When it comes to costumes, some people really like to go all out all out – time, effort, expense and comfort be damned. And some people do not want anything to do with a non cozy and comfy costume.
If you find yourself inclined towards cozy and comfy costumes, and also find yourself in the position of needing a costume, here are five key areas to pay attention to when you’re creating your cozy and comfy costume.
(And if you’re not quite in the Halloween mood yet – here are a handful of costume quotes to inspire your style every day.)
1. Shoes
Whether it’s a costume party, costumes at work, standing around passing out candy, or accompanying trick-or-treaters, shoes are a key part of ensuring a comfortable costume.
You can go one of two ways with shoes.
First, you can choose a costume that works with any shoes. That way you can choose your shoes at the last minute and/or have a pair of backup shoes on hand. If you’re stumped, this works particularly well for non-human costumes. Many non-human costumes work with boots, heels, sneakers, flats, whatever.
Or second, you can base your costume around shoes that you already own, love, and find very comfortable. Choose the shoes and then choose your costume.
2. Layering potential
You may be able to skip this if you live somewhere with reliable fall weather, but at least here in New York, late October weather is highly variable.
It could be freezing and rainy, or a storybook-autumnal day, or straight up hot, or the middle of a snow storm. So, being able to add or remove or swap out layers of your costume (without losing the essence of the costume) is key to avoiding shivering or sweating your way through the day.
For this think about “nice to haves” or swaps.
An in-character cloak or coat that you could wear but don’t have to wear. For example, many of the Dr. Who doctor variants can be recognized with or without their coats, but a mad scientist might be harder. Plenty of fantasy characters can be recognized without their cloaks, but Little Red Riding Hood, not so much.
Swapping between bare legs, tights, and leggings. This works well for most costumes that have a skirt or dress. If it’s warm, you’re good to go. If it’s cool, wear tights. If it’s cold, leggings. If it’s very cold, heavy leggings.
Adding or leaving behind scarves, hats, gloves, umbrellas, etc. This works especially well for modern characters and costumes.
You can also think about adding character appropriate but not necessarily visually cannon items. For example Disney princesses with the addition of a cloak or shawl, or even an in character umbrella.
Basically, keep your options open, and plan for weather-related uncertainty.
3. Comfy support garment requirements & makeup
Especially if you’re doing anything historical, or heavy makeup, or prosthetics, or wigs make sure these parts of your costume are comfortable.
Test them out prior to your (probably multi-hour) costume event. Just because the wig feels fine for the first 5 minutes, doesn’t mean it won’t be an itchy, sweaty mess after an hour.
This is especially, especially true with supporting or foundation garments – shapewear, corsets, bodysuits, etc. If you want a cozy and comfy costume test these pieces very thoroughly before committing.
4. Your ability to eat, drink, move, see, breath and generally be merry
When it comes to having fun in costume, make sure you can eat, drink, see, breath, move, and be merry easily.
This might seem like it goes without saying but still.
If you’re going for comfy and cozy costumes, think twice about mouth prosthetics, sight impinging glasses or contacts, costumes that render you immobile, etc.
(At least it’s the kind of mistake you generally only make once.)
5. Familiarity, Reusability, Adaptability, Breakapartability
A big element of comfort that we often overlook in our clothing is familiarity. When we’re more familiar with our clothes we’re generally more comfortable in them.
When you’re thinking about putting together a comfy and cozy costume take that familiarity element into consideration. What costumes can you come up with that start with clothing in your closet? This will depend a lot on your wardrobe and your style, but if nothing is coming to mind, ask Pinterest.
If you’re getting new costume pieces, prioritize pieces you can reuse year after year. Exactly what these pieces are will depend on what kind of costumes you’re drawn to. Think a little bit about what kinds of costumes you like and make a note of any similarities or repeat garments.
For example, if you do a lot of fantasy, cloaks and robes can get a ton of mileage. Wigs, wings, claw/talon-glove-things all have a wide variety of uses. The number of costumes a long brown or black coat can be used in are actually kind of astonishing. And the same goes for a costume lab coat.
So those are five key areas to pay attention to when creating your comfy and cozy costume.
But if all else fails, a witches hat lets you get away with pretty much anything else.
Witch in PJs anyone?
May your spooky season be spooky and wonderful.