Halco-- the forgotten Halloween Costume Maker

[ilikemonsters]

Well since you already own it, what does it matter how much it's "worth"? You don't need to rebuy it again.

What the F' hep maybe they got a great deal on it and wonder it's value, maybe they want to use it for a trade, , maybe they want to sell it one day. why do you care?
Hey new member caseyam  welcome to the board, sounds like you made a cool  acquisition send a pic it would be cool to see.
eric

[Hepcat]

Did you see this thread?

http://www.universalmonsterarmy.com/forum/index.php?topic=21817.msg351989;topicseen#msg351989

When the very first words that come out of someone's mouth are "What is this worth?", well yes, I do suspect that they're not enthusiasts but simply sellers.

A new member who is actually a monster enthusiast/fan will be overwhelmed by the info content on this board, and will have all kinds of questions and observations all over the forum. And we'll soon see if that's indeed the case with caseyam.

[mjaycox]

Why then is Halco no longer as famous as the others? What happened?

No idea ... My guess is because they weren't really making costumes in the 70s and 80s and Ben Cooper and Collegeville were.

Their costumes were made out of synthetic fabrics that whithered and broke down. As opposed to Ben Cooper who in addition to making fragile rayon costumes, also made vinyl as well.

But I don't really know.

[Hepcat]

I 've heard very little about Halco. It would be interesting to get a listing of all the costumes they produced. They did a Green Lantern costume around '66, but I'm not aware if there were any other super-heroes.

They also did the Phantom and Dick Tracy and ManDrake the Magician.

...and they did Beatniks, and the Kennedeys. They did licensed Universal Monsters, as well.

Some other Halco costumes were:

Li'l Abner
Daisy Mae
Wolf Girl
Mammy and Pappy Yokum
Jiggs(Bringing up Father)
Fritz and Hans(Captain and the Kids)
Mister Magoo
Little Iodine
Little Lulu (Kusan)
Winky Dink
Alvin the Chipmunk
Felix the Cat
Mighty Mouse
Droopy the Dog
Linus the Lion
Humble Tiger(Esso)
Charlie Chan

[Hepcat]

My guess is because they weren't really making costumes in the 70s and 80s and Ben Cooper and Collegeville were.

Judging by the characters they licenced, Halco was still a major player in the fifties but by the sixties had been far superceded by the likes of Ben Cooper and Collegeville.

[jimm]

Man, these are great!

[raycastile]

No idea ... My guess is because they weren't really making costumes in the 70s and 80s and Ben Cooper and Collegeville were.

Their costumes were made out of synthetic fabrics that whithered and broke down. As opposed to Ben Cooper who in addition to making fragile rayon costumes, also made vinyl as well.

But I don't really know.

I think the era has a lot to do with it. Ben Cooper and Collegeville were the dominant costume manufacturers during the Monster Kid era, and those are the people buying most of the Halloween costumes today. The "serious" Halloween collectors who buy the older stuff tend to turn their noses at boxed costumes (and blow molds). Halco's heyday predates the era that fuels today's nostalgia-inspired monster collectors, and the people who collect Halloween products from Halco's heyday don't like boxed costumes.

But I think there is a bigger reason Halco is not as popular with collectors today:  the costumes are virtually unavailable. If there were hundreds of Halco costumes on eBay every week, people would be collecting them and talking about them. But the more desirable ones, like the ones in this thread, rarely pop up on eBay. Some collectibles are too rare for their own good. Without product, there is no market.

[HARRY HAMMOCK]

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/417134_10151157150955665_2017100535_n.jpg  Have no idea the maker of this costume and where the mask is.It was  my first Halloween costume I found in the attic.It will fall apart if handled to much,but Iam keeping it.

[Hepcat]

What year might the costume be from? Do you think you would recognize the mask if you saw one?

[charp13]

HH- What a great costume! I don't have any of my old costumes, but I swear I can recall where they were bought and the method I used to select them    It was serious business back in the 70s! I saw this thread and I spent 2-3 hours last night looking at Halco costumes on the internet! I just about spazzed out when I saw the Halco Gypsy costume- it was one of my favorites! I also remember the bags they came in and the masks that you HAD to check, while you were still in the store, to make sure the nose wasn't smashed in. Great costumes - especially if a store bought costume was a real treat!

[HARRY HAMMOCK]

What year might the costume be from? Do you think you would recognize the mask if you saw one?

It has to be from the 60's and I would not know the mask if I saw it.

[Hepcat]

I don't have any of my old costumes, but I swear I can recall where they were bought and the method I used to select them    It was serious business back in the 70s! I saw this thread and I spent 2-3 hours last night looking at Halco costumes on the internet! I just about spazzed out when I saw the Halco Gypsy costume- it was one of my favorites! I also remember the bags they came in....

Can you post a list of the costumes you had? Are there any you have not seen since?

[freddie poe]

speaking of Halco...just picked me up a halco LADY DRACULA costume....

[Hepcat]

Have no idea the maker of this costume and where the mask is.

It's this Ben Cooper one:

[darkmonkeygod]

speaking of Halco...just picked me up a halco LADY DRACULA costume....

I don't think I've ever seen that one... may we, pretty please?