When did inflatable costumes become a thing? I admit I am generally not

[niyad]

familiar with current trends, etc., but this one, delightful as it is, is completely new to me.

[IbogaProject]

1. I'd guess when the original patents ran out

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflatable_costume

An inflatable costume or air-inflated costume is a costume that is inflated around the wearer by means of a battery-powered blower that sucks air into the costume. These costumes usually stand 9–10 feet tall when inflated.

Inflatable costumes are typically used by mascots and started appearing in the 1990s. One of the first inflatable mascots was Lil' Red of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Most NBA teams own an inflatable costume.

There were ones in the 70s, which were blowup and were often just worn on the head.

[niyad]

3. Thank you. Since I am not into sports, had never seen them.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

15. I think you might be confusing patents and copyrights but I can't tell what you are referring to

The link does not mention either.

Many people will say "patents" when they mean copyrights. Patents are applicable to mechanisms and processes. They last 17 years but can be renewed under certain circumstances.

Copyrights are applicable to artwork, performances, writing and non-technical creativity in general. They last for 50 to 75 years after the life of the creator, (though actual term varies in some countries).

[IbogaProject]

16. Design Patents

In the United States, a design patent is a form of legal protection granted to the ornamental design of an article of manufacture. Design patents are a type of industrial design right. Ornamental designs of jewelry, furniture, beverage containers (Fig. 1) and computer icons are examples of objects that are covered by design patents.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_patent

The design of the costume can be under a Design Patent, and any functional part like a battery powered pump could be covered by a normal patent. And I looked up Halloween costumes specifically.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

17. Thanks. That clears it up. I'd only heard of those and knew nothing about them, so I didn't think of that. . . . nt

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. Here is an explanation from the Portland Frog

[niyad]

5. I guess I did not state my question clearly. I understand WHY and WHAT

the protestors are doing in those costumes. I was just wondering WHEN they had become so widely available. I have not been in a Spirit Halloween store or Zeezo's in several years.

[leftstreet]

8. They used to be pretty spendy

...and harder to find

Amazon sells tons of them now $30-50 ish. Not that that's cheap, but still

[niyad]

10. Amazon, huh? How long before baldy shuts that down? Cannot insult

his good buddy.

[Jack Valentino]

22. Sounds like a fair price

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. Do you mean inflatable costumes in general, or inflatable costumes used in protests

[niyad]

6. See post 5. In general.

[Nittersing]

7. I've seen them mostly as yard ornaments for Halloween

The dinosaurs (which I think are hysterical) are the only ones I was familiar with before this.

[niyad]

9. I am quite familiar with the yard ornaments, and have been for years. I

just did not know that they were made for people as well as yards.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. The Blowers Had To Be Much Lighter Weight

The blowers for those yard decorations weigh a few pounds.
When the blowers became high enough volume at low cost with good battery life, making costumes was a natural.
It didn't hurt that those small, high efficiency blowers got much, much cheaper.

[niyad]

21. Ah, thank you.

[MerryBlooms]

12. I first saw them a couple years back with Trex costumes

Just silly stuff that would pop up on my YouTube feed. I'm not on TikTok or other sites. Where there's money to be made, there will be more silly inflation costumes. My best guess 🤷‍♀️

[MerryBlooms]

13. The Macy's Parade of Protest costumes! Heehee

[canetoad]

14. The costumes are funny

But the extra plastic going into the environment is not.

[niyad]

19. Thank you. Having just found out about them, I hadn't gotten that far.

[canetoad]

23. We've had a couple of weeks

Of very rough weather with numerous fronts stirring up very high seas in southern Oz. So much broken plastic was washed in that I became discouraged that I couldn't pick it all up. It's with us forever - until it's eaten by birds and ocean life. Feeling a bit jaded about synthetics right now.

[IcyPeas]

18. Inflatables (A repeat post).... but its cute

My boss: so how's our fourth quarter looking?

Me, the sales manager at the company that makes inflatable frog suits: well, you're never going to believe this, but

— Django Wexler (@djangowexler.bsky.social) 2025-10-10T19:36:12.148Z

🐸❤️🐸❤️

— Kimberley (@kims-sky.bsky.social) 2025-10-11T17:05:46.690Z

[niyad]

20. cuuuuute

[Maru Kitteh]

24. I was first aware of them in the mid/late 90's I think

Some inflatable mascots showed up about then, and that’s also when you started to see inflatable yard decor. I assume more practical costumes for the public became a thing with more recent innovations in battery technology.