This is the reality when searching for Frozen merchandise. Great work, Disney.
Walt Disney’s Frozen is a huge hit and is causing some serious angst among mothers (like me) who are frantically trying to find Elsa and Anna costumes for their little girls. Normally, The Disney Store would be stocked with dresses and merchandise in preparation for a new release. For some reason, the brains in marketing dropped the ball on Frozen and there are now empty shelves where merchandise should be.
The most coveted items are the costumes. Disney makes these for around $50 each. You’ve all seen them: shiny, itchy ball gowns for little girls to play pretend. At some point, Disney stopped making quality items and outsourced everything to China where everything is cheaply manufactured with hideous material that falls apart within a year of playing. Up until now, we’ve all just put up with it and accepted that we must buy these costumes so our daughters can have their fantasy play.
It is a lot of fun to watch them pretend in these get-ups, but I started to realize they are seriously not worth the money when my oldest daughter, Kit, was visiting Walt Disney World for the first time. She had just visited the Bibbity Boppity Boo Salon where they give the children a princess makeover and do their hair and nails and give them a princess costume and a photo shoot, for the bargain price of $200 per child. (I did NOT pay for this. My parents decided they had to have this for their grandchildren. For the record, I objected to this foolish expenditure but grandparents are entitled to do what they want.)
Kit was beyond thrilled. She chose a Jasmine costume for her makeover and she looked adorable with a pink hair piece and crazy nails. However, within 10 minutes of leaving the air conditioned salon she began to sweat profusely in the Florida sun. By the time we reached the Jungle Cruise in Adventureland she was ready for her cotton shorts and teeshirt back. Her fantasy of wandering the parks in her costume ended there. Whose bright idea was this to make these things out of non-breathable polyester and non-washable acrylic?
As she got older, she began to stop dressing up, claiming she itched too bad and the costumes were uncomfortable. Who could blame her? They feel like scouring pads. Her little sister, Kat, still loves to dress up and it is she that sent me on the hunt for the elusive Elsa costume.
What I found disturbed me.
Here they are selling Elsa costumes (the same cheap, Chinese manufactured garbage) that goes for $50 at the Disney Store for $225 by Amazon poachers. The comments are especially entertaining. This is because Disney didn’t have the foresight to have enough merchandise for the demand and now enterprising scalpers are pillaging the pockets of desperate parents. Since Kat’s birthday is in July, I want an Elsa costume to give her by then. Clearly, I am not going to find the Disney version in time. It occurred to me to search Etsy, a website where handcrafted items are sold, and what I found there has turned me off from cheap and itchy Disney costumes forever.
Here are the 10 best, most creative Frozen costumes on Etsy that you can buy right now with no waiting or supporting of stupid companies that don’t seem to care about customer service.
10. Olaf!
This adorable Olaf costume can be yours for $48, made with love in Hawaii.
9. At $129, this Anna dress is pricier than I would usually pay but for handmade quality and actual construction, not to mention creativity, this is way nicer than any plastic dress you’ll find at The Disney Store.
8. Whoever was the first genius mommy to make these should be given an award for awesomeness.
This Elsa hat is insanely cute and creative. Instead of buying one of those itchy wigs that is probably petroleum based and flammable as hell, buy this instead. It will also keep her warm in the winter! $25
7. Another Elsa tutu!
These tutu dresses are so adorable. Disney has never done anything this cute.
6. Frozen Couture.
If your daughter is serious about dress up, this one is perfect for her. It’s also pricier than most at $110, but handmade to order and gorgeous.
5. Etsy has so many different styles, your child is sure to be the only one in the neighborhood in her very own custom costume. This one is adorable and decently priced.
4. Anna’s coronation gown. Does it get any cuter than this?
3. This dress is every little girl’s dream in satin and ribbons. Love this. Princess Anna
2. Does your little girl love being a ballerina? This Anna ballerina tutu is for her!
Ranging from $60 to $80 it’s sure to be a hit.
1. And here’s the dress I bought Kat.
I love the simplicity of it, the recycled cotton that is sure to be soft on her skin and the price! $65! She’s going to be adorable in it and thrilled with it.
Most importantly, Kat will never know the difference between an Elsa dress that came from a Chinese factory and one that came from a Hawaiian mommy’s sewing machine except that hers won’t irritate her sensitive skin. I hope Disney suffers over this poorly planned marketing for Frozen. They get away with so much because parents put up with a lot of abuse to make their kids happy. Will this be the tipping point for most of us? They’ve definitely lost me as a costume customer. Unfortunately, I’m still going to have to buy those stupid dolls.
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