BBW costume ideas

September 23, 2006 7:40 PM

I'm a plus size BBW looking for unique (and cheap!) costume ideas for Halloween. Any suggestions?

I have a Halloween party with a pagan group to go to on the 21st. I will also need a witch costume for the actual night of Oct. 31st as well as both faerie AND pirate costumes for Oct 14th, so I'm trying to minimize the amount of costume-buying and general costs. I'm a size 22/24 (plus size) so finding clothes at thrift stores can be difficult, but I am definitely going to try. Any ideas for costumes that would be a bit unique, and that I might be able to play up the whole bbw thing?

posted by DecemberRaine to clothing, beauty, & fashion (14 comments total)

Nurse's scrubs are relatively inexpensive on the 'net, and come up to 6X, and in colorful prints. You can add borrowed or scrounged accessories to suit. You can recycle them as jammies after, if so inclined.
posted by unrepentanthippie at 7:58 PM on September 23, 2006

It shouldn't bee too hard to make something like this

posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 8:12 PM on September 23, 2006

As a fellow BBW I was Anna Nicole Smith pre-trimspa last year. All you need is a pair of black stretchy pants, high high heels, a boobalicious top, red lipstick, and a blond wig. The drunker you get, the more realistic the costume!
posted by wuzandfuzz at 8:14 PM on September 23, 2006 [1 favorite]

Maybe ask folks at fatshionista.
posted by serazin at 8:22 PM on September 23, 2006

Someone I know pulled off Ursula from Little Mermaid last year and it ROCKED.
posted by FlamingBore at 10:02 PM on September 23, 2006

BBW="Big Beautiful Women," for those of us who might have to google it. Yes? My first guess was "bi black woman," based on the personals in the paper. But I think I was wrong.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 10:38 PM on September 23, 2006

If you have a blue dress, you can buy some devil horns, tail and pitchfork fairly inexpensively, and you're a "Devil in a Blue Dress". And did this one year, and the people who got it loved it, but I had some dimbulbs staring at me, obviously thinking "Well, if she's a devil, why isn't she wearing red?" Still my favorite costume ever.
posted by Shoeburyness at 11:06 PM on September 23, 2006

Costumes I have rocked as a fat chick: the Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter (not in the same year); the Mona Lisa; Vervain Ramone (leather jacket + rainbow striped t-shirt + ratty black jeans + shades). Many of them involved modified thrift store stuff, so it can be done...it's just a little more challenging. "Satan as a lawyer" is another good one, though easier for guys: a slick suit, horns, briefcase full of faux booze/drugs/guns/contracts for eternal souls.

Oh yes--my mother, also plus, favors the classic "pregnant nun" look.
posted by Vervain at 11:32 PM on September 23, 2006

Shoeburyness, I am totally stealing that idea for this year's costume, even if it's just to wear to work. Brilliant!
posted by Vervain at 11:35 PM on September 23, 2006

Brunhilde has had all sorts of representations, some of which may appeal to your sensibilities, but she is neither the archetypal fairie or the witch. Still, I like Brunhilde, and put in a plug for her representation, every Halloween, so if you can work in some love for her over your Halloween, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, let's see:

14th - pirate and fairie costumes
21st - pagan group, costume unspecified
31st - witch

Well, there's not a lot of overlap in credible pirate, fairie and witch costumes. The conventional head gear for each is completely different, and the usual color schemes have little overlap, except that black is the standard color for both pirates and witches, and you could credibly cover your legs as both a pirate and witch, with nothing more than dark hose or tights. A black shirtwaist dress would go a long way to being both the base of pirate and a witch costume -- after that, you could start paying attention to headgear and accessories to differentiate the two. The fairie thing is a question of finding tights, tutu and tiara regalia in your appropriate size, and having some fun with it. Feathers, fake plastic flower garlands, and lots of sparkly glitter, to excess, make inexpensive fairies look fabulous.

London's full of costume rental agencies, and there are a number of Web sites that offer all kinds of costume advice. If you're going to spend good money on all this foolishness, spend it on headgear, and wear it. People look at your face much more than the rest of you in party situations, and they'll "get" your character more from head gear and make up, than from clothing and shoes.
posted by paulsc at 11:43 PM on September 23, 2006

BeautyPlusPower is a plus size fashion directory and she has assembled this listing of places that sell plus size costumes.

I am your size, and in my halloween costumes, I've always gone for cleavage enhancing styles.

If I was trying to economize, I would find a long black skirt (probably cotton), and I would tatter the edges. This would work for the witch and the pirate costume, and if you wanted to be goth fairy. Then I would thrift for the tops (or sale shop). Since the Boho look has been so freaking prevalent, I would think you could find some flowy white blouse for the pirate, some goth black top for the witch, and for the fairy I would go with a cute form fitting tank top, and use body paints.

Fairy wings can be made out of wire hangers and pantyhose.
posted by kimdog at 6:00 AM on September 24, 2006

Here's an idea for a skirt you could make: ruffly and reversable, black on one side (witch/pirate) and green, brown, or what-have-you on the other (faerie). I'm not sure how feasible this would be to make, but it certainly would make it easier to pack.
posted by luftmensch at 9:02 AM on September 24, 2006

I went last year as Paris Motel-6. Short skirt, cleavage, long blonde wig and a purse with a stuffed dog in it. A lot of people thought it was hilarious, though it was a costume that had to be explained. It generally went like one of these two scenarios:

them: What are you supposed to be?
me: I'm Paris Motel-6
them: Hahahahahahah

or

them: What are you supposed to be?
me: I'm Paris Motel-6.
them: What?
me: Paris Motel-6. Paris Hilton's low rent cousin.
them: Oh. Hah.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:09 AM on September 24, 2006

And the reason this is arguably appropriate is that the Paris costume stuff can likely be used for the pirate costumes assuming they're piratey colours. Or for the fairy costume if they're fairy colours.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:11 AM on September 24, 2006