2011 October | A Mama's Blog

“Sexy” Halloween Costumes (Wonder Woman Doesn’t Wear Garters)

A few weeks ago, I started looking at websites and Googling ideas for Halloween costumes for a party. I’m not sure when it happened, but every single costume I clicked on is a “sexy” version of what I was thinking of. It doesn’t matter what the costume: vampire, pirate, angel, Wonder Woman, Raggedy Ann (yes, Raggedy Ann now has her own sexy costume.) Evidently, nothing is sacred anymore, and even a good old fashioned nun can be sexy costume.

As a girl, I loved Wonder Woman. Compare these two pictures. Wonder Woman as I remember her:

and a Wonder Woman costume available today:

I don’t recall Wonder Woman ever wearing a skirt, thigh highs, garters, and high heeled shoes on TV. Did I miss those episodes?

I’m all for looking fashionable, modern, and having fun. But unless I’m going to dress up (or down in this case) as a stripper for Halloween, I don’t want a costume that looks like I’m ready to do a pole dance. After I looked at so many of these costumes, I realized they are pretty much the same version. A skimpy top, a short skirt, knee high, thigh high, or fishnet stockings, garters for Wonder Woman, and high heel shoes.

Last year John and I were Pugsley and Wednesday Addams for Halloween. The Wednesday costume I ordered in my size, the skirt was so short, it didn’t even cover the essentials. I ended up getting another skirt that was just above my knees, but still matched the costume. The costume was still fun, I got a lot of compliments on it, but I didn’t look like I had just finished a shift at a strip club.

I did a quick random “Halloween Costume” Google search and BuyCostumes.com was the first site that came up. I went to their page and clicked on “Adult Costumes.” There are 1931 costumes for females listed under gender. The very first category they have listed is “Sexy.” Out of the 1931 female costumes, 966 of them are in the “sexy” category.

Do 50% of the female costumes really have to be sexy versions? What is wrong with an original version? Not every woman wants to dress up as a “sexy” superhero, fairy tale character, historical figure, vampire, nun, or any other costume you can think of. My boys have been asking what I’m going to be for Halloween. I couldn’t envision dressing up and having them see me in any of these “sexy” costumes. Yet, that is what is being sold.

If I could sew, I would start a business just making normal, fun, costumes, that are stylish and fashionable, but where other party guests wouldn’t feel like they needed to put dollar bills in part of the costume.

To be fair, on BuyCostumes.com there are 1581 male costumes total, and 104 of those are “sexy.” However, that is only 6.5%. Quite a difference. The policemen and sailor costumes for men had shorts and pants that were to the knees and covered everything. There was no Batman, or Superman wearing thigh highs, or fishnet stockings instead of tights.

The other thing I noticed about these costumes was how expensive they are for barely anything. Most of the costumes start at $25 and go up from there. BuyCostumes.com’s most expensive “sexy” costume was $259! If I wanted to wear my underwear to a Halloween party, I could do it a lot less than for hundreds of dollars.

I finally found a Halloween costume l think will be fun for the party. Finding it though, did not come easy. Every single costume sold by the costume on-line retailers and even Amazon in the category was “sexy” and not something I would ever feel comfortable wearing as it was, to a party- around people, or having my sons see me in. I want to keep the costume a surprise for the party for now, but I will write a follow up post, with the pictures of the “sexy” costumes, and what I actually ended up with.

In the meantime, if you are facing the same problem, just think outside the box a bit. Check eBay, or thrift shops for different ideas and versions. I ended up getting my costume on eBay, for a fraction of the cost of the retailer’s costumes and went with an original, vintage outfit, versus the “sexy” take on it.

You may need the patience and determination of a Superhero to make it work, but it’s worth it. My costume arrived in the mail a few days ago, and I’m really happy with it. I’m adding a few more accessories to it, and it is playful, fun, cute, and it actually covers everything it is supposed to. Best of all, I showed it to the boys the other night, they loved it, had some ideas on how to wear certain parts of it, and learned more about the time period the costume is from. Take that Wonder Woman in garters!

