Politics or just Halloween? Valley Junction shop owner says inflatable costume sales rising

Which came first: The inflatable costume craze or the political protest?

For about two weeks protesters in South Portland, Oregon, have donned inflatable costumes, dressing as cartoon characters like frogs, unicorns and SpongeBob SquarePants. They gather daily outside a heavily guarded U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement facility to show their opposition and poke fun at President Donald Trump's claim that the city is a "war zone."

Now, with anti-Trump "No Kings" protests planned in Des Moines and Ankeny on Saturday, Oct. 18, will central Iowa see a copy-car run on the costumes?

A Valley Junction costume shop owner says inflatable costume have been increasing this October. But whether politics or the latest Halloween fad are driving sales is a chicken-or-egg conundrum.

Debbie Westphal Swander, owner of the Theatrical Shop at 145 Fifth St., said the popularity of inflatables has been rising for years, in part due to television shows like "Game of Thrones," which inspired a line of inflatable dragon costumes.

"If you took a look at a bar graph and looked at what has jumped up the most, that would be the biggest change," she said of inflatable Halloween costumes.

The Theatrical Shop sold out of its supply of inflatable costumes and ordered more this fall, she said. Politics are driving some sales of inflatables now, she said, but teenagers also love the bouncy, bright outfits.

"It is a big thing and it’s kind of a combination of the political and the fun. But I guess you can be political and also wear an inflatable," Westphal Swander said.

NBC News reported that the inflatable costumes began proliferating at the anti-ICE protests in South Portland after federal officers pepper sprayed the respiratory hole of an inflatable frog costume worn by protester Seth Todd on Oct. 4. Oregon news outlet Willamette Week reported on Oct. 14 that ever since, a crowd of people in inflatable frog, chicken, shark, unicorn and other character costumes have been thronging the ICE protests, dancing amid clouds of soap bubbles.

Robyn Adair, a manager at Portland costume shop Lippman Co. told Willamette Week that the protests are driving an increase in inflatable costume sales. An organization called Operation Inflation formed to give free inflatable costumes to ICE protesters.

"We hope to expand Operation Inflation to other cities in need very soon," the Operation Inflation website says.

The No Kings protests in central Iowa are scheduled for noon Saturday at the Iowa State Capitol and at 4 p.m. at Summerbrook Park in Ankeny. Nationwide 2,500 protests are scheduled on Saturday.

"Anything that happens in our society is going to have an impact, whether it’s printed T-shirts, any kind of ancillary things," Westphal Swander said. "There’s no question that it’s part of it. But the inflatables have become very popular way before the current time.”

What else is popular this Halloween?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 The Theatrical Shop’s revenues have been growing, she said. Science fiction costumes, period costumes from the 1800s and accessories like mock severed fingers, eyeballs and leg and arm props also are popular, she said.

“The thing that’s interesting about Halloween is you can do anything and you can be anybody,” Westphal Swander said. “In some of our seasons it’s a little bit more scripted. But Halloween you can go anywhere from a cute, little, itty-bitty rabbit to you can put on platform shoes and be a Wookiee.”

USA Today contributed to this article.

Philip Joens covers retail and real estate for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184 or [email protected].