Mona, I can’t see what’s “degrading” about the sale of those costumes. Hallowe’en comes but once a year (thank heavens), and it’s meant to be silly, and it’s meant to be fun. That’s what a carnival is about….
In any event if we look at what the National Retail Federation is saying about adult consumers’ buying intentions for this year’s Hallowe’en (source: Wikipedia) the top ten list all looks very respectable: Witch, pirate, vampire, cat, clown, fairy, gypsy, superhero, ghost/ghoul. Nothing to worry about there except, perhaps, shudder, the clowns…