The Buzz about Bees

The weather is changing and I feel fall creeping its way back. I’m missing spring - you know, the whole birds and bees thing. I’ve always thought this Busy Bee Costume was pretty stinkin’ cute so I thought I’d take it out for a spin and have my own personal springtime. I also thought it would be good to see what I thought of it as a wearer instead of just a spectator.

Some costumes look one way on the model (cute and quality) and entirely different on you. Well, I have good news to report. This costume isn’t one of those – it rocks. It is super comfy – the stretchy spandex tube dress is as comfortable as wearing a workout shirt. The tube part (the upper half of the dress) is cut sort of long – this makes it work for both people with long torsos and those of us with a more condensed midsection. I just tucked the extra into the skirt, and you can hardly tell. If I would have pulled the top to its full length, the skirt would have started at about my thighs. So there’s plenty of costume for you tall girls, but it can easily work for someone my size (about 5 feet tall, on a good day). On top of being comfy and versatile, the costume feels really well made. Roma has a habit of making really high quality stuff for a good price and this one is a prime example.

As you can see, the straps that hold the wings on are out for the world to see, since I don’t have long hair like the model. Accessories could do the job of hiding those straps, if you wanted. Most obviously, you could wear a long wig. Or you could throw on a boa to cover those straps.

While we are on the subject of accessories, there are a ton of little ways you could tweak the look of this outfit, just by adding little extras. Let’s start with the shoes. I wore black boots, but you could do black pumps, black fairy tale shoes, or even the bumble bee shoes (that are totally cool). Raise the look another notch by adding fishnet pantyhose or some yellow and black fuzzy striped leg warmers. What fun!

Now we’ve got the creative juices flowing. How about a petticoat underneath? Just a little touch, adds lots sexification to the costume. While you’re at it, you might as well throw a matching Honeybee purse.

Make yourself the Queen Bee by accessorizing with a yellow boa and a crown. Some elbow length gloves would be a nice touch as well. A yellow afro or short and sassy wig with this costume would be a fun combo too. Let your imagination go wild, and accessorize.








We carry quite a few different styles of bee costumes, some even come with antennae! And they are all made by either Roma or Leg Avenue, both of whom are known for making a high quality products. All the bees in our hive are fun and happy, with just the right amount of pizzazz to make them sexy. Heck, since we're on a roll here, why not have your favorite pooch join your hive with her own bee costume.

My Pirate Adventure

Ahoy there, me hearties. I be bettin’ ye were wonderin’ about me whereabouts these last few days. Well, just so ye be clear, I was well aware that the finest of all the holidays were being celebrated just days ago. Aye, it were only four days ago that noblest of days, International Talk Like a Pirate Day, were being honored by true buccaneers and landlubbers alike worldwide.

Being the truest of pirates, deep down inside, I could not settle for merely talking like a pirate fer a day. I set me mind to liven’ the pirate’s life. So off I sailed into high seas, with a terror of a captain in charge, and a bunch of ol’ seadogs in the crew.

I didn’t want them thinkin’ me to be some sort of scurvy, bilge rat, so I did my best to outfit meself proper-like before boarding the vessel.

I took one look at myself in the mirror in this pirate outfit, and knew without a doubt that I’d be keyhauled by the crew if I took a step onto the ship dressed like this. No real pirate would take me seriously in a cutesy outfit like this.

A fine first mate’s outfit seemed like a ship-shape outfit - perfect for plundering, pillaging and looting the unlucky ships who might cross our path during my voyage. Ah, but alas, I had to admit, I had higher ambitions. Savvy?

Shiver me timbers, I wanted to be the captain of a pirate vessel. I desired to be the one giving the orders, “Weight anchor and hoist the mizzen mast,” “Swab the deck ye scallywag,” or ordering some adversary to walk the plank. I aimed to have the doubloons, pieces of eight, and booty of all sorts to come into my possession and no one elses.

So I had a mind to dress like it. I almost went with this regal pirate look, knowing it would send fear into the hearts of not only my enemies, but the crew as well. Just seeing me in this outfit, I was sure they would give their current captain the dreaded black spot and follow me as their leader instead.

Then the finest idea ever to enter my mind appeared. Why not dress as the most feared pirate of all time. I dressed as the (wo)man in black, the Dread Pirate Roberts (you have seen The Princess Bride, right?). I was fully convinced the crew would send their current captain straight to Davy Jones’ Locker, as soon as they saw me with my cutlass held high.

