Oct
24
Halloween is almost here and Julia still doesn’t have a costume. Lucy and Phoebe are sorted as they are still small enough to fit in infant and toddler sizes which offer plenty of adorable options designed for comfort and warmth. But Julia is neither an infant nor a toddler. Julia is now a girl. And sizes jump from 5T to SluT as far as costumes go it seems.
I offered to make her a costume – any costume she could dream up! I mean, between my mom and me, we can make just about anything. (Remember the spider? Not too shabby, right?) I told her about the year I went as a T.V. I offered to make her a gumball machine costume! But something homemade is just plain embarrassing, apparently.
So, we hit the stores.
“I could be a cat,” Julia told me as we browsed the costume rack.
I agreed, “Sure, a cat would be good.”
(Note: The role of “me” is being played by Phoebe in this picture.)
I was thinking putty tat, like Sylvester.
She was thinking pussy cat, like the dolls. Or Michelle Pfieffer as Catwoman. With less clothing.
Okay, so the one she liked isn’t terrible, but 1) it’s about as much of a cat costume as my leopard print underpants are and 2) it covers about as much of her body. Is it even worth it to pay for something that we’re going to cover up with a heavy coat anyhow? It’s October in Ohio. Come on. She has an old pair of ears in her dress up closet and I have face paint in my make-up bag. She could wear one of her dance leotards or something. Do we need to buy it? No. So that’s what I said.
She said my ideas were lame.
Alas, we are at an impasse. And since my policy is “No Costume, No Candy,” it is possible that my seven year old may be sitting out on Trick or Treat this year. Is that crazy? Yes, it is. I’m sure we’ll figure something out by the big night. Still. What are your kids going as this Halloween? Where do you draw the line on costumes in terms of price and modesty? I’d love to know.
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I have boys so I don’t have the immodest issue to deal with, but I did spend $50 on ninja costumes this year. Yeah, that’s a lot of money for us right now. But I definitely would not spend money on a costume that didn’t cover all the necessary areas.
[...] Source: http://mymommysplace.com/blog/2011/10/24/all-dress-up-with-no-place-to-go-strike-that-reverse-it/ [...]
Alas this is why I’m glad I had a boy, and hope for more boys in the future. It’s so f’ed up that you really can’t find decent non slutty costumes for a 7 year old in the stores.
My mom made my costumes or I put something together almost every year. I don’t really remember buying an entire costume, ever.
I guess I’d make the rule that Halloween costumes ought to be mostly homemade other than accessories/makeup? Although I imagine that’s tough with 3 kids, although eventually the girls could all help each other make costumes.
no halloween stress (or joy) on this side of the world
We went with the Silver Witch costume this year for $30. Pretty much covered from head to toe so no issue with exposed body parts. $30 is a little high for a costume but each year she wears it to at least 3 functions and then the following year I take it to our local consignment shop to at least make a little back on what I spent.
The boys, as usual, were easy. It just depended on which character they liked best the day we went to the costume store (Optimus Prime and Mater) but my almost 7 year old girl wanted to be a witch. We finally found a costume that was appropriate, but I was ready to just buy a hat and broom and put her in her own clothes. What about a book character? Then maybe she could wear age-appropriate clothes? Or search Amazon for an age-appropriate cat costume?
Hi! Usually when you’re having trouble finding appropriate toys/costumes, etc. for kids in mass-market store, there are alternate items available from specialty manufacturers and retailers — often for good prices, too.
TDmonthly.com is a site for retailers, but good for consumers to research products, too. Here’s a link to costumes; checking the “VIDEO ONLY” button means that they’re products that we’ve vetted for being good quality and age-appropriate:
http://www.toydirectory.com/MONTHLY/comprehensive_products_search_results.asp?formType=advanced&age=0&category=28&price=0&gender=0&Submit2=Search&onlyvideos=1
[...] All dressed up with no place to go. Strike that, reverse it. [...]