Doug Kim, 16, looked bewildered as his host family suggested Halloween costume ideas.

How about a costume called "Big Daddy," complete with a bright purple leisure suit and gold bling? That would be funny, they said.

Kim, an exchange student from South Korea, instead settled on a stylish Afro wig and groovy purple glasses. His host mother, Tanya Barthel of Swanville, thought it was perfect.

"Doug is so funny," she said. "I love that kid. He has never done anything like this."

As Halloween creeps closer, costume shops expect to see plenty of witch and pirate outfits fly out the door. The National Retail Federation recently released its list of hot Halloween costumes for this year. The top 20 include cats, monsters, nurses and vampires.

As soon as the mall opened Friday, people poured into the Halloween Bootique at Crossroads Center in St. Cloud.

"It's going to be like that until Halloween," sales associate Christina O'Keefe said. "Nights are crazy."

Barthel's three other children picked out their costumes while shopping at the store. Paige Barthel, 14, will go as a superstar. Tyler Barthel, 13, settled on that Big Daddy outfit and Bryce Barthel, 4, proudly showed off his Batman outfit (No. 15 on the children's costumes list).

"I used to be an Army guy," Bryce Barthel said. "It doesn't fit anymore."

Everyone seems to want to be pirates. The Bootique already has run out of pirate costumes a couple of times this season.

Pirates ranked second on the national lists for children and adults.

Other hot costumes include Little Miss outfits — adult takes on the characters such as Little Miss Muffet. Men like "the scary stuff" and the "pimp" costumes, O'Keefe said.

Lynda Mustonen of Little Falls helped her 17-year-old daughter, Erin, pick out her costume at the Bootique. Erin Mustonen needed a costume for a trip to a Minnesota Wild game next weekend.

"At first I wanted to be a princess (No. 1 on the children's list and 16 for the adults), but they only sell them in little girls," Erin Mustonen said. "So now I'm thinking a witch (No. 3 for children and No. 1 for adults) or a geisha."

Anything sexy is in for women at Invincible Costume & Theatrical in St. Cloud. Cops, Playboy bunnies and fairy tale creatures are hot, as long as the outfits show some skin, owner Michael Anderson said.

Flappers continue to be a staple costume for women, Anderson said.

"It's a total package," he said. "It's comfortable. You get to wear a feather boa and fishnet tights. It's all about the makeup."

Guys like anything that requires carrying a weapon, or big furry animals, Anderson said.

"They don't want to be a Cat in the Hat or Raggedy Andy," he said.

Or you could be a doctor from the television show "Grey's Anatomy," a fairy (No. 12 on the children's list and No. six for adults) or a cowboy (No. 20 on the adult list) . That's the plan for Scott Schlecht's children, Avalon, 10, Faith, 7, and Eli, 3. Schlecht's mother sews the children's costumes every year.

Eli Schlecht is especially enthusiastic, his dad said.

"He's pretty excited to be a cowboy," Schlecht of Sartell said. "He wore a cowboy hat and cowboy boots all night last night."