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The Cat in the Hat Costume Pays Homage to Dr. Seuss

February 22, 2010 in General Costumes, Special Occasions by Lara Burke

March 2nd marks the birthday of America’s favorite children’s author, Dr. Seuss.  His birthday is celebrated in schools around the country to honor his works as well as his contribution to early childhood education. In his lifetime, Seuss has published over 60 children’s books. Arguably, Cat in the Hat is the most well known. If you love “all things Seuss” then his birthday should be a day near and dear to your heart.

The Cat in the Hat is a tall and mischievous cat who wears an oversized red and white striped hat and carries an umbrella.  Both the adult costume and children’s costume as well as the hat and gloves for the Cat in The Hat costume sell well during Halloween but make a huge surge in February and March in celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday.  The second most popular Dr. Seuss costumes after the Cat in the Hat are Thing 1 and Thing 2.

You may be wonder why Dr. Seuss and all his jibberish-like language would be so well revered in schools? Well, the history being Cat in the Hat is an interesting one. Back in 1954, Life magazine published a report on illiteracy among school-aged children. The report surmised that children’s books were boring and not motivating enough to encourage a child to learn and practice reading. Accordingly, a textbook editor at Houghton Mifflin compiled a list of 348 words he felt were important for first-graders to recognize. Dr. Seuss edited to list down to 250 words and decided to write a book using as many of those words as possible. Seuss lived up to the editor’s challenge to “bring back a book children can’t put down.” Dr. Seuss used 236 of those words to write the Cat in the Hat which was published in 1955. To this day children cannot put it down. And because of his devotion to teach children the  joy of reading,  he is remembered and celebrated at elementary schools every year.

 Costume SuperCenter has several versions of The Cat in the Hat costume. For schools that celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday every year the Cat in the Hat Mascot costume is a high quality costume that can be used for many years.  The Cat in the Hat outfit for kids makes a great costume for a pep rally, school presentation or simply to get into the spirit of the day. There is also an adorable infant’s Cat in the Hat costume that is perfect for introducing your little one to the joy of Dr. Seuss books.  For those who only need accessories, the Cat in the Hat gloves and hat can be purchased separately. For this time of the year the accessories are extremely popular because you can wear them with your regular clothes or school uniform.

Dr. Seuss was a favorite of my as well as my child’s. I’m sure everyone out there has a special memory of a Dr. Seuss book. We’d love to hear your comments about Dr. Seuss’s birthday and if your child’s school celebrates with Cat in the Hat costumes and other fun activities.


Staging a Medieval Wedding in Full Costume

February 17, 2010 in Special Occasions by Lara Burke

Weddings are historically events for families. Throughout history, weddings remain a meaningful way to bring people together. Many people looking for a unique way to celebrate their vows choose a Medieval or Renaissance wedding theme. This is popular among Renaissance Fair enthusiasts but anyone can do it if they know a few basics about Medieval Wedding Traditions and Medieval costumes.

Traditions

During Medieval times, marriages were usually arranged by the parents of the intended couple – Today, we can be thankful that men and women can fall in love freely and marry whomever they choose.

Instead of our modern day invitations, it was customary in Medieval times to select someone to do your Bidding. Bidding is the custom of going to the homes of all your guests to announce the ceremony and let them know the date and locations. Keep in mind that modern etiquette is to send a formal invitation so you may opt for the Bidder to hand deliver the invitation.

Medieval wedding ceremonies were similar to modern religious weddings. One thing they did that was unique as called handfasting, or the joining of the hands to signify commitment. Typical handfasting involved the couple joining opposite hands of each other. Their wrists were then tied together loosely with a scarf to signify the union they were declaring. This would make a great addition to your ceremony.

Medieval Wedding Costumes
Medieval Brides did not wear white. They wore their best dress. The most popular color for brides back then was blue which symbolized purity. A bride usually wore her hair down, and she sometimes wore flowers in her hair instead of carrying a bouquet.  Costume SuperCenter has many Medieval Maiden costumes to choose from.

Men wore their best clothes, typically what they might wear to church or to court. For the wedding, the groom may choose a knight costume or a nobleman costume.

