An inflatable costume or air-inflated costume is a

costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress or cosmetic of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. In short costume is a cultural visual of the people. The term also was tradition ...

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 A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fic ...

and started appearing in the 1990s. One of the first inflatable mascots was

Lil' Red Lil' Red is the lesser of two mascots representing University of Nebraska–Lincoln's athletic programs. Lil' Red was created in 1993, after a statewide contest was conducted to find a counterpart for Herbie Husker. Then-associate athletic direct ...

of the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. Most NBA teams own an inflatable costume. In the UK inflatable costumes are becoming more popular, and many people are wearing them for fun at parties etc. These are smaller versions of the costumes worn by

in the US. They are used by stepping into the costume, turning on the small electric fan and then pulling a

drawstring A drawstring (draw string, draw-string) is a string, cord, lace, or rope used to " draw" (gather, or shorten) fabric or other material. Ends of a drawstring are often terminated with a sheath called an aglet. The ends may be tied to hold the d ...

at the neck, and the costumes quickly inflate. Popular costumes include the inflatable sumo wrestler, ballerina, cowboy, cow costume, pig costume and chicken costume.

See also