With Halloween just days away, it's time for the last-minute rush to put a costume together. Although it isn't a particularly big event in Taiwan, materials and even complete costumes are readily available. Wander the area around Tihua Street (
Probably the most complete range of costumes can be found on Hanchung Street (漢中街), only a few meters from the Hsimenting MRT station. Yunchai Theater and Dance Costumes (快樂營戲劇舞蹈 裝公司) is a huge bustling warehouse of a shop with racks of almost any costume imaginable, all the way from little fairies for primary school kids to formal kimonos.Naturally, there are also lots of Santa Clause outfits, and no end of ghoulish masks and skeleton costumes for Halloween.
"Lots of people have already put in their orders," said Liu Bi-hua (
PHOTO: IAN BARTHOLOMEW, TAIPEI TIMES
Liu said that she could put together a reasonable Halloween package for around NT$600 with mask and cloak. Prices are higher for more elaborate costumes. For this year's favorite outfit, Osama bin Laden, Liu said a turban, beard and dummy rifle would cost around NT$1,000.
For something more elegant, a relatively new ball gown can set you back NT$1,200 for one night. Dance Cat Theater and Dance Costumes (
PHOTO: IAN BARTHOLOMEW, TAIPEI TIMES
Both stores offer costumes for both sale and rent.
If you don't want to drop quite so much money for your Halloween bash, the novelty suppliers located near the corner of Changan West Road have plenty on offer. Probably the best stocked is Yitung Toys (一東玩具) which has all the basic horror movie masks, witches' hats, skeleton decorations, plastic claws and fangs and simple pumpkin and Scream outfits. Yitung is doing a roaring trade in its novelties.
On the opposite side of the street, Henson (恆尚) offers a smaller collection of Halloween masks, but owner Hsu Fu-shun (許富舜), regards Halloween as something of a Johnny-come-lately in the novelty market. Henson specializes in Christmas decorations, offering an exhaustive selection of plastic Christmas trees and fairy lights. It's a great place to pick up artificial snow, simple masks and party hats.
If you are into making everything from scratch, there are literally hundreds of shops dealing in haberdashery materials, from fabric, to beads to feather boas in the vicinity of Tihua Street and to the north of the Taipei Main Railway Station. Just wander around and you are bound to find what you want, and you'll also find yourself exploring one of the most fascinating parts of Taipei.
Places to go for Halloween costumes:
Yunchai Theater and Dance Costumes 193 Hanchung St., Taipei (北市漢中街193號), tel: (02) 2375-5145, 2331-3119.
Dance Cat Theater and Dance Costumes 179 Hanchung St., Taipei (北市漢中街179號), tel: (02) 2311-1627, 2382-2689.
Yitung Toys 202 Changan W. Rd., Taipei (北市長安西路202號), tel: 2556-5274, 2550-0199 On the Net: http://www.edtoy.com.tw
Henson 135 Changan W. Rd., Taipei (北市長安西路202號), tel: 2558-3075, 2559-2660.
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