Invite your guests to dress the part as well. Parents of the bride and groom might wear King and Queen Costumes while guests can wears peasant costumes, knight costumes or what medieval or Renaissance costumes they choose.

Don’t forget about the medieval wedding feast which includes plentiful amounts of food, drink and music.

The Medieval costumes shown are all from Costume SuperCenter


Costume of the Week: Mardi Gras King and Queen Costumes

February 15, 2010 in Holiday Costumes by Lara Burke

Mardi Gras begins tomorrow so the Mardi Gras King costume and the Mardi Gras Queen costume tie for Costume of the Week.  Of all the Mardi Gras costumes, the king and queen are the pièce de résistance but the question is can anyone dress as the Mardi Gras King and Queen? The answer is of course, it is a free country after all. However, if you want to follow official Mardi Gras tradition, the chance to wear the Mardi Gras King and Queen costumes is decided by eating a King Cake. A King Cake, you say?

A king cake is a round, brioche style cake that is served at Mardi Gras parties. It is braided, shaped into a ring and baked. Then it is topped with Royal icing in purple, green and gold to represent the colors of Mardi Gras. The braid of the cake represents the three kings in Christian faith, and thus gets the name “king cake.” The round shape symbolizes the unity of faiths. Inside the cake is baked a small figurine that represents the baby Jesus. The cake gets sliced for all of the party guests and the person who receives the slice of cake with the baby figurine becomes the queen or king. It is a sweet and delicious Mardi Gras tradition that plays an important part in choosing who gets to wear the Mardi Gras King costume and the Mardi Gras Queen costume. As tradition goes, that person is now obligated to host the next Mardi Gras party and supply the next King Cake.

Mardi Gras originated as a carnival held before Lent that allowed people one last opportunity to feast and indulge in merrymaking activities. The ceremony of the King Cake and the choosing of Queen and King can continue weekly throughout the Lenten season. Of course you don’t need to have a king cake to dress up in a Mardi gras costume but it makes it more fun.


Celebrate The Year of the Tiger in Costume

February 10, 2010 in Holiday Costumes by Lara Burke

February 14 is the first day of the Chinese New Year – the year of the tiger.  Asian newspapers and blogs report a sharp increase in the sale of tiger costumes.

You are a tiger if you were born in 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998 or 2010. If you were born in the year of the tiger some or your character traits may include being short-tempered, suspicious, adventurous, sensitive, emotional and being a risk taker. Tiger are most compatible with horses and dogs and least compatible with monkeys.

The Chinese New Year is the most celebrated holiday for ethnic Chinese. To the Chinese, their new year is equivalent to our Christmas. It’s a time of great celebration with food and family, gift giving and of course, firecrackers. The celebration lasts for 15 days and each day has a special tradition.  In China, most businesses close and factory workers go home to spend the holidays with their families. Part of the celebration includes a parade where people will dress as the animal of the year.

You may consider wearing a tiger costume to this year’s Chinese New Year Parade. They take place in major US cities like New York and San Francisco.  If you can’t make a parade then a tiger costume would be the perfect choice for Halloween.

Tiger costumes are for the young and old. Infants look adorable in tiger outfits. If your child was born in 2010 then it would be only fitting that their first Halloween costume be a tiger costume.  Women can wear a sexy tiger costume and men can choose from known characters like Tony the Tiger or even buy a high quality Tiger mascot costume.

Costume SuperCenter has a nice variety of tiger costumes for the entire family.  Happy New Year!


St. Patrick’s Day Costumes are for Partygoers Everywhere.

February 9, 2010 in Holiday Costumes by Lara Burke

What is more fun than drinking beer and eating a Rubin with your best friends and family? Doing it in costume – a St. Patrick’s Day costume.

St. Patrick’s Day has one purpose, to party. Most pubs are standing room only, there are parades in every major city and every Irish grandma is baking soda bread and cooking up the corned beef and cabbage. They greatest part of St. Patrick’s Day is that it doesn’t matter if you’re Irish or not. Everyone can celebrate and be a no holds barred party animal.

