Understanding Fabric Care Labels on Costumes
What the small care label sewn into a costume is legally required to tell you, and how to read the washing, drying, ironing, bleaching, and dry cleaning symbols.
Understanding Fabric Care Labels on Costumes
What the small care label sewn into a costume is legally required to tell you, and how to read the washing, drying, ironing, bleaching, and dry cleaning symbols.
Special Effects Makeup: Latex, Prosthetics and Allergy Testing
Latex appliances and adhesives are staples of special effects makeup, and latex is also a common allergen. Here is why a patch test matters before a full application.
Working With Fiberglass and Epoxy for Large Builds
Fiberglass and epoxy make strong wearable builds but bring two different hazards: irritating fibers and resin that can sensitize you for life. Here is how to work with both more safely.
Costume Recalls: How to Check If Your Outfit Was Pulled
Costumes get recalled for flammability, lead, small parts, and battery hazards. Here is the legal machinery behind a recall and where the official notices live.
Are Costume Drawstrings a Strangulation Risk for Kids?
Neck and hood drawstrings on children’s clothing have caused strangulation deaths, and federal rules treat them as a substantial product hazard.
Decorative Contact Lenses: Why They Are a Prescription Medical Device
Costume contact lenses that change your eye color or shape are medical devices under federal law, not accessories, and buying them without a prescription skips the fitting that protects your eyes.
Mother Goose and Nursery Rhyme Costumes Explained
Mother Goose is a literary personification, not a real person, and many nursery-rhyme backstories are myths. Here is the documented history behind the costume.
Small Parts in Child Costumes: A Choking Hazard Checklist
Snap-on gems, buttons, and toy accessories on toddler costumes can detach and become choking hazards. Here is how the federal small-parts test frames the risk.
Sherlock Holmes: The Deerstalker Myth and the Real Look
Arthur Conan Doyle never put Sherlock Holmes in a deerstalker. An illustrator did. Here is the real origin of the look and its public-domain status.
Film Costume Preservation: How Museums Save Icons
The methods conservators use to keep famous film and stage costumes intact, from padded hangers and flat storage to careful labeling and stable environments.
