OK, so, Halloween is just around the corner, and as always holidays have a way of sneaking up on me (says the girl who’s shopped for Christmas presents on December 24th many, many times). I’d be overjoyed to be able to cross everything off my Halloween to-do list early, so I’ve been hunting for Halloween costumes for Connor (and Tabs and myself, too!) since last week.
Searching for “toddler girl costumes” on etsy has me thinking about kids costumes… Seriously, when did they get so intense? My first costume, which I wore one year in kindergarten, was Big Bird, and it was a plastic body sheath with a plastic mask that had holes in it for the eyes, nose and mouth (I have vivid memories of barely being able to breathe in it, but you do what you gotta do for free candy, ya know?). It was simple, cheap and effective. And memorable.
Now, though, there are kids costumes that look fit for a Broadway play, like this little girl in her Audrey Hepburn Breakfast at Tiffanys getup…
WOW! All that tulle… And the accessories! Wasn’t Holly Golightly a “lady of the night”?? Never mind — that’s a whole ‘nother post.
While I can’t deny that these costumes look super cute, I can’t help but wonder… When did kids costumes get so complicated? Oh! — and pricey? A lot of the cuter ones on etsy are upwards of $80.
I keep asking Connor what she wants to dress up as, but she’s only two-and-a-half, so she says yes to everything.
Me: “Wanna dress up as a Warriors basketball player?”
Connor: “OK.”
Me: “How about a ballerina?”
Connor: “OK.”
Me: “What about, ya know, the actual Sarah Connor from The Terminator? That would be so meta!”
Connor: “OK.”
I feel like the window of time I have to push my Halloween costume agenda on her and dress her according to my whims is closing, which makes me almost want to spend a little more on a costume right now. Like, the regret I feel in my bones is so deep for finding this Sophia Petrillo costume and this aerobics instructor costume right now. Chunky baby Connor would’ve killed it.
As much as I like the idea of Connor dressing up as custom-made etsy ballerina Rey from Star Wars, I like the idea of saving $$$ even more, so last weekend we went to a Spirit Halloween store at the mall and tried on a bunch of costumes in the $20-30 ballpark.
Most got ruled out because they were either too big (the ’50s girl) or too itchy (the queen of hearts costume).
In the end, we went with the monarch butterfly. ?
The wings and the tutu-like skirt sealed the deal. It was $34.99, but I also had a 20% off coupon, so score! (Side note: Spirit has some coupons that are valid on their website, too, including 20% off one item.)
What were your Halloween costumes like when you were a kid? Does one stand out?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Laure says
October 2nd, 2018 at 9:52 amConnor looks so grown up in these pictures! ;___;
She was destined to wear the butterfly costume, she was already in theme with her tights!
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 9:57 amI know! I blinked and she suddenly changed from a baby into a child, and it’s wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time. 🙂 Both she and Tabs are obsessed with butterflies at the moment, LOL! Hope things in Belgium are good today.
Laure says
October 2nd, 2018 at 12:09 pmIt’s a good obsession to have. 😀
Things were great today! It was cold, but we had some sun, which was so welcome after the rainy week we’ve had.
How are things in SF? Has the fall weather started yet?
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 2:22 pmIt has and it hasn’t. It’s weird, this time of year, the weather in the Bay Area typically gets really nice. We usually have a week or two warm, summer-like days in October. It’s been warm but rainy and humid? Kinda usual, but still nice. I’m glad that fall is officially here though, which is weird for me to say. I’ve always been a summer baby but over the past few years have come to love the cooler weather. Still not a snow person though, ha! 🙂
Laure says
October 3rd, 2018 at 12:32 pmI like winter, but only because of Christmas and Saint Nicholas. When I was living in Australia and winter/cold weather didn’t mean we were nearing Christmas, I felt soooo cheated.
