A woman noticed something frightening when she visited a Spirit Halloween recently—and it wasn’t the scary decorations. It was the lack of plus-size costumes, which caused the plus-size influencer to call on the seasonal retailer to “do better.”
In a video posted Tuesday, TikTok user Remi Bader (@remibader) shared a “‘realistic’ Spirit Halloween haul” for her 2.2. million followers, in which she tried on different plus-size costume options. On Wednesday, Bader’s video had over 405,500 views.
The first costume she tried was The Joker. While the costume, a tight one-piece, ultimately fit, there was an issue with the quality–the zipper broke as soon as she put it on.
The second costume she tried was Ursula from The Little Mermaid, one of the few plus-size characters from Disney. The costume was another disappointment, poorly constructed and unflattering.
@remibader Spirit halloween 2023 plus size costumes. HERE'S WHAT WE GOT!!! #remisrealistichauls #halloween #haul #realistic #plussize #costumes ♬ original sound – Remi Jo
“I’m not trying to sh*t on you,” Bader said in her video, addressing Spirit Halloween directly. “But just because you’re making a few more options in plus-size does not mean they need to not be cute.”
She went on to explain that fashion brands that make Halloween costumes for plus-size people do so with the invalid assumption that they want to hide their bodies in “loose and frumpy” fabric.
“No, we want to dress like everyone else,” she declared.
Bader continued with her haul, trying on a costume of Glenda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz. According to the Spirit Halloween website, the largest size this costume comes in is extra-large.
For her final costume, Bader tried on a t-shirt with a quote from the movie Hocus Pocus. She expressed her disappointment that the shirt was one of the only costume options in the 2X-3X category. And even then, the shirt barely fit.
“Get your sizing figured out,” she said. “Why do you think that just because someone’s plus-size, they want to wear a t-shirt with writing? For me that’s mind-blowing.”
On their website, Spirit Halloween is transparent about their sizes running small. On a Q&A page, a question asked, “Do your costumes run big or small?” In response, The company wrote, “Most of our costumes run smaller than the standard clothing size. If you think that you are between two sizes we suggest selecting the bigger size.”
They also reminded customers of their 14-day exchange policy, which allows customers to return the size that doesn’t fit for a refund.
Bader concluded her video by sending a strong message to Spirit Halloween: “Just do better.”
Commenters on Bader’s viral video related to her frustration over the combination of a lack of plus-size costume options, and the poor quality of the costumes that are available.
“Literally. why can’t we have the same costumes just in bigger sizes…?” a commenter said. “I don’t get how that’s confusing to people lol.”
“I went there and they had no plus size in the store it made me sad,” another wrote.
“Big girls need to be sexy too on Halloween,” a third declared.
This lack of inclusivity has prevented some women from getting into the “spirit” of Halloween. One user shared her frustration, “I was gonna be Glinda last year and they had no plus size!! Wtf SH!! My Grandkids were all Wizard of Oz and Dorothy characters.”
One of the most popular costumes this year is undoubtedly Barbie thanks to the success of the Barbie movie. But one commenter shared that she bought the pink jumpsuit, and was forced to return it due to the poor fit.
“I got the plus size Barbie jumpsuit and it was such a disappointment,” she wrote. “Super long and huge in parts and then skin tight in the thighs. Sized up, same.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Bader via email and Spirit Halloween via response form.
