How Halloween costumes for Dayton kids have changed through the decades

Halloween costumes through the decades. DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARCHIVES

Halloween costumes through the decades. DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARCHIVES

When it comes to Halloween costumes for kids, they seems to boil down to two categories: The old classics or the new and trendy.

We looked back through the Dayton Daily News archives to see if we could figure out what was popular over time, based on the advertisements of the day.

Here is a look at what we found, based on decades.

» PHOTOS: Popular Halloween costumes for Dayton kids through the decades

1960s

Popular costumes of the 1960s included cowboys, astronauts, Cleopatra and Super Mouse.

An advertisement for Halloween costumes in the Dayton Daily News during the 1960s.
DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARCHIVES

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1970s

Strawberry Shortcake, Road Runner and the Six Million Dollar Man were worn by many in the 1970s. This is the decade when Star Wars, Spider-Man and Superman also hit the Halloween scene. All of those are still popular to this day.

An advertisement for Halloween costumes in the Dayton Daily News during the 1970s. DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARCHIVES

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1980s

I pity the fool who wasn’t wearing a Mr. T costume in the 1980s. Barbie joined the party as well. Other favorites included Wonder Woman, the Smurfs, Alf, Sesame Street characters and the Hulk.

An advertisement for Halloween costumes in the Dayton Daily News during the 1980s. DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARCHIVES

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1990s

There seemed to be many more choices for kids in the 1990s. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Catwoman, Genie (Aladdin), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Woody and Buzz (Toy Story), Ghost (Scream), Pikachu from Pokémon and even Pee Wee Herman costumes were on the market.

An advertisement for Halloween costumes in the Dayton Daily News during the 1990s. DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARCHIVES

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2000s

Harry Potter makes the scene during the 2000s and Halloween characters from that movie are not going away anytime soon. Other new addition this decade included Wolverine, Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean), SpongeBob SquarePants and Hanna Montana.

An advertisement for Halloween costumes in the Dayton Daily News during the 2000s. DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARCHIVES

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2010s

New princesses Anna and Elsa along with other characters from Frozen were hot during the 2010s. Joining the fray were Rapunzel (Tangled), Merida (Brave) and the Angry Birds. And don’t forget the Minions. So many Minions

Frozen characters were a popular Halloween costume choice during the 2010s. DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARCHIVES

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