My favourite seasons are spring and faal, because I do not do well in extreme temperatures. :/
Karen says
October 3rd, 2018 at 2:18 pmIt’s weird to have weather that you’re not traditionally used to for the holidays, isn’t it? My husband’s family is in Hawaii and the few Christmases we spent there felt strange to me because people would be walking around in t-shirts and flip flops!
Laure says
October 3rd, 2018 at 12:33 pm*fall 😐
Laura J says
October 2nd, 2018 at 9:59 amWe go with something that will add well to the dress up bin, comes from the dress up bin already, or just something that can be worn again as separates. Lots of butterflies/fairies/gymnastics kids so far
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 10:45 amGood idea, Laura! We’ll probably end up doing something similar in the future. 🙂
Tatiana says
October 2nd, 2018 at 11:16 amMy two favorites from those photos are the one with the foil wings (fairy?) and the butterfly.
Grew up in the 60’s. I took dance lessons so I usually just wore one of my dance costumes. So I really wasn’t anything, but we didn’t have money to buy costumes. My brothers just dug in their closets and made things up like that.
Dear Daughter went to a school that had a halloween parade every year and they needed to dress up as a character from the continent they were studying and do a report on it, too. Sigh. I started making costumes for that. Even after we switched schools I made costumes for Dear Daughter until she finished high school. I can only remember going to the halloween pop-up store and buying a costume once.
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 11:59 amI think the foil wings were supposed to be a unicorn? Maybe a fairy. There are some intense fairy costumes at Pottery Barn Kids — check this out! Connor would love it but there’s no way I’m spending that $ on a bunch of tulle.
I wish I could sew so I could make her costume. I thought about doing a Rey costume with felt and glue but there’s no way I can make that work unless I have six months lead time, LOL! You daughter is lucky to have had your skills for her costumes!
Tatiana says
October 2nd, 2018 at 12:29 pmThe prices on some of these costumes is ridiculous.
There were rules to making the costumes. The theme/character had to be set by October 1st. No changing your mind after that. No fabric that costs $69/yard. (Oh yeah, kindergarten year she picked a brocade that was that expensive. I could see the tears well up when I said no, but she knew if she had a tantrum in the store we would leave right then and there.) One of the teachers was also a parent and she complained about having to make a costume every year and would tell stories of staying up late, drinking wine while sewing her daughter’s costume. On second thought maybe that’s why they didn’t pick up on the fact that my daughter is dyslexic and still couldn’t read at the end of 3rd grade.
Tatiana says
October 2nd, 2018 at 12:33 pmOMGosh. I’m so slow. I just realized that the sparkly sneakers are Connor’s and not part of any of these costumes. They go well with all of them. Love those sneakers. Do they come in adult sizes?
I really wanted these, but there’s no way I’m paying that much for casual shoes I’d probably wreck in a nano-second.
https://shop.nordstrom.com/s/tods-gommini-driving-moccasin-women/4980373?origin=keywordsearch-personalizedsort&breadcrumb=Home%2FAll%20Results&color=silver%20glitter
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 2:29 pmThose are cute and they look comfortable but I’d tear them up before you could blink!
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 2:28 pmRight? They do look pretty cool though.
Girl… I would’ve been one of those grumpy parents sending her child into class with a mash up of felt all glued haphazardly together, LOL!
Kimmwc03 says
October 2nd, 2018 at 11:16 amI remember being a pumpkin and a black cat for a few years, a rocker chick (with magenta wig), and a Pink Lady with a poodle skirt made by my grandma. Connor looks so cute in all of them but I’m glad she’s going to be a butterfly this year. 🙂
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 12:00 pmMe too. It was the one she seemed happiest in!
Cool that you were a rocker chick. I wanted to be Madonna when I was 9 but my mom was like NOPE!
