Adult Plus-Size Halloween Costumes: Picks for 2007

by Elegant Plus Magazine

 The air is getting cool and crisp. Leaves are beginning to turn gorgeous shades of red, yellow and orange.  And a delightful shushing sound wafts through the air as school children shuffle their way home.  All this must mean fall has arrived…… and Halloween is right around the corner!

Dressing up in costumes used to be the sole delight of kids as they rang door bells and yelled “Trick or Treat!”.   Then Halloween parties became more common, as the specter of candy safety darkened the holiday and parents looked for alternatives for the traditions.  Today, adults love to dress-up and participate in parties as much as the kids and the adult costume industry is booming.  Yet plus-size adult and husky kid costumes are still relatively difficult to find.  Here are some of our favorites for 2007.

  1.  Hairspray Costumes

Hairspray was one of the best feel-good movies of 2007. What’s best for curvy chicks is that it was well-loved in the mainstream and provided several  plus-size characters from which to choose.  Whether you want to go the route of glittery tackiness of Queen Latifah’s Motormouth Mabel, the full-figured, matronly Edna, or the awkward sixties teen fat girl Tracy Turnblad you can.  Either raid your own closet or local thrift store to find just the right combination of Hairspray tackiness and pick up a character wig, or buy a slick ensemble from professional costume suppliers. Both are available this year, including Hairspray costumes in plus-sizes.

  2. Ugly Betty

What’s not to love about America Ferrera’s Ugly Betty?  Create your own Ugly Betty style this Halloween.  The keys are to darken up the brows, add a pair of heavy glasses and choose a dark wig with bangs .  Then go to work customizing your own Betty wardrobe look.  Be creative……. but don’t get too chic! 

Need some style pointers on how to create Bettified style?  Watch the video clip from the experts behind styling Ugly Betty character at ABC.

 3. Disney Costumes

Annually one of the favorite costume categories for Halloween is Disney costumes.  Personally we like the style of the evil, Cruella deVille from 101 Dalmations, but you might want to go for a sweeter character like Snow White or Tinkerbell.  It wasn’t so long ago that such character costumes were completely unavailable in plus-sizes.  This year Disney seems to have woken up to the market demand. (Some other movie studios could take note - where were the plus-size Lord of the Ring costumes when they were in such hot demand? I know more than a few of us full-figured gals lusted after Arwen’s gorgeous flowing gown, cape, tresses and pendent.  And it only seems fair that a character played by plus-model Mia Tyler’s sister Liv would have provided them….. but I digress.  The subject today is Disney.)

You can shop for plus-size Disney character costumes directly from Disney itself up to size 2XL or rummage through the offerings at Halloween super-stores like Buy Costumes (which also carries a selection of Husky kid costumes).  We’ve even spotted a few in larger sizes at places like Target and Walmart too.

  4. Pirate Costumes

Ahoy matey!  The pirate costume craze sparked by the movies Pirates of the Caribbean  is still in full swing this Halloween season.  Not just specific character costumes like Captian Jack Sparrow and the winsome Elizabeth Swann (see Disney shop above), but swashbuckling  pirate lassies and blood thirsty pirate deck hands too.  Styles run the gamut from voluptuously proportioned wenches to more demure full-figured costumes with long flowing skirts and blouses.  The only real requirements seem to be a pirate bandana and maybe an eye patch and sword.

You can of course go for a commercial quality costume, our sexier favorites come from teen and twenty-something plus-size retailer Torrid, but making your own is more fun.   The basics are simply bohemian favorites that have been readily available in trendy stores the last few years that you probably already have in you closet.  A variety of corset tops in plus-sizes are available at Torrid mentioned above and places like Fredricks of Hollywood if you want to go the vampier route.

 5. Fair Maidens

…. or should that be Faire Maidens?   Who doesn’t love dreaming of Courtly Love and dressing up on gorgeous medieval or renaissance gowns?  An off-shoot of the Renaissance Faire scene which has long been a favorite of  full-figured damsels, these costumes can be quite costly and elaborate.   Die-hards try to be as historically accurate as possible, but some of us mere mortals will settle for either an approximation of the right look or simpiler costumes like the classic Gypsy Girl.   Whether you want to be a regal queen, a maiden from the Arthurian legends, or a simple tavern wench this is one of the easiest categories to find plus-size options.

