Costume Size Chef

Book-character day is TOMORROW and the notice is crumpled in a backpack. Store costumes sell out and cost $30-60 for one night; the good ones go first. This tool assembles costumes from a closet inventory + household items, filtered by the time you actually have, sized to the wearer, and safety-checked for trick-or-treat conditions.

Overview

1. inventory — declare what you have (clothes by type/color, craft basics, makeup) once; recipes check against it.
2. find — occasion + wearer + time budget → ranked costume recipes with build steps, each item marked HAVE / SUBSTITUTE / BUY (cheap).
3. groups — couple/family/group coordination: themed sets where each person's costume stands alone too.
4. safety — trick-or-treat checklist: visibility (reflective tape placement), mask sightlines vs face paint, flammable fabrics near jack-o-lanterns, cape length vs stairs, prop rules at school events.
5. list — consolidated BUY list with priorities, so a single store run covers multiple costumes.

Stdlib Python, offline, 40+ recipe knowledge base.

When to Use

• Halloween with days-to-go and nothing planned
• School events on short notice: book-character day, decade day, spirit week themes, school plays
• Theme parties (adult): 80s, pirates, movie characters — without buying a one-wear costume
• Group/family costume coordination on a budget

Don't use for: theater-grade costume construction (sewing pattern territory), mascot/professional costumes.

How It Works — Numbered Steps

1. Register inventory (once, takes 5 min):

   python3 scripts/costume_chef.py inventory --item "black hoodie" --item "red striped shirt" --item "face paint set" --item "cardboard"
   

2. Find costumes for the occasion and time you have:

   python3 scripts/costume_chef.py find --occasion halloween --wearer kid --minutes 30
   python3 scripts/costume_chef.py find --occasion book-character --wearer kid --minutes 20
   python3 scripts/costume_chef.py find --occasion "80s party" --wearer adult --minutes 15
   

3. Build steps for a chosen recipe:

   python3 scripts/costume_chef.py build --recipe "where's waldo"
   

4. Group sets:

   python3 scripts/costume_chef.py groups --theme "wizarding world" --people 3
   

5. Safety check before trick-or-treat:

   python3 scripts/costume_chef.py safety --context trick-or-treat
   

6. Shopping list across chosen recipes:

   python3 scripts/costume_chef.py list --recipes "where's waldo,black cat"
   

Recipe Excerpt

Common Pitfalls

1. Mask on a 6-year-old at dusk. Sightlines + street crossing = face paint instead. The safety check enforces this swap.
2. Capes and stairs / escalators. Hem above ankle or pin up.
3. Costume over a winter coat. Plan the costume one size big or make it coat-compatible (it's cold in most of the north on Oct 31); a frozen pirate is a sad pirate.
4. Open flames + synthetic fabric. Fake fur/polyester melts; keep distance from jack-o-lanterns or use LED candles.
5. Props that look like weapons at school. Cardboard swords get confiscated at many schools; check the event's prop policy (safety output reminds).
6. Buying the wig. Wigs are the #1 wasted costume purchase — they itch, kids rip them off, and 80% of recipes look right with a styled hat/hairband instead. The BUY list marks wigs as last-resort.
7. Perfectionism on crunch night. The find command's time filter exists because a 3-hour costume at 9 PM is a failure mode; pick the 20-minute one.

Example

$ costume_chef.py find --occasion book-character --wearer kid --minutes 20
BOOK-CHARACTER, KID, <=20 MIN — ranked by inventory match:

1. WHERE'S WALDO (100% match) — 10 min
   HAVE: red striped shirt, jeans, beanie
   SUBSTITUTE: round glasses -> paper + cellophane circles on your
   sunglasses (10 min)
2. CRAYON (85%) — 20 min — solid yellow outfit + cone hat
3. GNERM... (see build output)

$ costume_chef.py safety --context trick-or-treat
- face paint over mask for under-8s (sightlines)
- reflective tape: ankles + treat bag (motion = visibility)
- cape hem above ankle bone; no dragging fabric near stairs
- LED tea lights only within arm's reach of costume
- prop policy check if school event: no weapon-looking props

Verification Checklist

• Inventory entered; recipes ranked by what you HAVE
• Time budget realistic for the actual evening you have
• Weather/cold plan: costume fits over a coat or is warm
• Safety check run for the context (trick-or-treat/school)
• BUY list consolidated to ONE store run, wigs resisted