pattern junkie

Costume Countdown: Cats, Canes & Clockwork Orange

Peruse vintage costume patterns for just a few moments, and you'll realize that the footed pajama has long been the bedrock of kids' costume patterns.  It beckons from within the illustrations like a shady man on a streetcorner, opening its coat full of watches and whispering to tired moms, "Pssst.  Lady.  I know the sewin's gonna take some time.  You're just makin' pajamas, some mittens and a hood with bunny ears or a spaceman's antenna, see?  Let the kid run around in it for Halloween and ya got jammies for the rest of the year." 

Take McCall's 1485 from 1949.  The panda, in particular, is quite adorable.  (Click on the photo to go to the listing, which is at Midvale Cotttage.)

(As an aside: is the brown bunny moonwalking?  I'm not sure.)

So it's no surprise that McCall's 3355 from 1972 is based on the good ol' footed pajama.  (Thanks to historically patterns at etsy for the photo.)  It's a good pattern:

 

See?  Cute!  Bunny is helping Tiger with makeup and Mouse is hanging out with Cat, who's carrying a cane for some reason.  I feel bad for the little girl who's staying in, but she does have good slippers.  S

Adorable and practical: that's the footed PJ costume.  Timeless, really.  So it's no surprise that McCall's re-issued the same pattern in 1980, this time calling it McCall's 7132 (click on the drawing to go to the listing in tiddleywink's shop.)  Taking recycling to heart, though, the pattern illustrators re-used the same concept -- although I find the update disturbing:

Cat still has a cane, and that gives me pause.  Do cats usually carry canes?  I've always been a dog person, so maybe there's a cat/cane connection I don't know about.  Maybe canes were the height of fashion for cats between 1972 and 1980, and any child dressed for Halloween in footed pajamas, ears and a bow tie but sans cane was mistaken for a marmot.

Then there's Bunny.  Bunny isn't helping with makeup any more, electing instead to tauntingly wave a cottontail at Pajama Girl which, frankly, isn't so nice.  Whatever illness is still keeping Pajama Girl inside this Hallow's Eve has presumable gotten worse.  She's practically quarantined off, though the fever has made her blissfully unaware of it.

Mouse has taken over makeup duty, but I don't like the look on Tiger's face.  Not one bit.  That kid is going to cause some trouble.  Combined with the what must be cruel laughter of Cat, the taunting of Bunny and that inexplicable cane, the whole thing is feeling a little too Clockwork Orange to me.  The "Powers" scrawled next to Trio Taunt doesn't help much either.  (Truth be told, neither does the fact that the hubby and I decided to re-watch some Kubrick films last week, so I've got the Korova Milk Bar on my mind.)  At any rate, I fear for Pajama Girl.  She's not going to be smiling for long.

Costume Countdown: I Hear The Mermaids Singing

Today's costume countdown: questionable children's costume patterns! 

First up: Butterick 5597, issued 1991, photo courtesy Spessarite Sole:

Right.  Creating shell-shaped breast pieces for a prepubescent girl?  Nah, that wouldn't make parent OR child uncomfortable. 

Next up? McCall's 2205 from 1985, again from Spessarite Sole's etsy shop:

I suppose sticking them in the flower pots is the only way to keep them on the ground when the wind picks up.

Last but certainly not least, behold Simplicity 8221 from runningalarm:

Imagine opening the door on this group on Halloween night.

MOM AT DOOR:  Look at all you kids!  Jenny, you're such a cute little elf.  I'd better hide the cheese from that mouse --

MOUSE: Squeak!  Squeak!

MOM AT DOOR:  And the pirate and Indian, you're both so scary!  And Timmy...well, uh...

TIMMY: I'M THE SPIRIT OF AUTUMN!

MOM AT DOOR:  You're the what?  I'm sorry, I don't think there is a spirit of --

TIMMY: I'M THE SPIRIT OF AUTUMN!  I HAVE LEAVES ALL OVER MY JUMPSUIT!

PIRATE: Let me put the jack o' lantern over his head.  That helps a little.

MOM AT DOOR: Yes, actually it -- wait a minute.  Timmy, where's your treat bag?  Are those dried leaves in your hands?

TIMMY: I'M THE SPIRIT OF AUTUMN!!  MOM SAYS AUTUMN IS WHEN ALL GOOD THINGS DIE AND THAT IF I WANT CANDY I CAN GO STAY WITH MY DAD AND HIS TARTED-UP HARLOT!

MOM AT DOOR:   ...

TIMMY: I'M THE SPIRIT OF AUTUMN!!!