Melissa Laidlaw says
October 2nd, 2018 at 11:19 amWe had a Lucy costume (from the Peanuts Gang) exactly like your Big Bird costume when I was little! When my daughter was little, I made my own little tutu out of strips of tulle, then put a cute cat headband and painted on some whiskers. She was the best looking kitty I every saw (I might be biased). The tutu tutorial can probably be found on youtube, just like everything else.
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 12:00 pmThanks, Melissa. I can’t really sew but that sounds easy enough, and like something Connor would like! 🙂
Laure says
October 2nd, 2018 at 12:14 pmWe didn’t celebrate Halloween, but I also remember dressing up as a cat when I was a kid. We’d use use paper to cut out ears to attach to a headband and we’d stick a strip of fabric to a belt for a tail, face paint and done!
I also dressed up as a clown for Carnaval.
kellly says
October 2nd, 2018 at 11:23 amConnor looks ADORABLE in those costumes! She is so cute and photogenic!
$230 for a kid’s costume to be worn at most for one day? Must be nice. $230 would buy me groceries for a month AND put fuel in my car.
What world am Iiving in?
My mom used to sew costumes for me when I was maybe 7 or 8 but before that I don’t even remember. What I do know for sure is that she never spent $230 on them – or on anything else I ever wore, for that matter.
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 12:01 pmI know, it’s crazy! I guess the kids use them for dress up after Halloween, but still. I’m not about to spend that much coin on play clothes.
Rachel says
October 2nd, 2018 at 11:39 amLove the butterfly costume for Connor Claire! I wonder if they make a grown up version?! This might sound crazy but hear me out. Next summer you should plant milkweed in a container and then order monarch caterpillars so that Connor can see them go through their life cycle and turn into butterflies. I’ve been doing this since I was little, and it still fascinates me. In my area I am able to find the caterpillars and pick milkweed from the ditches for their food source, then we keep them in a 10 gallon aquarium until they form their chrysalis and hatch out!
My costumes when I was little were pretty basic, witch, cat, etc…
This year I might do a couples costume with my boyfriend, Chip and Joanna Gaines from HGTV’s fixer upper! Seems easy enough!
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 12:03 pmOh that sounds cool. I would have to get over my aversion to caterpillars though. I know… It’s irrational, but when I was a kid, the baby sitter’s I went to had a garden, and one of the kids picked up a huge, green caterpillar and chased me with it, and it this day they freak me out.
Your costume for this year sounds easy and cute! I think she often wears plaid shirts?
Rachel says
October 2nd, 2018 at 12:17 pmYes, plaid shirt, jeans and boots, think I can handle that! I think I’ll get some paint samples to stick in my pocket as well. They always talk about #demoday and #shiplap on the show, so I might get a shirt/hat that says that. Plus I’ll have to get a wig because my hair is nothing like hers!
Are you going to dress up this year? I get tons of trick or treaters at my house, what about you?
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 2:24 pmDo you have a plaid shirt you can destroy a little? How about some paint splatters on your shirt? That might be kinda cool!
Re: wigs. Don’t forget your wig cap! You can get away without one, but it’s very uncomfortable.
And yes, I’m dressing up as a ’50s girl. I got a shiny bomber jacket from the Halloween store that says “Pink Sweeties” on the back. I’m going to wear it with faux leather pants, a polka dot scarf and cat eye glasses. It was kind of a last minute decision but I figure I can do makeup and hair to sell the look, ha ha ha!
Rovie says
October 2nd, 2018 at 1:40 pmThe butterfly was definitely the best pick for Connor. Be glad that she doesn’t have an opinion about costumes yet. My 3 year old son told me that he “has” to be Catboy from PJ Mask so that’s now what I have to get him. Kids costumes these days are so elaborate. I was either a princess or a witch during most of my childhood. Although I remember being a bunny once, which was an inherited costume from one of my cousins. My mom being her frugal Filipina self decided that was a great idea lol!
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 2:30 pmHey Rovie,
I know what you mean. I was a witch for like three years in a row! Ha ha ha.