Elaborate, historically accurate costumes are available from Buy Costumes.  Gothic dresses can be purchased from a small plus and super-size specialty retailer called Sanctuarie in sizes up to a generous 9X, while trendy teen retailer alight has Calito prom dresses in the right style in sizes up to 34W which can be used as the basis for your costume.  

6. Vampy Vixens

You knew we couldn’t leave this one off the list.  For many adults and teens, Halloween is the one time you can dress as trashily as possible outside the bedroom and no one will say anything.  For some in the size-acceptance movement who are interested in body issues,  this is an opportunity not to be missed.  It’s a chance to scream to the world that girls with curves are GORGEOUS and SEXY and BEAUTIFUL, just like their skinnier counterparts.  So if this is your cup of tea, vamp it up.   

Play it coy with a flirty Marilyn Monroe or Betty Boop in a voluptuous halter dress plus come hither heels and fantasy wig.  Choose the classics like French Maid, sexy nurse, mysterious harem girl, or Playboy bunny from your favorite plus-size lingerie stores. 

Retailers are also getting more inventive in this category (it’s clearly a hot market) with sexy twists on everything from fairytale characters like Bo Peep and Little Red Riding Hood to Goth Fairies and Bar Maids.   Racier options cross into the territory of the dominatrix, Mile High Club, and other fantasy costuming usually reserved for more private venues.   If you wear larger than a 4X which is where ready-made costumes in this category tend to stop, there is still just barely enough time to order a custom costume in sizes up to 12X.

School Girl Jumper   Be sexy, sassy and very naughty in this plus size sexy school girl uniform. Be sure to add a pair of red or white panties underneath in case the teacher bends you over his knee!	French Maid Set     Breakfast (or lunch or dinner) in bed has a whole new meaning when you serve the orange juice and croissants wearing this sexy plus size French maid fantasy lingerie outfit and high heel marabou pumps. This fun plus size French maid set includes an underwire teddy with adjustable straps, flirty apron, gloves, lace hair band, and neckband.	Alice in Wonderland     Show off your shapely storybook curves without revealing the happy ending (until you’re good and ready). This powder blue stretch velvet costume says Alice in Wonderland all over, but he’ll know it’s going to take more than his Cheshire Cat grin to get into your good graces.	Sexy Pirate     Four piece Sexy Pirate adult costume includes stretch velvet and Spandex dress with lace-up front, feather trimmed hat, eye patch and sword.	Sailor Girl     Ahoy Mate! You may just send a few guys overboard when they see you in this strapless, stretch white twill and gold lurex spandex dress that salutes your shape so appealingly.

Share Your Creative Costume Ideas

The best costumes that I remember from growing up weren’t the ones everyone else had.  Nor were they the one’s you could go down to your local store and buy.   They were the result of a little creativity, a lot of glue, cardboard and sewing, and a magic box of make-up.  

I still have a gorgeous bronze and gold sequin mask embellished with a long black feather that I made for a costume party one year.  It was a fairly formal affair.  I dug out of my closet a beautiful, long floral silk tunic in black and orange I’d had for years and had purchased from the wonderful J. Peterman catalog.  It was long and sweeping and split down the front to reveal the black silk palazzo pants that went with it.   I always got lots of compliments whenever I wore it.  I then went down to my local sewing store,  found felt, sequins, beaded appliques usually used on formal gowns, that wonderful curling black plume, and some black velvet ribbons.  What emerged from the flurry of cutting, hot glue and creative inspiration was a mask somewhat reminiscent of those from Venice or New Orleans.  The whole ensemble made me feel beautiful and mysterious as a glamorous rendition of the very spirit of Halloween.  Alas, the tunic was well loved and it’s been long gone and worn out after constant wear, but I still have that fabulous mask.

What was your most successful Halloween costume? Do you have creative ideas for this year?  Share!

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