Have Halloween Costumes Become Too Sexy?

For every Darth Vader and princess in the costume aisle are two sexy nurse outfits — sometimes geared toward teens and tweens. Has it gone too far, or is it all in fun for one day a year?

Witches and ghosts,sexy pajamas , goblins and naughty Alice in Wonderlands wearing thigh-high stockings — it used to be that the fear of razor blades in apples was the greatest threat to the innocent fun of Halloween. Now, it appears that racy costumes have taken over.

A Patch site in Santa Cruz, CA perused a local party store and found that the children’s costume section had been shoved to the back in favor of R-rated fare throughout, in plain view. A reporter for U-T TV in San Diego wondered about the message sent by racy adult costumes in her report.

It could just be how California does things. But Patch columnist Heather Geyer posed a similar question a year ago here in Milwaukee.

Not everything has gone off the moral cliff, however. At the Party City store in Brown Deer on Green Bay Road, the main costume aisle started with toddlers at one end and ended with adults at the other. While the standard sexy nurse costumes were on display — signs only; the outfits are tucked away — it was not an aisle that would lead one to drag their 10-year-old through as fast as possible.

So have Halloween costumes gone completely from scary to skanky? Or is this just one time a year when tweens, teens and grownups can push a few boundaries in the name of fun and full-size Snickers bars? Vote in our poll then join the discussion in the comments. And tell us what your favorite all-time costume is, or what you'll be dressed as this year.

Read the story behind-the-story, how WGN Radio's Steve Betrand wound up co-emceeing a Halloween costume contest for pets in Highwood.

This was one of the many events held in the suburb's

What is your dog going to be for Halloween? A costume contest for pets is among the many events going on in Highwood The Great Highwood Pumpkin Fest 2012 (October 18-20). The contest for best costumes benefitted Placing Paws from Libertyville. Cindy Falstad of the rescue group was a contest judge.

Other judges included Marius Geykman, a Karen Pryor Academy trainer. I had no idea I was on stage with a KPA dog trainer who's presented at conferences with people I know quite well. Talk about being your dog expert. And he represented Sara McLoudrey's Root Dog Training (the only Victoria Stilwell certified trainer in the area).

Also, judging David Eisendrath of Camp Dogwood. This is actually what it sounds like - a camp to go with your dogs, where dogs can be dogs....It's a lot of fun. I know - we've done it many times.

Apparently, this event is also featured in  HGTV "Pumpkin Wars,"which airs October 31, 7 p.m. CDT. That is, in part, because of the 32,000 jack-o-lanterns on Pumpkin Walls lining the streets of Downtown Highwood,

The Great Highwood Pumpkin Fest - one highlight are the endless rows of Jack O' Lanterns. The intent, apparently, to break a Guinness book of World Records.

How to make quality special effects makeup for Halloween or any other costume event was the subject of a workshop on Saturday in downtown Parkersburg.

Arthur Collins, a Little Hocking native now living in Youngstown, was leading the workshop on making quality costumes on a shoestring budget at the Dils Center on Market Street.

Collins, 37, has been involved in many aspects of film, especially in his favorite genre, horror.