Ladies have the best choices for St. Patrick’s Day costumes. I especially love the corseted beer girl costumes. They are very appropriate for the day.  For men’s St. Patrick’s Day costumes the choices are not as sexy but instead, humorous. The Lucky Charms costume is a winner.

Accessories are the alternative to dressing up in full costume. St. Patrick’s Day buttons, green carnation boutonnieres, glittery green bow ties, Leprechaun hats and clover necklaces.

You can find all of your St. Patrick’s Day costumes and St. Particks Day accessories at CostumeSuperCenter.com with same day shipping on any order placed by 3PM


Purim Costumes Are an Important Part of the Purim Celebration

February 3, 2010 in Holiday Costumes, Uncategorized by Lara Burke

Purim is the most festive of Jewish holidays. Considered more of a Jewish national holiday and a strictly religious one, it is a time of great celebration. Because it is not considered a high holy day ordained by the Torah, most orthodox Jews are still permitted to transact business. As with all Jewish holidays, Purim begins at sundown the night before. This year Purim begins at Sundown on February 27.

The four main mitzvot of the day are:

  1. Listening to the public reading, usually in synagogue, of the Book of Esther in the evening and again in the following morning (k’riat megilla)
  2. Sending food gifts to friends (mishloach manot)
  3. Giving charity to the poor (matanot la’evyonim)
  4. Eating a festive meal and drinking wine (se`udah)

Jews of all ages enjoy the festivities of Purim. The tradition includes wearing Purim costumes and having parties complete with noisemakers, prizes and treats. For those who need a very secular explanation, Purim is like Halloween in reverse. Instead of going door to door receiving treats you go door to door giving treats.

Instead of wearing Halloween costumes, kids wear Purim costumes. The most common Purim costumes are the Queen Ester costume and the Mordichai costume.  You can also find funny costumes like Dreidel Maidel and Menorah Man.

Costume SuperCenter has a wide variety of Purim Costumes for children at super low prices.


Tooth Fairy is Costume of the Week

February 2, 2010 in General Costumes by Lara Burke

This week, the new movie Tooth Fairy was released. Tooth Fairy stars Duane Johnson as minor league hockey player Derek Thompson who is aptly named “The Tooth Fairy” because of his reputation for knocking out the teeth of opposing players when he checks them against the boards.  “The Tooth Fairy” gets into trouble when he breaks the heart of 6 year old Tess by telling her there is no such thing as the Tooth Fairy. This is witnessed by the Fairy Godmother who summons him to The Department of the Dissemination of Disbelief to serve one week in the Tooth Fairy Army.  The rough and tough hockey player is forced to comply. As retribution, he must not only take on all of the duties and responsibilities of the Tooth Fairy but he must also dress the part, complete with a tutu, wand and fairy wings.

With his Tooth Fairy costume and a few flying lessons he is sent to collect teeth. As you can imagine there are funny mishaps and lessons to be learned in the process.  It’s an imaginative movie that is surprising good. It reinforces a kid’s belief in childhood mythology and worth seeing if you have a child on the fence about belief in the Tooth Fairy.  For us grown ups, it’s humorous an appealing to see “The Rock” in a ballerina style Tooth Fairy costume.

There is no official costume for the movie but there is a funny Tooth Fairy costume for sale at Costume Supercenter for only $34.99 that includes a top, shorts, tulle skirt, wings and a headpiece. If you choose, you could also buy a pink or blue ballerina costume or fairy costume with wings and come up with a creative way to make it “toothy.”


The Mad Hatter is the Hot New Halloween Costume

in Uncategorized by Lara Burke

The Mad Hatter is Johnny Depp’s newest re-creation. Tim Burton has employed the talents of his good friend once again to portray the Mad Hatter in his remake of Alice In Wonderland, due in theaters March 5, 2010.  Come this fall there will be many Mad Hatter Halloween Costumes and for good reason. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have created an insane Wonderland with spectacular costumes and imaginative sets. The Mad Hatter is over the top just what you have come to expect from these two creative geniuses.

As of this writing, the Mad Hatter Hat is the only item for which I have any details. The Mad Hatter costume is still in production but the hat I’ve seen and it is very true to the one in the movie trailer. Disney has stringent guidelines with their licensed products so this hat is a quality accessory. 

