Shine has a list of some of the worst kiddie costumes. Mike covered a lot of these in his brilliant post The Return of the Halloween Baby Slut Costumes. (Sample: "Would anyone ever sell a Chippendale outfit for young boys? Would a parent ever buy one?") But there are a few more in the Shine list that are worthy of attention, and I found a couple of others I wanted to share.
Baby Whoopie Cushion Costume
I have to admit, I think this is hilarious. I mean, I wouldn't put this costume on my child. But it's a funny picture. The only way that a parent could get away with something like this is if they were some sort of a lovable doofus – think Joe Isuzu. (You either get that reference or you don't. Here's a video if you're curious.) Maybe if you own a novelty store – I can imagine Christopher Walken's character in 'Hairspray' putting this on an infant Tracy Turnblad. Of course, those are both fictional characters, which probably means that parents should avoid this outfit.
The Joker from The Dark Knight
The Joker was always a scary character. In the Batman comics, he's a guy with no powers that is feared by heroes and villains alike. Why? Because he's just that crazy. Even so, Heath Ledger's performance in 'The Dark Knight' took that madness to a new level. (“Want to see me make a pencil disappear?” If you saw the movie, you know what I'm talking about.) In the comic book, Joker's perma-grin is the result of a fall into a vat of mysterious chemical goo. In Ledger's interpretation, it's a scar. As in, cut with a knife. Ew. This one will probably be popular because the movie was monster hit, but I wonder how many little kids actually saw it (it really wasn't a kids' movie, but that doesn't always matter). Dressing up as Ledger's Joker would be OK for an older kid I suppose, but if a parent buys this costume for a little one they either didn't see the movie or are a weirdo. Or both.
Zombie Skate Punk Child Costume
This one is on sale. BIG surprise. What's weird about this costume is the shirt, which I guess is supposed to show scars and tattoos and other “punk” things. If you really wanted your kid to dress up as a “punk”, you could just get an old flannel shirt, rip it up, put a Black Flag t-shirt under it. Maybe some ripped jeans with safety pins. A heroin needle. You know, easy.
Batman Muscle Chest Costume
This isn't on Shine's list, but I'm going to add it because it annoys me. I wore a Batman costume for years, and I never thought, “Boy, I wish this had big fake muscles.” Do we really need to make kids feel bad about their bodies this early? There's plenty of time for them to be insecure when they get older, start losing their hair, many years from now... You know, when they hit 30.
Source: Yahoo Shine, mrcostumes.com
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