Manchester's streets were alive with Halloween-inspired fashion as the Manchester Evening News spoke to five people about their outfits, from a 25-year-old actor preparing an Odysseus costume to a 69-year-old retired man in vintage 1930s-50s clothing.
Interviews took place near Piccadilly bus station, where mass bus diversions due to the flooded Portland Street had left the area unusually quiet. The first interviewee was 25-year-old Talyaan Pambou, who had been stopped before but now had a new outfit and a mysterious bow and arrow prop.
Punk-inspired looks and Halloween plans
"My outfits are normally very inspired by punk aesthetics, rock and roll, but also a little bit street and hip hop," Talyaan recapped. "So right now it's a red striped jumper from Asos, it's very much either Dennis the Menace or Freddy Krueger, pick your poison."
He added: "I got this trench coat from Boohoo as well, some basic Bershka boots, this little durag just to keep my hair neat, and some fingerless gloves with my vampire ring underneath - got to represent, especially around Halloween time. That's kind of the fit."
With the interview taking place a few days before Halloween, Talyaan was getting his 'budget-friendly' costume ready for a party. He told the MEN that he is going as Odysseus, hence the bow and arrow. "I've also got the grey beard, and a hoodie from his look towards the end," he explained. "I'm gonna cut this dress up to give it an ancient Greek aesthetic sort of vibe."
Vinted finds and vintage bargains
Next up was a colour co-ordinated mechanical engineer named Junior. The 22-year-old had also been shopping in time for Halloween, telling the MEN that he will be dressing up as Simon the Ice King from Adventure Time. Junior went on to explain the street look he was sporting in the meantime.
"I'm a Vinted warrior, as you can tell," he realised, when recapping the origin of his fleece, bag, and shoes. He noted the snakeskin boots as the biggest bargain in today's wardrobe, managing to find the 'usually very expensive' item at half the price. "Apart from that I've got a collection of rings that I've been getting over the years. This (windbreaker jacket) I got from UNIQLO, and then I have a pretty cool graphic t-shirt underneath I got in Germany," he said, revealing a graphic tee of a KitKat chocolate bar turning into a cat.
"Scarf was a gift, and trousers from Supermade online. I like my browns. And the tote bag I got from my friend, she works at Dishoom by Deansgate." Topping the many-layered outfit off with his frog-shaped Airpod case, found on retailers like Amazon and Etsy, Junior shouted out his 'stylish' brother as a big fashion inspiration.
"We dress similarly, he's more indie-style, while my favourite colour's brown, and I mix it up with some punk or emo. Sometimes you'll catch me wearing some big thick New Rocks or make-up, crazy hairstyles, like just a week ago I got my hair skunk-striped, but right now it's a bit of a mess, I need to re-dye it," he concluded.
From Hannah Montana to 1930s tailoring
25-year-old Keir Bennie just about had a spare minute to go through his look before dashing off to work. He laughed with embarrassment when asked about his upcoming costume plans, revealing that he'll be dressing up as Hannah Montana this year. "So this (leather jacket) is actually my girlfriend's, I'm in a habit of stealing her clothes all the time, so that's free technically," Keir began. "This (striped rugby top) was a gift, these trousers were from Urban Outfitters, about £50, and these are my Doc Martens, about £150."
Keir had a go-to reference when it came to his fashion choices: "Probably Blossoms, a good source of inspiration. Both the sound and how they dress," he concluded, before the MEN let him get to work.
After that, the MEN spoke to 27-year-old graphic designer Esme, the Fontaines D.C. record in her bag making her today's first candidate to be carrying something other than a Halloween prop. "This (Sophie scarf) handmade by myself, this is crochet," she began, colour co-ordinating with the tree leaves behind her. "This jacket is from Topshop but I got it on Vinted, I think it was £25. These (trousers) are from COS, I think they were about €60, I got them in Italy, Dr. Martens, I think £180, then I've just got a Topshop jumper underneath here which was about £30, and a WAWWA bag for, £50. I think that's kind of everything."
Esme listed Hollie Mercedes, Lizzy Hadfield, and Brittany Bathgate as individuals with 'amazing fashion' she admires. "The last two are kind of more simple stripped back, but I like Hollie's creative knitwear pieces," she elaborated. "Hollie Mercedes has a knitwear brand, which I don't own anything from yet, but one day I will!" "I just like textures, layers, and autumn."
Last but not least, 69-year-old Paul Crompton was in his own words "wandering around aimlessly," enjoying his retirement, when the MEN approached him for a Steal Their Style interview. Paul, with a very clear fashion ethos, surely delivered. "The jacket actually is a Mackinaw, and I got this about 15 years ago at a music weekender called Rhythm Riots in Rye, one of the vintage stores there," he began. "The hat, that's Borsalino, and this is from the 1960s. Jeans are Cathcart, so they're modern, nice 1930s-40s style, and the shirt is from the early 1950s. That's about it really."
Paul expressed a passion for clothing, specifically styles from the 1930s through to the 1950s. "The 1930s was the best decade for men's clothing, everything was made-to-order, you don't go out and buy things off the shelves like you do now. Beautiful tailored suits, the men looked immaculate," he said. "You ask if I'm bringing it back? Well, I do my best, most of those vintage clothes are in America and it costs an arm and a leg to import them now" he laughed.
Paul, who also sometimes runs a stall in Stockport markets called '20th Century Stores,' was also asked the Halloween question, which he answered with good humour while tying it back to the heart of the interview: "There was no such thing as Halloween when I was growing up, it's imported from America. The only good thing that comes from America is the clothes!"