I’m curious to hear readers’ thoughts on this, and if others have experienced a problem trying to find a decent costume.

Have a Happy and safe Halloween!

Angry Birds vs. Imagination

Angry Birds- it’s the latest (addictive craze). I admit it- I love Angry Birds. When I finished the regular levels, I moved on to Angry Birds Seasons, and Angry Birds Rio.

At times, Ryan and Cole would see me playing and ask what I was doing. I showed them the game, and it and wasn’t too long after they were asking me if they could play Angry Birds. As a kid, the first real video game I played was Atari Pong. My brother and I would bounce that dot between the rectangles what seemed like for hours, and we had so much fun. Thinking back on it, I doubt kids today would even spend 10 minutes on Pong. Our society moves too fast now- there’s lights, colors, graphics, and noises everywhere- video games included. Simple video games like Pong, had their time, and it’s over.

That being said, I think Angry Birds can teach kids a little bit about physics and resolve. The boys didn’t want to stop until they had gotten all the pigs, and had gotten three stars on every level. They high fived and cheered when one of them achieved this, and they reminded me of my brother and I. Except they were crouched over a phone screen, instead of laying on the living room floor, looking at a TV set. Nevertheless, it was fun seeing them play a “video” game together.

It’s been several weeks since they have played Angry Birds. We are so busy at night with homework, and when homework is done, the boys have wanted to spend the last few precious minutes of daylight at the park, riding their bike, scooter, and playing with their friends.

A few days ago, we were hanging out on Sunday morning, and Cole asked me (make that begged) me if he could play Angry Birds. “Please Mommy, please- can I play Angry Birds?” I let Cole play, and within a few minutes Ryan had joined him, and they were working on the levels. I started doing some chores and before I knew it, 30 minutes had passed. I told the boys they had been playing the game long enough, and it was time to stop. They objected and asked if they could keep playing. I told them no, and they weren’t happy. They didn’t exactly throw a fit, but they went in their room and shut the door.

I assumed they were moping, and discussing what a mean mom they had. A few minutes later I heard a thump. Then another one, laughing, and a “Ryan, I know what will make this even better-dynamite!” Whenever you hear a phrase like that as a mother of boys, you go a running to check. It’s second nature by now. It’s like the mother drill: No questions asked, you just go- the sooner the better.

In their room, I assessed the situation. I saw Cole setting up their blocks around stuffed animals. Ryan was stringing a rubber band across his dresser knobs, about 3 feet away from the animals and blocks, and he was holding a pencil. I have seen a lot of funny, odd, weird, etc., things my boys have done, but I had no idea what they were up to.

“Look Mom, since you won’t let us play Angry Birds anymore, we made our own real life Angry Birds.” Ryan told me, as he lined up his pencil, through the rubber band. “This is the slingshot.”

“These are blocks and pigs, but this game is really called Angry Stuffed Animals.” Cole informed me.

Thump! Ryan let the pencil go, it hit the top of his bed frame, which was the backdrop. It landed on the block, and it grazed an “angry” pink dinosaur.

The boys squealed in delight. They laughed and did it again. And again. They knocked down the blocks, and angry stuffed animals- monkeys, dinosaurs, and giraffes. They arranged the blocks, Angry Stuffed Animals in various ways, and in different patterns and they would work on shooting the pencil from their “slingshot” until they knocked down all the animals and blocks. When they succeeded they said they had earned three stars, and constructed a new level.

They played Angry Stuffed Animals for an hour. I think they had more fun too. My brother and I never tried to construct Pong in real life, but we would play tennis. As I left their room to their laughing, it occurred to me as much as things change, they stay the same. Video games keep progressing and in any generation are fun, but they can never take the place of real life imaginings.

I have a new favorite “video” game. It doesn’t have fancy music and sounds, and it isn’t found in an app store. It has laughter, fun, excitement and creativity. It is found in the imagination of my boys, and that makes it the perfect game.