TL;DR
Split the year into buying windows, anchor the range on adult archetypes that repeat, add family and couples sets for basket size, and treat inflatables as a separate product with its own checks.
Split the calendar into buying windows
A costume range is planned against three windows rather than one season. Sampling and material booking happen months before the selling period, production follows approval, and replenishment decisions come after the first weeks of sell-through data.
Write the window dates into the range plan and work backwards to the sample approval date. A style that misses its approval slot becomes air freight or a lost season, which costs more than any fabric saving negotiated on the same style.
Adult archetypes carry the range
Most seasons rest on archetypes a shopper recognises without reading a description: a witch dress, an adult witch costume, a vampire costume women set, a sexy vampire costume, a pirate costume men style, a nurse costume, a devil costume and a grim reaper costume.
Build variants from one block. A sexy witch costume, a plus size witch costume and a group witch costume can share a pattern family, as the witch costume series in our catalogue does, which keeps grading simple and lets the buyer test several price points without several development rounds.
Couples and family sets lift basket size
Couples costumes sell in pairs, so the second style is part of the product decision rather than an add-on. Plan couples as a pair with matched trims and a shared size logic, then extend the same idea into addams family costumes or a wizard of oz costumes group.
Family sets also drive accessory attach rates. A cat costumes look needs ears and a tail, a bat costume needs wings, and a pirate costume kids set from the pirate costume series needs a hat or bandana, so the accessory line should be planned at the same time as the garment.
Separate scary, cute and comic volume
Scary costumes and cute styles behave differently on the shelf and in photography. A werewolf costume, a zombie costume, a mummy costume or a day of the dead costume carries detail that must survive a dark retail floor, while a hot dog costume and a banana costume depend on shape and colour clarity.
Keep a comic or group segment for offices, schools and parties, since a chicken costume, a shark costume, a clown costume or a dinosaur style often sells in multiples rather than singles and needs a wider size spread.
Inflatable shapes need their own checks
Inflatable Halloween costumes and blow up costumes are a garment plus an air system, so the questions change. Confirm the blower type, the power configuration for the destination market and whether batteries are included before the style enters a range plan.
The adult dinosaur costume and the blow up dinosaur costume also differ in packed volume. Ask for the deflated packed size and the inflated footprint, because those two numbers decide carton planning, freight cost and shelf space more than the fabric weight does.
Turn the plan into samples
Once the ratio sheet exists, the sample list follows: one style per archetype, two colourways for the best sellers and a full size run for anything aimed at children. Shanghai Haitailu Clothing Co., Ltd can review the plan against its catalogue at www.festivocostumes.com before sampling starts.
Send the window dates, the size ratio and the packaging format in the same brief. Sampling decisions taken without them tend to be revisited, and revisions at that stage cost more than a slower first review.