Evolution of Halloween Costumes

Did I ever mention my mother never throws ANYTHING out?

For this circa 1980 Halloween, my grandmother made me a gypsy skirt at my request - a LOT of sewing of panels & trims, which I of course did not appreciate at the time ..... she let me borrow the afghan off their couch for my shawl

My sister's feather hat was part of mother's "Going Away" outfit when she got married (the hat is still in it's original hat box at mother's; pulled out for posterity at anniversary parties)

Remember when you could buy these brittle plastic masks at K-Mart, could hardly breathe under them (forget about being able to see), sweat dripping down your nose?

I'm pretty sure we have winter parkas stuffed under those costumes!

(Remember Unicef boxes?)

I'm the old woman on the right; the shawl is a woolen blanket my great-grandmother likely hand wove -- can't believe a family heirloom was being tossed around as dress-up clothes!

Note the dress I'm wearing; mother's circa 1960-something......

35 years later, mother gives us the box of Halloween clothing & MY daughter wears the SAME DRESS for Halloween ...... much more creatively as Lucy from the Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe

1975: I'm the clown; sister, a sinister looking bunny.

(good thing we wore those orange reflectors - with parents driving us from farm to farm to trick-or-treat, it's important to be visible to whatever you might meet up with in a barnyard!) 1977: sister wears a revamped version of the clown outfit:
I was so damn proud of my very original, creative idea to not carve my pumpkin for the class contest, but to instead painstakingly cover it in Canada Goose feathers, each individually stuck in. I was SO disgusted when I didn't win a prize for it, but some dork who just carved out the usual triangle eyes & mouth did!!! I even put a sign on it that said, "Hi, my name's Birdbrain"! (should've stuck that sign on the dork's back!)

Anyways, 35 years later, MY daughter dons the clown costume for HER friend's Halloween birthday party.

Maybe my niece will wear it, too, in a few years! (I'm sure we'll at least force her to model it just for a photo)

It's all Mr. Dress-Up's fault

With Halloween soon upon us, I thought I'd post a few photos of my Halloween get-ups over the years ..... but first an explanation of where this all started .....

Ever since I can remember .... I've been dressing up .....

.... and I don't mean in heels & evening gowns .....

we thought we were ever so clever & FUNNY wearing mother's barn coats & dad's hats?
(yes, those were very long, cold, boring winters on a prairie farm.)

Dressing up for any kid always starts with that special outfit your mother sews for you ...

.... and then being forced to pose for that all important first day of Sunday School

(lavendar fortrelle was much en vogue in 1972)

REAL costuming came into play for the Figure Skating Carnival ....
and I mean heavy duty sewing, wiring, gluing & sweating by skating moms .....
(yes, this was also my halloween costume that year)

apparently a figure skating costume is NOT a figure skating costume unless something frilly is protruding from your bottom!

sometimes we didn't even need dress-up clothes to make our statement;
sometimes it was just all about the accessories ....
(anything to get a laugh, right?)

gradually, we became a little more sophisticated with our dressing-up styles & imaginationsActual Halloween costume photos in next post ....