As of this post, Shop & Compare Costumes has partnered with the following merchants: Costume Discounters, Costume Craze LLC, and Scavenge Costumes & Lingerie. The admin over at ShopCompareCostumes.com told us they will add more premium costume retailers very shortly, including Buy Costumes and Costume Hub.

One of the best features of the site is how detailed you can get with your search queries. For instance take this search for Deluxe Child Batman Costumes:

Not only are the first results very relevant, you can instantly scan the list for costumes you want to take a closer look at or click directly through to the merchant.

Shop & Compare Costumes also has it’s database categorized to make finding your perfect costume a breeze.  Here are a few of the categories:

• Adult Costumes
• Kids Costumes
• Holiday Costumes
• Costume Accessories

Each one of these departments has subcategories to help you filter down to what you want. So head on over to ShopCompareCostumes.com and tell us what you think!

The couple costumes are kinda cute, especially the “Bun Maker” and “Bun in the Oven”. But I think the best overall is the Wheaties box. I had to do a double-take before I realized it was really a costume. And fortunately the store carries an adult-sized version! Here’s the Wheaties box shown with a child’s hotdog costume:

What’s your favorite food-inspired costume? Did you buy it or make it yourself? Leave your responses in the comments.

There will be two Grand Prize winners chosen from each category.  The categories are:

• Infants – 6 to 24 months
• Toddlers – 2 to 5 years

“Each Grand Prize Winner will receive $500, a Signed 2008 Tom Arma Collection Costume, will appear on the Tom Arma website and will appear on the HalloweenExpress.com website as the Tom Arma Halloween Baby of the Year. Grand Prize Winners will also receive a prize package furnished by Tom Arma Studio, Inc. and Tom Arma Costumes containing signed Tom Arma books and posters.”

The deadline for submission is November 14th, 2008.  Winners will be announced by November 20th, 2008.  You can also read the full contest rules.

You have a couple options on how to send in your submission.  You can either fill out the online submission form or download the PDF version and mail it in.

To get an idea of what to expect, here’s a video containing the submissions from the 2007 contest:

Imagine the memories you’ll create!  Why not look for your own Tom Arma Costume animal costume for your child this Halloween?

It’s simple, just click on the banner below and when you check out, use the coupon code zombie50 to save 10%. Here’s to finding your perfect costume this Halloween!

*This coupon code is good on any purchase over $50 and expires on October 28, 2008. Happy costume hunting!

As summer turns into fall, the leaves turn burning colors and the air gets cool and crisp the season brings a spooky surprise, Halloween. Every year on the thirty first of October people in North America and many other regions of the world go to costume parties or send their kids out dressed as all sorts of creatures and characters to collect candy and treats. The origin of wearing costumes stems from over two thousand years ago when the Celts, who lived in the modern day United Kingdom, celebrated the ending of summer with rituals to give them a good harvest, it is the Celts who started the idea that the bridge between the dead and the living is breached on Halloween night. Now as we celebrate the modern day traditions of the Celts you are going to want to make sure that you or your kids look just as fun as the tradition of Halloween night is.

A great tip to get that award winning Halloween costume is to check out some local small costume stores or online costume retailers. There should be a few in your local area and online and they should be able to rent you costumes for a couple days. Renting a costume is a good idea because they are usually a one of a kind piece and there’s no preparation needed. What ever you decide to do for Halloween make sure that you get a unique costume, there are a few reasons for this. One is that every body that sees you will gladly meet you with a smile and ask you about your costume. Number two is that you’re sure to get all the attention anyone needs. And number three is that you will have fun picking that costume out at an online costume retailer or at a local shop.

Don’t worry if purchasing a fun and creative costume isn’t in your budget. Some of the best ways to get that special costume is to make it yourself. Not only is it cool to see yourself or your kids wearing a custom costume, you will have loads of fun making it. Another little bonus feature of making your own costume is that when you show up to that next Halloween party your not one of the twenty five identical pirates. One costume idea that is sure to impress is transforming yourself into a genie with a magic carpet. The idea for the genie riding on a magic carpet is simple. You simply get a box, cut a hole in it and drape some fabric around the box. You then place some false legs on top and it looks like you are riding your magic carpet around. For some more really spectacular custom costume ideas that will inspire your creative side, check out your local thrift store or even the salvation army. There are tons of old and very cheap clothes there that you can use to make that fabulous custom costume.

There are a number of other example costumes that may interest you this Halloween season. Some possibilities include: Batman costume, Spider-man costume, pirates costume, baby costume, adult costume, zombie costume, undead costume, nascar driver costume, 70’s costume, 80’s costume, vampire costume, Harry Potter costume, power rangers constume, angel costume, X-Men costume, Wolverine costume, the hulk costume, Britney Spears costume, nba player costume, sports costume, super hero costume, devil costume, french maid costume, hippy costume, punk rocker costume, Elvis costume, Bob Marley costume, and the list goes on and on.

Finally, make sure that you always dress up. If you where thinking about not doing so for that Halloween party, think again! You’ll be guaranteed to have twice as much enjoyment wearing a fun and unique costume as you would if you didn’t dress up. Happy Halloween!

Halloween is just around the corner and many are starting their search for the perfect costume. From local Halloween costume and accessory stores to huge online stores, today the choices for shoppers seem endless when it comes to apparel for Halloween.

There are pluses and minuses to shopping both online and in-store. Brick and mortar stores have their own set of upsides. You can go in, touch and feel them, see the costumes up close, and even try them on. The biggest drawback is that most local stores don’t have the space required to carry the huge inventory of costumes and accessories that online storefronts do. A lot of online stores typically carry a massive selection of kids costumes and adult costumes, far more than other seasonal retailers and discount big box stores.

Another advantage to shopping online is that online stores are open all year, as opposed to local costume shops that are usually only operate on a seasonal basis. This gives shoppers the ability to buy costumes and accessories well before the Halloween holiday shopping rush. Many brick and mortar stores run low on inventory very quickly towards the end of October. This can be very frustrating for the buyer looking for the perfect costume.

Shopping in online costume stores offers a much wider variety of options when it comes to style, color, and sizes. For instance, most brick and mortar shops only carry a very small number of costumes in plus sizes, while you can find most of the adult costumes in plus size also.