Need A Costume For Halloween? {A Review + Shopping Tips}

Costume shopping can be SO frustrating!  Crowded stores, high prices, too much to choose from in too little time- I have always had the worst luck with costume shopping.  Initially I was hesitant to find a costume online, worried that I’d get the wrong size or it wouldn’t arrive in time.  I then remembered my previous shopping experiences with crowded stores, high markups, and I remembered the fact that in store you can’t try on costumes either- you get to look at a bag that you can’t open and hope it fits. 

In comparing my experience between in-store shopping and online, I’ll never go back. Online is the way to go!  Here are my tips on how to pick a costume and size effectively when shopping online:

Timing:

Ideally, you’ll want to give yourself two weeks for the costume to arrive from the date you place your order.  This Hello Kitty Costume was sent to me by Wholesale Halloween Costumes and I received it VERY fast.  Their service was great, but even with great service if you cut it too close, you’re competing with hundreds of other orders and a busy Post Office, so order early!

Sizing:

If you don’t have a measuring tape on hand- GET ONE. You can pick one up super cheap in a craft section or the misc. aisle of a drug store.  You want to have accurate measurements of your bust, waist and height.  If you improperly size yourself, you’re SOL for most shops.  If you properly measured yourself and the retailer had misleading size chart (which they sometimes do) you will have a bargaining chip to getting better customer service if your costume doesn’t fit- but trust me, they have no patience this time of year for people who don’t take a quick minute to properly measure themselves!

Also note:  Unless a costume shop says “sizes run large” always be generous in your sizing!  Costumes don’t fit like normal clothes (read: cheap nylon, stretchy polyester and other chub-accentuating unflattering fabrics!) so you want room to fill up on candy and not worry about busting out of your ensemble!

Undergarments:

This Hello Kitty Outfit took some preparation on my part.  I had to try on FOUR different bras to finally find one that didn’t make the eyes of the kitty look even weirder.   I also discovered that the tutu didn’t even come close to covering my tush {like at all, it was skanky!}  Luckily I was prepared with some black leggings to go underneath.   You may need a bra with padding to accentuate your chest (even if you’re busty) or in my case, a bra that wouldn’t show straps and would flatten my chest so poor Hello Kitty didn’t look like her eyes were deformed.  (Ya, not sexy).

Flatter Your Figure:

Going along my previous point, while it’s hard to gauge costumes from the packaging- do your best to figure out what looks best on your figure.  Where do lines fall? Will panels of fabric accentuate a curvy girl in all the wrong places?  Do you really want to wear a flimsy piece of fabric if the weather’s cold?  How much cleavage do you *really* want to show?  It’s unfair that they put such gorgeous (read: unrealistically proportional) babes on the covers of costume packages, but that’s life.

Do you best to identify trouble spots in the costume.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been utterly disappointed when a costume totally clung to my midsection in a way that made me feel pudgy instead of playful- some costumes are just not cut for real women in real sizes!  Some costumes are great for size 0, 5’5″ women- but for the rest of us, be sure to take your features into consideration and be sure your costume makes you feel sexy, playful or wicked- whatever look you’re going for and don’t feel bad for not being a stupid “model size!”

So What Did I Think of the Hello Kitty Costume?

I love being nerdy, with a smidge of sexy {or maybe it’s too nerdy to be sexy? DON’T CARE!…what, tutus aren’t sexy?!}.

This costume was perfect for that- only problem was, I had no way of understanding what it would look like ON!  As mentioned, I had to try four different bras on to find something that didn’t show like crazy and worked with my chest size (I had to go with a sports bra without any padding whatsoever, otherwise, it looked AWFUL).  I also wasn’t too happy with how short the tutu was.  I’m a leggy girl at 5’8″, but I was surprised at how short the tutu was!  I measured myself perfectly, and while the costume width was fine, the tutu was way too short, and the pink waist sash was a bit small- but it’s not a deal breaker if you wear something to cover your butt (literally).

Another thing I was sort of peeved about was the ears-  in the picture the ears were clearly rounded, just like Hello Kitty’s.  I get the ears in the package and they’re POINTY.  {UH, what?}  For me, the details are what makes a costume, and I have no idea why they advertised such a cute headband with ears but included something that CLEARLY was not resembling Hello Kitty’s dainty little ears.  Grr!  Of course, I don’t think this is a reflection on the costume shop, but the manufacturer- so thanks for nothing RUBIES COSTUME COMPANY.  Ha.

Do you know what you want to be for Halloween this year?  …and did my Hello Kitty costume make you LOL as much as it did me?  I’m such a nerd!

*I received this product for review but was not compensated in any way for this post.  All opinions are my own!