RETAIL ROUNDUP:

COSTA MESA — As he stocks Halloween garb in his shop on Newport Boulevard, Bob Fitzgerald keeps his eye on the box-office returns.

The co-owner of Costume Connection, a rental and retail shop that opened 15 years ago, Fitzgerald has a number of outfits this year that coincide with major Hollywood releases. There’s the pirate apparel, of course, which has sold at a steady clip since the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie opened in 2003. With Russell Crowe and Christian Bale starring in “3:10 to Yuma,” the store is counting on Western costumes making a comeback.

And with the sequel “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” set for wide release this fall, Fitzgerald has racks full of 16th-century English dress for men and women.

“Movies dictate what’s coming up this year, absolutely,” said Fitzgerald, who runs Costume Connection along with his wife, Julie. “If the movies get hot, the costumes get hot.”

Rental outfits at Costume Connection, at 1822 Newport Blvd., range from around $45 to $150 — and they’re eclectic, with everything from 1920s flapper dresses to gangster zoot suits to Beatles “Sgt. Pepper” jackets. Well, that “Across the Universe” movie may lure in a few buyers too.

 Costume shops spring up; Pirates still popular

Halloween season begins around the start of September in Newport-Mesa, with a number of small businesses moving to town and setting up shop in vacant buildings. Other dealers, including Costume Connection, stay open all year-round, but Halloween provides their biggest sales.

Even apart from Costume Connection, Newport Boulevard is the place to go for Halloween shopping in Newport-Mesa. Also lining the thoroughfare are the Halloween Express in Triangle Square, Halloween Costumes, the Spirit Halloween Store and the Wicked Chamber.

Sherri Andersen, owner of the Halloween Express, has operated out of Triangle Square for three years; before, she had taken her seasonal business to Brea, San Diego and other locations. Her store remains open through September and October every year with costumes priced between $10 and $60 — except for the collector’s edition Batman and Darth Vader full-body outfits, which go for $800.

Pirates are a big part of Andersen’s business too, in part because of the holiday and in part because of the annual “Buccaneer Days” festivity in October on Catalina Island.

“It’s cute,” Andersen said about pirate style. “You can have babies dressed up in it or adults. You can be sexy or conservative. There’s something there for everybody.”

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at [email protected].