Taking Back Halloween

You’ve already done the preliminary Halloween costume scouting mission. Your store-bought options are limited to: sexy cat, sexy politician, sexy fast food worker, and the dreaded solution to frat-fulfilling fantasies, sexy cop. Such ensembles are cool — if you work as entertainment at bachelor parties. You don’t. Darlin’, you’ve got to check out Trash to Treasure (1090 NW 53 St., Fort Lauderdale).

Fort Lauderdale’s secret gem is where discarded items go to find reincarnation into unique, interesting costumes. Fabric, baskets, egg cartons, wire, hardware, and scraps galore are organized into well-kept stations for your perusal. Build that bitchin’ robot-turned-evil outfit you’ve been meaning to fashion, while keeping our landfills light. Be a tap-dancing cupcake, a disenchanted Pluto demanding your planetary recognition be reinstated, or even a Mole Man; you can do it all on the cheap. Trash for Treasure charges a mere $5.25 per pound for its glorious, found finds.

If creative undertakings make you feel squeamish, don’t fret. TfT has a staff of artsy folk on hand who love brainstorming, and they’ll guide you towards a project that’s in your comfort zone. (As long as it’s not “Sexy Sarah Palin.” Nobody wants that.) Check out this cool alternative to the banal every Friday from 2 to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., throughout October. Call 954-623-0603, or visit trash2treasurefl.org.
Fridays, 2 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m., 2008