Halloween goes Commercial
By the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, popular culture entered the costuming realm. Halloween costumes became big business, with companies like HalCo and A.S. Fishbach obtaining the licenses for popular characters of the time. Bannatyne says Popeye and Olive Oyle, Little Orphan Annie, and Mickey Mouse were particular favorites.
Another company, Ben Cooper, not only had a sense of what was popular, but what would become popular. They had the foresight to secure the license to develop a Snow White costume from an up-and-coming Walt Disney studio. HalCo, Fishbach, and Cooper had the foresight to understand that children not only wanted to watch their favorite heroes and villains, but to be them, if only for one evening.
