The time of sinister spirits and ghostly ghouls is upon us! At YLC we have a trick (and a treat) up our sleeve for costume-shopping Stockholm style!
Whether you’re planning on joining the Shockholm parade, heading to Skansen for a flicker of Folklore and Magic or just popping out with the kiddiewinks for a spot of trick or treating, you’ll need a killer costume.
There are a handful of options if you’re planning a Halloween costume for you or your children. Buy brand new, customise or start from scratch. Here’s the YLC pick of the bunch, starting with the original and arguably still the best, Buttericks on Drottningatan.
Buttericks
This brilliant fancy dress and party shop opened in 1903 and has been providing crazy costumes and party decorations for every conceivable festivity ever since; it’s a veritable treasure trove of dressing-up goodies, party must-haves and ghoulish delights.
With complete costumes including kids zombie (299 SEK), zombie bride for teens (249 SEK), men’s Robin Hood (from 499 SEK) and women’s pirate captain (399 SEK) as well as Halloween favourites witches, wizards and ghosts for earthly spirits of all ages; Buttericks has it all.
Need a stylish Halloween alternative? Buttericks sells Lady Gaga favourite, Violent Lips Lip tattoos, available for 49 SEK. Perfect for little girls and women alike, these temporary tattoos provide an easy way to make-up your face in a variety of dazzling patterns and colours.
With affordable accessories such as bloody hand gloves for 49 SEK, black, glittery roses for only 20 SEK (a perfect accessory for a make-shift zombie bride) and eye-popping wigs on display, a trip to Buttericks is an experience as much as a shopping expedition.
Where: Drottninggatan 57
Beyond Retro
If pre-packaged costumes aren’t your thing and you fancy something more unique, head to one of the city’s many second-hand stores. One of the best, Beyond Retro, has stores on Drottninggatan, Brännkyrkagatan and Åsögatan and is a perfect go-to for upbeat, eclectic fancy dress for every occasion.
Unleash your inner drama-queen and let your imagination run wild amongst a dizzying array of sequinned and bejewelled eighties cocktail dresses. Mix theatrical gowns with scary masks or rip apart second-hand sheets and adorn yourself with long-gloves, crazy make-up and fantastical wigs.
Boys are catered for here too. Dress up your partner in a country-gent tweed suit, bow-tie and crazy hair for a frenzied professor look.
Beyond also has in stock military-style jackets for the men or vintage, lace wedding dresses that are just screaming out for a jot of Halloween customisation. Make tears, splash on some paint or glue on beads to a boudoir bodice or dotty dress for a ravishingly dark and mysterious outfit.
Stuck for ideas? Beyond Retro has its very own Halloween costume inspiration folder.
BR
Kids will love choosing their own ready-made costume in Sweden’s favourite toy store. There are four BR shops in the capital so with one probably just around the corner, Halloween costume shopping doesn’t have to be a nightmare.
Little girls will love the cute witches and Skeleton bride costumes (199 SEK); while boys will howl with delight at the thought of wearing the BR fiery skeleton (199 SEK), Frankenstein’s monster (229 SEK) or werewolf (299 SEK) for All Hallow’s Eve.
For younger kids, BR also stocks toddler-friendly pumpkins and rather cosy-looking spider web costumes; and a small selection of costumes for grown-ups too.
Top tip – look out for BR’s light-up and glow-in-the-dark ranges, including nail varnish, vampire teeth, masks and even a top-to-toe glowing skeleton outfit (249 SEK or 186 SEK with a BR membership card).
Where: Gallerian, Hamngatan 37 or PUB, Drottningatan 63
A few more devilishly easy tips and ideas:
For adults: Buttericks has a fantastic selection of masquerade masks – either choose one or make your own from cardboard and get crafty with beads, glitter, glue and feathers – and match with a second-hand gown for an original, grown-up Halloween outfit.
Remember that costume you spent hours making for your kid’s dance show? Recycle old hand-made costumes with a spot of bloody-red paint and new shriek-making accessories for a cheaper alternative.
Kids will need a hefty-sized bag to carry all their trick-or-treat godis in. Take a regular sturdy paper-bag bought from any supermarket, spray or paint black and add some scary details such as a big spider-web in white paint or a big laughing pumpkin in bright orange.
Don’t miss the YLC guide to Höstlov and Halloween in the city here including a list of other costume boutiques in Stockholm and where to go for a fun and spooky time for all the family.
Happy Halloween!
Victoria Hussey
A self-confessed country-girl, Victoria swapped English village life for city-living in Stockholm in April 2013. She has spent the last five months swotting up on Swedish fashion and grappling with an increasingly Stockholm-influenced (namely black) wardrobe. Victoria enjoys travelling to far-off lands, alternative music and wishes someone would invent some kind of socially-acceptable breakfast ice-cream.
Follow Victoria and Your Living City on Twitter!
1 Comment