Skeletons in the Closet Got Your Halloween Costume?

With the Halloween around, skull and skeleton-themed outfits are extremely popular among young people. (Photo: Shanghai Daily)

BEIJING, Oct. 31 -- No need for toil, trouble and eye of newt. You can look quite bewitching, drop-dead gorgeous, if you check out the skeletons already in your closet, advises Michelle Zhang.

A grinning skull and crossbones, once a morbid emblem of the goth counterculture, pirates and paleontologists, have become today's "smiley face."

The symbol of death, danger, poison and toxic waste - a reminder that all vanity turns to dust - has moved from the shades of questionable taste to the glittery fashion mainstream.

Skulls with gaping eye sockets and grim smile can be found on virtually anything nowadays - dresses, jackets, T-shirts, jewelry, handbags, scarves and so on.

While older generations might have a few reservations about decking themselves out in death's heads and regard it bad luck, young people in China dismiss that old-fashioned message. "It's so cool" is young people's response, if they ponder it at all.

"I've seen many Hollywood celebrities wearing skull scarves in the magazines or on the Internet," says shop owner "luxuryskymall" on Taobao.com, China's most popular online shopping site. "They all look super cool."

Her shop sells skull scarves of various colors and styles, priced between 48 yuan (US$7) and 220 yuan. The bestseller, a simple black-and-white skull scarf made of silk, priced at 99 yuan ?? more than 1,000 have been sold in three months.

According to "luxuryskymall," as Halloween is around, it's normal to sell 50 to 60 scarves in one day. "Anything with skull prints is popular these days," she says. "T-shirts, jeans, bags and shoes with skull and crossbones sell quickly on Taobao."

Liu Xiao, a 30-year-old Shanghai lady, bought a skull-bedecked hoodie last year in a boutique. "I like it very much," she says. "The cute, crystal-paved skull print on the back makes the otherwise basic streetwear style very chic and unique."

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