By Molly Snyder Senior Writer Published Sep 30, 2005 at 5:17 AM

{image1}So, you finally find the perfect costume for your kid, only to cover it up with a bulky jacket for trick-or-treating. Happens every year; this is Wisconsin after all.

But now, Whitefish Bay's Anne Brown has a solution.

Brown, who moved here from Southern California, invented Bare Hugs, skin-colored long underwear for kids that can be worn beneath a costume so the neighbors can actually see your little kitty cat or cowgirl.

The mother of a 5-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son, Brown says she came up with the idea after moving here a few years ago and realized how Wisconsin weather can cramp a costume-wearer's style.

"I thought it (wearing a coat) defeated the purpose of dressing up," says Brown, 38, the former managing editor at WITI-TV News.

Bare Hugs are available in three colors: "sandy bear," "polar bear" and "brown bear." They are 100 percent cotton and each set includes a long sleeve, crew neck top and bottoms. They can also be worn as regular long underwear, or under cheerleading and other sports' uniforms.

"I think Bare Hugs are perfect for that Halloween purchase, when you want the kids to look great. The good thing about them is that they are just plain old long johns," she says.

Bare Hugs' Web site is barehugs.net.


Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.

Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.