Tips for choosing and wearing costumes
Wearing costumes at events or functions
Some functions or corporate events require costumes for maybe an hour, which is fairly easy to do usually. This is normally a fun event or just for a presentation. Wearing a full costume at an event for several hours is another matter:
Coming out of the dressing room area (or getting dressed in the toilet section) in costume tends and getting to the event area, tends to be quite difficult due to the nerves and the initial response. Once accustomed to the new situation, this tends to wear down fortunately. Some costumes which cover the full body can still feel very "exposing" especially at a big public place when everybody stares.
Be aware of some kids being scared of getting near some characters even if they are fans. Keeping a distance is good in those cases. For many kids it is a shock to see a live character instead of just a picture or on television. This specifically applies to character like Spider-Man and others which are really popular. Also when wearing costumes at public events, try not to forget how you look like to others, getting used to the outfit can cause this.
After many hours of being in costume at an event, getting a quiet moment to slip away and get back into normal clothing can be difficult, especially if it is a busy event with lots of people. When public toilets in a shopping centre are involved, then waiting is another issue to take into consideration.
Taking off costumes
Don't just be in a hurry to take off the costume that you have been wearing all evening, take it off carefully. Since some costumes tend to have parts that are tied together, those sections do tighten due to wearing the costume. Taking the costume off too quickly can cause something to tear and causes damage. There are cases when it is quicker to put on a costume than taking it off.
Wearing masks with costumes
Some costumes come with their own masks, some come without them. Masks can be made of different materials ranging from fabrics, latex (soft to hard), plastic (thin, thick, heavy,light) to other of mixed materials. The most common type is the latex mask, which normally covers most of the head, and tends to be too tight, inflexible or too big with limited vision. Cloth or fabric based masks tend to be a bit big in size or too small, and they can slip on occasion, but they are not anywhere near as warm as a latex mask. What some people consider as a rubber mask is usually latex.
The most annoying thing with full head masks are the following:
- Building up of heat
- Every sound is muffled (to and from the wearer)
- Inability to talk properly with the mask on
- Masks are tedious when eating and/or drinking
- Carrying the mask around while not wearing it.
Cloth/fabric based masks tend to not suffer too much from the points mentioned above. What works well is if the mask covers the upper part of the wearer's head and leaves the mouth free, thereby enabling to wearer to talk, eat and drink while wearing the mask. Sweating is also kept to a minimum which means that the mask is worn longer and doesn't have to be carried around when taken off. If the mask is attached to a cape, then it can be taken off and left hanging.
Certain costumes can be modified by using different masks based on the theme that the costume is needed for. This applies to costumes that don't look too specifically like a immediately recognisable character.
How to properly put on some commercially available costumes
Most costumes available commercially are designed not to have buttons or zippers, to keep down the production costs, unless they are supposed to be quite tight fitting. This also depends on what character the costume is supposed to represent and design limitations resulting from that. Many will be open at the back and they got some strings to tie them close near the neck. What can also be seen commonly with the jumpsuit based costumes is that putting them on goes as follows:
- Put your legs into the pants of the suit
- Pull up the suit to your hips and make sure it fits right before proceeding with the next step
- Jumpsuits normally have two thin rubber strings at the feet to prevent the legs from shifting up when walking.
If the jumpsuit is a bit small, then let those rubbers go past the back of your heels to prevent them from ripping since they are the weakest thing when there is tension. - Lift up the top section in front of you and put in one arm
- Once the second arm is in, bring the jumpsuit back parts together at your back
- If there is a zipper, start pulling it up carefully. Zippers are hard to reach near the shoulders.
- If there is no zipper, then there will be strings at the back of the neck to tie together.
The easiest is to cross them twice and lead the strings to the from of the neck to tie them together.
It is easier to tie them at the front, and then you can hide the knot in the top of the jumpsuit. - Usually if the jumpsuit is open in the back, then there is something to cover up the hole, like a cape for example.
- Some costumes, especially the superhero or character costumes come with a belt. These belt tend to be a bit short on occasions. Belts just get tied at the back.
- Those costumes with cape tend to be the ones that are open at the back of the jumpsuit. Capes are just simply tied together either at the front, or at the back just to hide the knot.
- Jumpsuits of costumes that do not have a cape can either have a zipper or they have other means of closing up the back, but that is not guaranteed to always stay 100% closed depending on the wearers activity while wearing the costume.