Chelsea says
October 2nd, 2018 at 1:43 pmI love the butterfly! She’s so sweet. I’m being a modernized Medusa for a circus show, and I’m not sure what we’re doing for work yet. I have a fairie costume and a Tonks costume almost ready to go.
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 2:30 pmOh, I forgot to tell you! I saw a Medusa Headband at Spirit Halloween. Here it is: snake headband.
Chelsea says
October 2nd, 2018 at 2:32 pmI went to Spirit yesterday and saw it! I have a headpiece I bought off Etsy and tested it to make sure it would stay on my head whilst upside down. I did buy some rainbow fishnets because who doesn’t need rainbow fishnets.
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 2:37 pmMy sentiments exactly! If you see rainbow fishnets you have to buy them. It’s the right thing to do.
Renee says
October 2nd, 2018 at 2:28 pmThe butterfly is the best costume! And she is so adorable!
Amy says
October 2nd, 2018 at 3:09 pmWe always made costumes! I remember being a rainbow, a panda bear, and Pippi Longstocking. My mom sewed stuff, or we used cardboard and sheets and things. In my 20’s I made a killer set of butterfly wings out of bent hangers with colorful paper bits and glitter suspended in clear packing tape. Then stuck a bouquet of flowers in my hair for antennae. When my son was little, our finest creation was a Wall-E costume made out of a cardboard box. It had a little door that opened and closed on the front like Wall-E’s trash compactor (where he collected candy). We bought a Yoda costume once, and an Obi-Wan, and a hilarious Stay-Puff marshmellow getup. A few years ago he was a revolutionary soldier. We duct taped “ammo” (nerf bullets and old chapstick tubes) onto a t-shirt and bought a tricorner hat. I have to say, though, I’m totally done at this point! So you go, girl! I love seeing these adorable pics and living vicariously through the cute costumes! She sparkles in the monarch, it is so “her.” You’ll have fun with the makeup for it, too!!
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 4:48 pmOh, the costumes sound so fun, and I applaud you for your creativity! (The Wall-E costume sounds really cool.)
I’m really hoping she lets me paint her face… It’s 50/50 at this point, because she can barely sit still enough for me to do her hair, LOL!
Rachel Runyan says
October 2nd, 2018 at 4:05 pmI love the butterfly costume! I can remember costumes getting expensive when my kids were little, about 15 years ago. I think the average costume was around $40. Now it’s just getting crazy. If one has the money and their kid loves the costume, I guess go for it. But when it’s about the parent trying to one-up other parents as to who has the most expensive or coolest-to-adults costume, it’s ridiculous.
We were poor, so we worked with thrift shop stuff or what we had around the house. In 1977, we got Star Wars vinyl character coverall-type costumes with the plastic, suffocating masks, and we thought we were so styling. lol But you know, it was the home-made makeshift costumes that forced us to be creative, and I won several costume contests in school, church, etc. If I do say so myself, I was pretty awesome at Halloween makeup even as a pre-teen. I remember a fortune teller costume and a zombie bride that got lots of compliments. And my vampire costume from my late teens was fab.
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 4:44 pmThe homemade ones are the best, I have to agree. 🙂 Please tell me your fortune teller costume involved a crystal ball…
Rachel Runyan says
October 2nd, 2018 at 4:46 pmUnfortunately, no. I had a deck of cards, instead.
Karen says
October 2nd, 2018 at 4:48 pmOK, that’ll do too. But you know a crystal ball would’ve been LIT!!!
Rachel Runyan says
October 2nd, 2018 at 4:49 pmIt would have. We just didn’t have anything that worked to make one when I was a kid.
If I did it now, though, I’d totally have a crystal ball!
LindaLibraLoca says
October 3rd, 2018 at 12:21 amWhen I was a kid, Halloween wasn’t a thing, we only started celebrating it in Germany about ten years ago. But even now I refuse to spend that much on costumes for the kids. I dress them up in some tiger striped stuff and paint their faces.