The Mad Hatter hat manufactured by Elope comes in three styles. Two are men’s styles, one with build in curly red hair and one without hair. They feature a tied sash band with a peacock feather on one side and the 10/6 tag on the other. The third is a women’s hat featuring a smaller version of the hat affixed to a headband and with a long satin band that trains down one’s back.

I love Johnny Depp and cannot wait for Alice in Wonderland so I can experience his characterization of The Mad Hatter. His has that sexy yet odd, super talented and quirky thing going I that I find extremely appealing. I look forward to seeing him bring something completely unique and understatedly sexy to the character while still being distinctively “Johnny Depp.” If the character has as much quirky charm as the Mad Hatter Hat then we are in for one crazy trip down the rabbit hole.


Mardi Gras Madness – A Glorious Bacchanal of Sin…and Costumes

in Uncategorized by Lara Burke

Mardi Gras also known as Carnival is a time to let lose, party hard and bare it all. It is the celebration revelry, debauchery and mayhem for the two weeks leading to Fat Tuesday, the eve of Ash Wednesday. The festivities include dancing, drinking and dressing in elaborate Mardi Gras costumes while parading in the streets.

The purpose of Mardi Gras is to create an outlet to “get your jollies out” before the start of lent. Lent is a Christian season of penitence and self-denial when followers participate in a modified fast. This fast may include giving up a favorite food or drink for 40 days and nights leading up to Easter Sunday. Hence, the time of Carnival is sort of like a last ditch effort to indulge in your favorite sinful things.   

Mardi Gras’ origins date back to Medieval times but here in the US we can date the tradition back to the 1600s’s in New Orleans. Today, New Orleans is still the most famous place in the United States for celebrating but anyone can have a Mardi Gras party.

The traditional colors or Mardi Gras are purple, gold and green. The meaning of the colors is purple for justice, gold with power and green for faith. Costumes for Mardi Gras range for very risqué to elaborate. You can find costumes for men, women and everything in between. Even if you decide not to wear a Mardi Gras outfit you cannot go without the most important accessory: beads.

Stayed tuned for my next blog when I tell you all the things you can do with Mardi Gras beads.


Things to do With Mardi Gras Beads

in Holiday Costumes by Lara Burke

A flash here, a flash there. Mardi Gras brings out a side in us girls that we wouldn’t show anywhere else (at least most of us). If you dare to bare it during Mardi Gras we guarantee you’ll be going home with your share of beads. Being environmentally conscience I’d hate to see all these plastic beads wind up in a landfill so I have made a list of things that you can do with your Mardi Gras Beads.

Chances are you received beads in a rainbow of colors with the predominant theme being purple green and gold. You can sort them by color or create combinations to suit your holiday, theme, décor or whatever.

Make a decorative beaded doorway curtain. Cut them open to form long strands. Tie those strands together and time them to a strand that you string across the top or the doorway. This is a retro look that is great for dorm rooms and kid’s rooms.

Use them as curtain tie backs – metallic, faceted beads

Lace them through the holes of your shower while wrapping them around the curtain rod. They add color to a blah bathroom and they won’t get rust stains on your shower curtains like cheap metal hooks.

Give them to your kids, nieces, etc to use as dress-up jewelry. Little girls can’t get enough of this stuff.

Decorate a lampshade – cut the necklace to make one long strand. Hot glue several strands to an inexpensive white lampshade. This is a great idea for play rooms, kid’s rooms and dorm rooms.

Sew them in a circular pattern onto an old bathing suit top for a risqué and sexy Mardi Gras costume for next year.

Put a large pillar candle in a hurricane lamp. Fill the lamp with beads half way up the candle. Make sure you use an evaporating candle so wax won’t melt all over the beads. This is perfect for Christmas, Halloween, Valentines, St. Pats and 4th of July depending on the colors you use. Stick to a white candle and all you need to do is change the beads.

Hang a few them from your rear view mirror as a keepsake of your good time at Mardi Gras.

Decorate your Christmas tree. The beads sparkle so nicely in the Christmas Tree lights.

If you still have beads left over, offer them to a school or post an ad for free beads on Craigslist.


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