumes have even more going for them, Cha said.

She spoke proudly of the few males who make their way into the shop and risk gender-bending on Oct. 31.

“That takes guts,” Dunbar said.

This is not the case at Spirit. Most men just want something comfortable that they can eat and drink in, Greenia said.

So, always an easy sell, foam beer bottle, ketchup and mustard full-body suits keep the guys coming back each year, Greenia said. His personal favorite: the giant foam whoopee cushion.

“You put these things on, and it looks like you should be out on the street corner with a sign for some business,” he said.