Barbara B says
October 3rd, 2018 at 12:32 amThanks for sharing Connor’s pictures. She looks so adorable, My kids are in college now and I miss Halloween, so enjoy it while you can!
I’m so old I remember wearing one of those creepy plastic masks you couldn’t see or breathe out of but don’t remember the costume. Maybe a clown and that’s probably why I hate clowns now. Gypsy- multiple times!
Loriann says
October 3rd, 2018 at 5:35 amSome parents have made every event seem more like a contest than just a fun time.
When my now 20 year old triplets were in Elementary school they had to stop the daddy/daughter dance. Moms were pulling their kids (kindergarten-4th grade) out of school to get their hair, makeup and nails done. There were even a few that rented limos.
Halloween at my house was very simple and cheap. My mom never liked the plastic costumes from the store so we had to use things from our house. I was an alien one year. My costume was a black garbage bag with holes for head and arms. We added make-up and that was it.
I cannot imagine spending over $50 for a kids Halloween costume – and even that would seem crazy to me.
And I have to say your daughter is gorgeous. And will make a beautiful butterfly
Karen says
October 3rd, 2018 at 7:22 amHi Loriann,
Aww, thank you. She’s a ham in front of the camera. lol
I think it’s amazing that you had triplets! Are your kids close to each other?
One last thing. I think a while back you asked about my Price t-shirt. I got it at Target a few months ago. 🙂
Karen says
October 3rd, 2018 at 7:24 amHi Barbara,
I think all my costumes were creepy plastic masks, LOL! What were my parents thinking letting me run around in the dark, barely able to see or breathe? LOL!
Lorraine says
October 3rd, 2018 at 8:43 amConnor looks precious in every single one! I am glad she found a winner. Now I am from your camp- can’t sew anything complex and DIY costumes scare me more than actual zombies. We were lucky when my kid was small- there was a wonderful thrift store called Savers near us that stocked dress up stuff year round. My kid loved dressing up, so we often went there to get things for her dress up box. I think she was in the fourth grade when her costume got elaborate- she was obsessed with Marilyn Monroe, so faux diamonds were her best friend that year!
I remember my mom making a few costumes for me- Princess Leia(she refused my request for Han Solo) and Wonder Woman, which involved a lot of tinfoil and a lot of exposed skin. But my absolute favorite was a cheap five and dime Cinderella get up complete with princess mask and see thru shoes. I couldn’t walk well in those heels so it meant less candy. but I felt so fabulous it made up for it!!
Don’t forget your makeup artist skills will come in VERY handy for Connor on Halloween or anytime. Imagine a multicolored butterfly wing, or sparkly temples and tendril curls… in years to come she will be the coolest teen at the party with her zombie makeup. You get the idea. Your mad skills, and makeup stash will make her the envy of her friends!
Karen says
October 3rd, 2018 at 11:31 amRight? I feel like I could pull off a DIY costume if I had at least six months lead time, LOL!
I’m hoping she’ll let me paint her face… We’ll see if she sits still long enough for me to get some glitter on her. 🙂
Kim says
October 5th, 2018 at 9:55 amI know I’m very behind but GAHHHH! Connor is adorable and looking so grown up with her hair down. I secretly want every costume with a tutu/tulle. And wings. Oh, my. I think the monarch was a terrific choice. And I’d go with Spirit over Etsy, too, unless I was independently wealthy. 🙂 The boys had a ton of cute costumes when they were little. My friends and I used to pass costumes around since all our boys were at least a year apart. That way we weren’t always buying the spendy costumes. I think my fave was when the kids were probably 3 or 4. My happy-go-lucky was Tigger and my slightly-grumpy was Eyeore. We have a great pic of them before they went out, definitely looking the part in their respective costumes. HAHA! Now I’m going on Amazon to look for grown up tutu costumes. I hope there are none.