Sorry to report that my outfit choice was a bit overly-ambitious. The crew greeted me with raised eyebrows. As we shoved off, an old seadog advised me to be watching my back. I thought nothing of his warning, and soon regretted it. That night I guzzled me grog, and thought it only a joke that the crew kept calling me “shark bait.” Being three sheets to the wind, doesn’t really sharpen a pirate’s perception. The next thing I knew, there was a shout, “Blow the man down!” I was surrounded and tossed overboard.

It has taken me until this very day to swim my way back home. Despite my ill-fated pirate adventure, I am still a pirate-loving fool. I cast my vote for September 19 to be not only Talk Like a Pirate Day, but also Dress Like a Pirate Day, and Act Like a Pirate Day! Or maybe we should just call it “Yo-ho, Yo-ho, A Pirate’s Life for Me Day.” Okay maybe that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. I’ll keep working on it.

Adorable Dog Costumes

It's been a busy week, but we have just received the cutest dog costumes! My sister brought in her dog, Lily to try on costumes this week and check her out in the Froggy Doggy Costume. This costume tends to run a little big because Lil could have fit in the next size down and she's... well, shall we say a little on the beefy side for her breed.

Here she is showing off her new costume...

Check out some of the other great Dog Costumes. A few fav's of mine...

Designing Costumes

Ok, you’re out shopping for a Halloween Costume and find it's completely overwhelming. I mean, how many different Halloween costume ideas really have to exist? Or, how many of the SAME costume have to exist for pennies difference? I see it every day in this business. One costume company comes out with a really hot design. It sells out the first year, so the next year, every costume company knocks off that costume - maybe using slightly different material and then shaving off a few pennies here or there in price.

This knock-off approach kills the costume. What was once a great Halloween Costume is now just another costume. Now, I know the difference (since we buy costumes from these companies year after year) and I know who came out with the costume first and I know which company creates a quality costume. Sometimes these are not the same costume company. I always go with quality because I know my customers will not stand for any costume that is going to fall apart after wearing it once.

The problem is that the customer doesn't know the difference between the original designers of the costume versus the costume company that consistently creates quality costumes. So maybe the first year, a costume company that historically creates very poor quality costumes comes out with a great idea. As a costume retailer, we won't buy that costume - we can't risk the customers’ dissatisfaction. We wait for the costume manufacturer that consistently creates quality costumes to produce the costume. Sure, we sometimes miss out on a nice design, but we don't ever miss the hassle of dealing with all the complaints that are sure to come from that poor quality costume.

So, how does a costume purchaser find out which costume company will consistently create a quality costume? That's a tough question. Most costume retailers won't just give out that information since they want to sell costumes no matter what. I can tell you that Leg Avenue puts out some of the best quality costumes on the most consistent basis. Sure, they've had a few that didn't meet our expectations, but year after year, they have provided great quality costumes.

If you're looking for a Halloween Costume this year, be sure to check our selection of Leg Avenue Costumes. They are hot and sexy and will appeal to your naughty side. Have questions about two seemingly identical costumes? Comment here and include links to the two costumes (or maybe even 3) and we’ll help you sort out the differences.

Costume Fusion

We’ve got fusion in music, fusion in cooking, and it seems only right to have fusion in costumes. Costume fusion, like any other type of fusion, is creating something new and unique (in this case, a new and unique costume idea) by blending, mixing or joining aspects of different costumes.

I love this idea!! It solves two problems at one time. First you are pretty much assured that no one else is going to show up in your costume. Don’t you just hate it when you think you’ve got a great costume idea and then you get to the party, only to discover that you are one of 50 other Batmans.

It also solves the problem of deciding between two great ideas. Just put them together!

My favorite recently is the Hello Kitty Darth Vader.

Or maybe it’s the Princess Vader.

Then there is always the Elvis Trooper.


As you can see Star Wars costumes seem to fuse well with other costumes. But I think it’s time for costume fusion to happen with other costumes as well.

We have our Miss Sister Contest going on right now and I think I will submit a nun fusion costume. I’m thinking Nunder Woman (a much-needed superhero nun) or Twisted Sister (80s hair band nun). Imagine that! I’ll post pictures in a bit.

What are some costume fusion ideas in your head? Share them in our comments section.