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Understanding Women's Halloween costumes sizes The first and most important thing to understand before buying a costume on the Internet or in a store is just what size you need. Even if you are buying a costume in a store, they may not offer a changing room. This article will try to demystify the process of selecting the correct size costume. Costumes are not offered in all the sizes that traditional clothing is. Most costumes are offered in a limited amount of sizes with each costume manufacturer having different sizes ranges that they produce. A small costume from one manufacturer may be different than a small costume from another manufacturer. The important thing to remember is that women come in all different sizes and a costume that fits perfectly for one person may not fit another person at all. So how do you decide which size to buy? If you remember one thing from this article you should remember this: Costumes tend to run smaller than everyday clothes. So be careful not to order a costume that is a dress size 2 to 8 if you are sometimes an 8 and sometimes a 9. Costumes cannot be squeezed into like blue jeans, they just rip at the seams. Costumes listed as sizes small, medium and large can be vague and these descriptions do not give you a very good idea, which size the costume will fit. It is always best if the individual costume lists numeric dress sizes that give you a clearer idea of what size the costume in meant to fit. Small adult dress size 2 to 8 will provide better information to help you select the correct size. How can a single costume fit an adult with a range of dress sizes from 2 to 8? A costume with a size like this is basically a dress size 8. To fit a smaller dress size the costume generally includes elastic at the waist or bust line or arms that can make a larger costume fit a smaller dress size. Also, most costumes include a back tie that allows the costume to be cinched smaller if needed. Corseted costumes may have lace up sides and/or fronts so that the costume can be adjusted uniquely to each individual. Some costumes include belts that can be adjusted as needed. Sometimes the best way to know if you will find a costume that will be a good fit is to use your past experience. If you have purchased costumes in the past that have fit without a problem then it is probably safe to purchase a costume with confidence that it will fit as expected. If you have had difficulty getting a costume to fit in the past then you may want to visit a local store where you can actually try the costume on. If you do this, be fair to the local store and buy the costume at the store. As you can imagine, trying costumes on at a store without buying them is not very considerate. Women's costumes come in a lot of different sizes. While there are still a few costumes out there that only come in one size, most costumes come in at least two or three different sizes. One common scheme is for a costume to come in either a "small/medium" which is a dress size 2 to 8 or a "medium/large" which is a size 8 to 14. If you are a size 7 or smaller, go with the "small/medium". For dress size 8 to 14 go with the "medium/large". |
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Understanding Women's Halloween costumes sizes (cont.) Another range becoming more popular is the "extra small", "medium" and "large" sizes. In this case an "extra small" may be a 2 to 4, a "medium" is an 8 to 10 and a "large" is a dress size 12 to 14. If you are on the fence, like a size 6 you may have better luck with the medium. After all you can always pin extra fabric together but the polyester that most Halloween costumes are made from does not stretch. One other major manufacturer offers it's women's sizes in either "adult" which is a dress size 12 to 14, or a teen which is a dress size 0 to 9. As you can see the sizes are specific to the manufacturers. If you see a size chart on a web site that offers many different manufacturers costumes be careful that the costume you are looking at really goes with that size chart. The new rage in women's costumes are the "sexy costumes". These tend to come in a more sizes but smaller increments. For instance an "extra small" may be a dress size 0 to 2! This is another example not to look at the "extra small" size but to look at the actual dress size of 0 to 2. The "0 to 2" gives you a better idea of just how limited that size is. The "small" may be a dress size of 2 to 4, "medium" dress size 5 to 7, "large" a dress size of 8 to 10, an "extra large" being sizes 11 to 12 and an "extra-extra large" being a size 14 to 16. In standard women's costumes a size 14 would either be a "medium/large" or just a "large". What if you, like a major percentage of the women in the United States, are larger than the standard women's size costumes will fit? While mostly ignored by the Halloween manufacturers in years past there are more "plus size" or "fuller figure" costumes today. Not all plus size costumes are equal. One manufacturer's "fuller figure" may fit up to a dress size of just 20. Another manufacturers "plus size" is a 22, while another manufacturers standard "plus size" is a size 24W. There are costume manufacturers that make larger costumes available up to a size 28 but these tend to be the most expensive. The reoccurring theme is to look at the numeric dress sizes not the term "plus size" or "fuller figure". As you can see the sizing of women's costumes is all over the map. The key points are: 1) Remember to look at the numeric dress size and not the term "medium" or "large". 2) Most costumes run smaller rather than larger. If you are on the fence go with the larger size. 3) If the costume does not at least give you a numeric dress size, email the website for this information or shop at a local store where you can try the costume on. |
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