- If a mask/hood came with the costume, then it is either made of the same material as the jumpsuit or it is latex or plastic. Masks/hoods made of fabric are usually also tied close at the back.
- The entire process of putting on these costumes only takes a few minutes, the long part is the knot tying.
- If you are driving to a venue, it is advisable (depending on costume) to only put on the cape or mask after arriving outside the venue, the same for returning from the venue.
Getting into character
If you are serious about the character you have chosen to be, then you will most likely stay in costume for the entire event. Some parts of your personality might show which you normally rarely see, and that might be quite pleasant at times. If the preparations to choose and put on your costume took a lot of effort, then you should at least make wearing the costume worth your effort. If the costume selection was quick and didn't require too much effort or planning, then you might find yourself most likely forgetting later on what you are wearing or how you look like during the event.
Going to the effort of not being recognisable is sometimes exciting since you might meet various people who are trying to guess your identity. Letting your closest friends know what you look like is your own decision. You might even want to talk to them and let them wonder who they are talking to until you let them know who you are.
For many people it is exciting to talk to somebody who looks like a recognisable character, but they know it isn't that person. Questions like "Where did you find that costume?" are common. You might find yourself being asked to take part in photo shoots or you might even be asked by strangers for a dance.
Travelling with a costume
When going to a costume party, it can be quite tedious to get there. Sometimes a fight is involved, sometimes the costume is just too big to be concealed until you are at the vent, and sometimes there are a lot of other small annoyances.
Travelling to an event in costume
When you just have to get into your car to drive to an event and you can wear your costume already before you get into the car, there might be various issues involved:
- You don't want people to see you since they might start rumours or laugh at you.
If the costume isn't too bulky or thick, wear something over it which you can take off after parking your car. If you are in a group of costumed people and not recognised, then it doesn't actually matter being seen. The place where you will be seen is at every traffic light, the normal stops are brief and not well lit, but the traffic lights can take at least one minute and there are lights, plus other cars and pedestrians. One way to be less noticed is by simply wearing a jacket over the costume while driving. If you only put on a mask later, then you won't look too odd, makeup and a wig is another story, unless it looks realistic.
- You can only put on parts of your costume after parking the car, since you cannot drive otherwise.
Some costumes have a tail, head, mask and/or gloves which need to be put on, which can be a hindrance when driving or even make driving impossible.
Travelling to an event and putting on the costume afterwards
Due to travel distance or staying somewhere overnight before an event or even wearing a costume work related, sometimes requires to take a costume to the event, find a place to put it on, and have a place where your clothes be stored unless they are worn underneath.
Sometimes it is good to have a bigger car where you can get dressed without anybody looking in but that should also be in a place where there are not too many people passing by, and yet near the event venue entrance.
Costume choices
Choosing the perfect costume for an event can take up a lot more time than expected. It starts by knowing about the event date/time and the topic or the lack thereof. Sometimes the time is too limited, sometimes the topic doesn't allow for any good unique ideas or diversity, or the topic is not to your liking.
The actual idea for what to wear might come quickly, but then you do not always have the clothing pieces available or they take time to organise at a great effort. Making your own costume is appealing to some, but that might not turn out as expected. When it comes to renting a costume, the choice of companies to rent costumes from can be very limited or even the available costumes can be very limited as well or the quality isn't too great.
Wearing costumes
Some costumes may look great at the beginning of and during an costume party/event, but later most become a burden by either being too hot, movement restricting or they become dirty. These factors need to be considered at the point of coming up with the idea of what costume to wear. Masks that cover the face tend to limit the vision and talking as well as drinking and eating will be a problem. In some cases due to heat and small nose holes even breathing will become more difficult which leads to taking the mask off. By taking a mask off or having loose objects, more attention during the evening goes towards holding those items instead of enjoying the event.
To have fun at a costume party and while standing in the queue to get in, remember: forget what you are wearing in order to not be too self-conscious about how humiliating your outfit could be. Keep in mind that the outfit you wear is just for some good clean fun and should not be a serious matter. Driving in costume to an event on a motorcycle might be a bit humiliating due to responses from people around you.
Sometimes the best costume is the most simple costume. If you use your normal clothing with a few additional items like a wig, some makeup or other small decorative things. If your costume contains pockets, then it will be easy to store things like money, car keys, identification documents, etc. Full body covering costumes sometimes allow for clothing to be worn underneath, which can be ideal if you want to take the costume off, but it can cause additional heat as well.