Costume Countdown: Strange Bedfellows

I was poking around the Vintage Sewing Patterns Wiki today and ran across some truly puzzling costume bedfellows -- or, more accurately, pattern envelope-fellows.  Take, for Exhibit A, McCall's 1890 from 1954:

I can sort of get my head around it: Dad dresses Chinese for Halloween, then gets gussied up as Santa for Christmas.  Or maybe he's Santa for Christmas, and this is an exotic and adventurous family that thrills the block with sweet-and-sour pork for Chinese New Year's.

But then there's Butterick 6343, which, as far as I can tell, contains costumes with no logical connections to one another:

A geisha, a sheik and their little witch offspring?  This, I think, was for the 1950s family that just wanted to be confusing.

Costume Countdown: Pirate Showdown

One of the things I love about collecting vintage patterns is seeing how fashions change.  Take, for example, the pirate costume.  Here's Butterick 6731, copyright 1988, again from etsy seller patternmania.   

Next up is McCall's 4952, from their current collection:

If I had to sum up pirate fashion now vs. then?  Less "Margaritaville", more "faux sinister Johnny Depp."  I know the 80s couple is trying to look sinister, but your average "Pirates of the Caribbean" extra could wipe the floor with them.  Hey, even the little girl in the McCall's photo looks like she's ready to take them on.  So, for those considering the pirate look this Halloween, Pattern Junkie HQ presents:

UPDATING YOUR PIRATE LOOK -- DOS & DON'TS

DO utilize kerchiefs and striped bloomers -- the classics are always on-trend!

DO keep hair slicked back and out of the way.  Unruly locks are easy for swashbucklers to grab!

DON'T veer too far from your basic colors of red, white and black.  You're a pirate, not a fruit stand.

DON'T wear a headband.  'Nuff said!

DO wear a skull and crossbones hat!

DON'T be afraid to show off your waist.  Corset it, ladies! 

DON'T use polka dots bigger than a dime.  You're raiding the high seas, not auditioning for the Mouseketeers.

DO lose the parrot.  No one fears a man with a bird on his shoulder.

The Crying of McCall's 6781

McCall's 6781, copyright 1979, has one of those pattern envelope illustrations that just puzzles me the more I look at it:

 

First of all, what's with those odd green apple appliqués?  Are they a Pynchon-inspired symbol, a la the Trystero posthorn, out to alert those in the know to this pattern's TRUE meaning?

Secondly, is this the pattern guaranteed to put your young one to sleep?  Four of those girls, with their Weasly-red hair and wide feet, are happily succumbing to dreamland.  I mean, they're positively giddy.  Do the nightgowns emit ether or something?  Poor little View B Red is the only one successfully fighting it off, and I fear what dreadful thing she's going to catch her parents doing when she sneaks down to the romper room at midnight. 

Patterns that make you go "Hmmm..."

One of the things I love about collecting/selling vintage patterns is stumbling across clothing designs like these.  They're the ones that startle me -- sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way.

This one, McCall's 3013, is certainly a head-scratcher:

A zipfront shortsuit with a...reverse apron thrown over it?  Well, why not?

After much deliberation, I've decided that the reverse apron thingy should not be considered a skirt.  No way. This innovation is a coat for your legs.

Picture it.  Sigourney Weaver's character in The Ice Storm would wear this to a nice restaurant, whoosh through the door, whip off the skirt (exposing the shortsuit beneath) and hand it to the coatcheck girl.  No one would question her.  Sigourney's tough that way, after all. 

Truth in Pattern Illustration

This may be my favorite pattern illustration ever.  It's definitely in the top ten.  Check it out:

Yes, he's wearing nothing but flip flops, a robe, a 70s porn mustache and tinted sunglasses.  And yes, the can in his hand reads "DRAFT."  (You can argue that it's just draft root beer, but you know you're just fooling yourself.)

It's even better in context.  Here's the full pattern illustration/photo (click on it to see it in full):

View A is so worldly and sophisticated, with his hi fi, record collection and book!  (Sure, he's holding the book like he's not quite sure what to do with it, but it's there.)  Meanwhile View B guy is slouching on an imaginary couch, drinking beer and either watching football or overseeing some serious hot tub frolicking.  He's probably a lot of fun to hang out with, but I bet he's always short on his share of the rent.

Who's "Cyndi", and who thought this pattern was perfect for her?  My guess is that Cyndi's passive aggressive older sister Lynnette bought this pattern and scrawled Cyndi's name on it.  Mr. View B reminded her of Cyndi's layabout husband Mike.  And while I bet Cyndi was initially excited to make a robe, I'm not surprised that she only got as far as cutting out 2 pieces.  Even in a classy plaid, Mike would always choose beer over books.