Can I Just be a Playboy Witch Every Day?

It's no secret that I'm partial to a good fancy dress costume. I have two big boxes of costumes under my bed with everything from Daphne from Scooby Doo to a sailor, a mobster to Snow White and at least three pirate costumes alone. Whatever the occasion, I will find a way to incorporate a costume.

"Oh, St Patrick's Day? Let's all dress as Leprechauns (despite the fact that we don't have any plans for that night)."

 "It would be a travesty for us to go all the way to Berlin without lederhosen!"

"Pirates of the Caribbean is showing in the cinema. Obviously we need to dress as pirates and go and watch it."

So last week when the lovely people at Joker's Masquerade sent me a costume to review, I was:
a) As excited as a small child on Christmas Eve.
b) Confident that I was enough of a fancy dress connoisseur to write a well-informed review.

What's even more exciting is that they sent me a costume from their Halloween range. Because, in our household, Halloween isn't about merely carving a pumpkin and throwing cheap sweets at small children who knock on the door. We have graveyards, we have coffins, we have smoke machines and strobe lighting. Planning for our parties starts as early as January and, once September hits, my dad, my brother and I will be talking severed hands and skull collections non-stop while my mother keeps clear of the house and pretends she doesn't know any of us.

So try and imagine my pure glee when, the very next day after being in contact with the company, my witch's costume arrived. Devastatingly, the postman arrived just as I was leaving for Exeter so I had to wait a whole weekend before I was able to try it on, but once I tried it, I didn't want to take it off! If only it was acceptable to casually walk around every day dressed as a Playboy witch in the middle of July! 


So, let's get down to the nitty gritty. My first personal rule of fancy dress is to go for the size smaller than you would in normal clothes. This costume was a size six and in real life I'm an eight to ten. That doesn't necessarily mean the same applies for everyone. After all, I'm not exactly blessed in the bust department so that probably has something to do with it. But it's worth considering that fancy dress sizes and highstreet sizes can differ. 

Now on to the costume itself. I love it! The stripy socks and criss-cross affect on the front make it really witchy and it's sexy in a fun, cute way rather than a 'I charge for sex' kind of way. Because, let's be honest, life is not Mean Girls and, no matter what the occasion, I'm never going to willingly go outside looking like a prostitute. That said, it probably won't be the costume I wear to my niece and nephew's Halloween party because the suspenders might be a bit much in a room full of five year olds.

The quality really impressed me. It's no secret that fancy dress costumes can be really cheap-looking and sometimes very naff. But this fell nicely, it didn't feel cheap and tacky, and the fabrics were nicer than some of my other costumes. What I really loved was the lining under the skirt to give it volume because usually I have to wear a petticoat under my costumes or else they just hang there looking very sad and pathetic. There's also a stiff lining in the hat, which is genius because no one wants a floppy witch's hat! Plus, what's really cute is the lining has tiny little Playboy bunnies on. I'm a fan of little details. Also, I'm loving that the cut on the bust is so flattering because usually costumes are made for women much more blessed than I am and the fabric kind of bunches up around my boobs in a really unattractive way. In fact, the whole way it fits it's perfect.

The only thing I didn't like were the suspenders. It's a really cute design, but they're more aesthetic than practical. They kept coming undone and it would have been nice if you could adjust the length on them because I'm quite short so they were too slack to hold the socks up properly.

That said, I am so impressed with this costume. I would never have considered opting for a costume made by Playboy, but in future I will. The quality surpassed my expectations and, seriously, look how cute it is! This whole experience has kick-started Halloween fever in my house. I know most normal people won't start thinking about Halloween until October hits, but remember that if you want a great costume you can't leave it until last minute. Like the guy I saw in Sainsbury's last Halloween who was looking for a costume for a party that was starting in an hour's time. The poor guy couldn't even find any face paint!

So a big thank you to Joker's Masquerade and if anyone sees me wandering around Port Talbot dressed as a witch in the upcoming weeks, you know why.