I got this for my oldest and this is my first costume purchase, so I'm not sure if it's supposed to hold up better.  The look and fit are pretty good and my son is a rather thin 4 1/2 year old (his cousin who's a year older tried it on and it was super small, but he's very big for his age.)  He's worn it at least ten times and at this point the stitching is coming apart in some places (very small areas) and the velcro came off of the back (but we can still velcro it onto the fabric).  It seems comfy too.  My son only wears it over clothes, but his cousin wore it for about two hours without clothes and didn't seem to mind it.  (Price was worth the look on my son's face alone when he saw it)