Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Get That "Anna Rexia" Look This Halloween!
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 21, 2011
Modified Sep 21, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 21, 2011
Modified Sep 21, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
You might not believe it, but Halloween is just a little over a month away. And as such, people have already started thinking about what inappropriate, button-pushing costume we might don this year. Oh sure, a sexy Sesame Street costume worked just fine in 2010, but this is 2011! It's a brave new world! But we think we've found the costume for you to make the perfect splash on October 31st: "Anna Rexia."
The costume, which was designed by Dreamgirls, has been floating around the internet picking up controversy for a few years on sites such as HalloweenStreet. They quickly removed it from their site after numerous complaints about bad taste: "We seriously apologize if this costume has offended anyone. The costume has been taken down from our store due to the complaints and we didn't realize the kind of harm this would cause."
But it seems that Ricky's Costume Superstore isn't fazed by the prospect of offending hundreds of thousands of women who have struggled with eating disorders their whole lives—the product is currently "coming soon" (there's even a "plus" size). We spoke to Ricky's today, however, and they told us that despite the "coming soon" banner, they are no longer in the hilariously-offensive-costumes business: "Ricky’s NYC is actually no longer selling that costume and has taken it off their website."
Tagged
anna rexia
anorexia
costumes
halloween
ricky's
ricky's costume superstore
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Women gather at Gloria Steinem’s Upper East Side home to lay flowers, pay respects
The feminist icon, who died at 92, was a longtime resident of the neighborhood.
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Sep 3, 2026
Here’s what NYC's median rent of $4,200 gets you in each borough
A shoebox in Chelsea, a luxe apartment in Riverdale and five (!) bedrooms on Staten Island.
By
David Brand
and
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Here’s what NYC's median rent of $4,200 gets you in each borough
A shoebox in Chelsea, a luxe apartment in Riverdale and five (!) bedrooms on Staten Island.
By
David Brand
and
James Ramsay
September concerts in NYC: Dancehall, death metal and Erykah Badu
By
Hank Shteamer
Pete Davidson, Colin Jost to host free comedy show on their Staten Island Ferry
By
Hannah Frishberg
September at the movies in NYC: Occult scenes, concrete dreams
By
Emma Stefansky
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .