The Spirit Halloween Takeover Has Officially Begun

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There are roughly five full weeks until Halloween, which means that the fleet of Spirit Halloween costume shops are beginning to arrive. The official count is thirty stores in the greater NYC area, including the Sixth Avenue flagship, with five extra shops opening in Brooklyn.

So far, the top sellers in the women's category are all over the place: there's a Hunger Games District 12 training shirt, a Day of the Dead costume, Wonder Woman, a tween Mad Hatter, and two Adventure Time outfits. If you're interested in buying one of the few looks that doesn't push the innerwear-as-outerwear envelope, there's a full body Storm Trooper option that's new for 2013, as well as a presumably unisex Breaking Bad-inspired Hazmat suit.

This year, the company's charity—Spirit for Children—aims to raise $5 million to "make hospitals less scary for kids and their families." So far, they've raised over $16 million since 2006. Local hospitals that will benefit from the donations include Children of Bellevue at Bellevue Hospital, Maimonides Infants & Children' Hospital of Brooklyn, the St. Mary's System for Children in Bayside, Queens, and more.
· This Year's Top Costumes: Hunger Games, Gangnam Style [Racked NY]
· Seven Halloween Costume Shops Beyond Ricky's and Spirit [Racked NY]
· Screaming Mimi's Halloween Guru on Teaming up with Target [Racked NY]