You might be wondering how it got to be the middle of October and I haven't posted about Halloween costumes yet. The truth is, every year I go stomping all over the internet searching for good websites that offer plus size costumes and every year, I'm underwhelmed.
This post from Manolo for the Big Girl pretty much sums up my feelings about the cheap n' slutty Halloween costumes you'll find via most mass costume retailers. I'm ok with sexy. I embrace sexy! I also embrace creativity and sticking kitty ears on your head and slipping into a skirt cut so short I can see your other kitty doesn't say "creative" to me.
If you're invited to a Halloween party at the last minute and decide to go with an easy "Naughty Whatever" costume, just be aware that you will not be the only Naughty Whatever at that party and chances are, you'll spend the whole night telling people what the heck you're supposed to be. A costume that requires more than three or four words of explanation isn't a costume so much as an outfit with confusing accessories.
I think we can all agree that costumes that have a little thought put into them are way better than most costumes you can buy from a store. That's not to say that there aren't ANY great store bought costumes out there, there certainly are. But they're not usually found at a drugstore.
I can't say I have any real costume suggestions. I'm not creative in that particular area, I guess. I was really thinking about putting together a Beth Ditto costume but I'm not sure she's that famous yet and I'm not shaving off my eyebrows. Foiled again.
I can tell you that most stores do carry mostly the same costumes. Usually, a packaged costume is more expensive and lower quality than something you could either rent from a costume shop or put together yourself.
All that aside, I do have a website I'm willing to recommend. BuyCostumes.com
has a really nice selection of plus size costumes and while many of
them are of the "slut in a bag" variety, a lot of them are really neat. Here are some I like...
Alice in Wonderland One size, 18 - 22, $40. This is a costume exclusive to Buy Costumes. I happen to like fairy tale costumes, especially when they're sweet and a teensy bit sexy, rather than, y'know, downright ho-worthy. This Snow White
costume is quite charming, too. Don't forget the red apple.
Ok, so this Elizabethan Queen costume isn't exactly historically accurate but it's pretty! It's one size, 16 - 24, $60. I sort of just like Elizabethan stuff.
Everybody loves a pirate wench! There are about 80 billion pirate costumes out there. I like this one because it's cute and flirty without being tacky (yes, I said tacky) and looks like it's good quality. It's $110 so I'd consider it to be an investment item, something you'd wear to various parties for a few years.
So, as you can see, there is hope for those searching for nice plus size costumes. BuyCostumes has shipping deals so you can get your costume in time for Halloween.
You'll notice that I didn't pick any scary costumes. This is because I'm a wuss and I prefer pretty over creepy. Happy Halloween! Feel free to send me some of your candy.
I agree store bought costumes are cheaply made but at least they've graduated to making them out of polyester and poly blends. Growing up, back in the late 70's & early 80's I remember halloween costumes were made out of plastic. Cheap, thin, plastic that usually didn't last through the night without the seams ripping out. I remember in 1982 I was Snoopy. It came in a spooky halloween decorated box with a clear film over it to show the contents of one cheaply made plastic Snoopy costume, along with a cheaply made, brittle plastic Snoopy mask. I had it on maybe 20 minutes before the seat ripped. Thank God for duct tape! Anyway...I reccomend going to a costume shop and renting. They usually have a better selection and size range, then your run of the mill discount store.
Posted by: joan | October 18, 2007 at 11:55 AM
I really don't like Halloween as an adult. I think it's strange that adults get dressed up and even stranger that we'd have Halloween parties. Halloween is for kids, in my opinion. Anyway, I'm stuck going to a Halloween party this year, being thrown by a couple that are friends with my boyfriend. So, what the heck do I do for a costume? After a lot of research into the options (and sorry, there's no way in hell I'm stepping out of the house with a skirt 4-5" above my knee), I think we're going to skip the traditional costume idea. My boyfriend and I are going to go as an email message and an attachment, he'll wear a cardboard cut-out of an envelope and I'll wear a cardboard cut-out of a paperclip. Boring, yes. BUT I get to wear normal clothes and be comfortable all night, rather than pulling and tugging on a too-short, too-tight costume.
Posted by: Carrie | October 18, 2007 at 12:06 PM
I've been amusing myself the past few weeks looking at ads for women's Halloween costumes with my boyfriend. The conversation goes a little something like this...
Me: Look! I could be a slutty pirate!
Boyfriend: Hmmm...I think everyone is going to be a slutty pirate this year. How about a slutty nurse?
Me: Meh. Slutty nurses are so DONE.
Boyfriend: How about a slutty cat? Or a slutty fairy tale princess? Slutty Alice?
Me: Nah. Oooo!! How about a slutty martini?!
*headdesk*
Posted by: Ducky | October 18, 2007 at 01:07 PM
Halloween rocks! I've bought some really cute costumes from The Disney Store online. Their sizes are very generous.
I've been The Queen of Hearts(from Disney), a gothic babydoll(cute bag costume) with awesome makeup I did myself, a lush renaissance queen (thank you ebay), a school girl (cliche but fun and you get LOTS of attention), etc. Halloween is the one night of the year you can embrace your inner child and be anything you want. This year I chose Dorothy. A classic, but adorable costume. Yes, with adorable ruby slippers. :)
Posted by: Angel | October 18, 2007 at 08:52 PM
'...slipping into a skirt cut so short I can see your other kitty doesn't say "creative" to me.'
BWA! That absolutely *killed* me. SO true.
To some point, I'm with Carrie - for the most part, I just don't really get into Halloween anymore - but it can be fabulous to have an excuse for dressing up. And while I'm personally all about putting on a tiara with one of my fanciest dresses, it would be nice to not have to mine the depths of pirate-nurse-witch to find an actual *costume* that I'm willing to wear in public.
Posted by: Plum Texan | October 18, 2007 at 09:06 PM
You might enjoy this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AtCmpSW7TY
Posted by: Julia | October 19, 2007 at 06:07 AM