Monday, October 31, 2011

My Hallowe'en Costume! Part One

Hello, everyone! I promise that I have not abandoned this blog; I had a sick little boy, which sort of put everything else out of my head. He's fine now; in fact, it didn't seem to slow him down much at all, although I can't say the same for myself! After that little episode, I was kept very busy planning and executing (and cleaning up after!) my annual Hallowe'en bash. I'll share those pictures later, but I'm so excited about my costume that I just had to show it first! I decided to divide this into three separate posts; one to show the finished costume, and two subsequent posts to show the details of the coat and the jodhpurs. I actually stopped to take pictures while making the coat (don't get too excited; I took the pictures with my phone, so they're not great)! Here it is:


If only the Vintage Baroness and I could have attended the same party; take a look at her ridiculously awesome costume...wouldn't we have made a great pair?
Everyone thought that I was Amelia Earhart, although my original intention was to be Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The fact that a huge number of people had never heard of either woman and had no idea what my costume was supposed to represent was very disheartening. Darned American educational system! There were quite a few children, though, who yelled "Amelia Earhart!" at me, so they must still study her in school (and then forget all about her when they become adults)! Of course, my ever-complimentary husband decided that I looked like the creepy kid in "A Christmas Story"who stands beside Ralphie in line to see Santa.


I found the hat and the vintage welding goggles at a flea market a few weeks before Hallowe'en. I had been planning to make my own hat, but since I found this one, I took the faux leather that I had bought for the purpose and used it on the pants instead. It turned out to be a luckier find than I thought; the coat and jodhpurs took much longer than I had anticipated, so I wouldn't have had time to make the hat anyway!


The boots were a lucky ebay find; I had been looking for boots like these for months, and I finally found this pair, reasonably priced and only a little bit too big for me, a few weeks before I needed them. Fate! The scarf is made from white crepe, and the shirt is from Banana Republic via Goodwill.


And a good time was had by all! It just about killed me to get a store-bought costume for Henry; I actually have a child's pattern for jodhpurs and a little bomber jacket, and I was planning for us to be Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Alas, I ran out of time...maybe next year! He's really into Mickey Mouse right now, though, so he was pretty excited to wear this, as you can see!

Here is a photo of Anne Morrow Lindbergh. In addition to being a pioneer of women's aviation, she was also a well-published author.


Stay tuned for the details on the coat and jodhpurs, and for some pictures of my party!

25 comments:

  1. I just have to say that your sewing is absolutely fantastic!! I love your designs! Being stunning on top of that isn't given to everyone either! :oD Can't wait for your next posts!!

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  2. Who hasn't heard of Amelia Earhart? Haven't they seen Night at the Museum 2! Your costume is awesome, love it so much. Not very scary though.....

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  3. This has to be the greatest costume I have seen this year. It´s perfect and your hair looks amazing!

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  4. you look so fantastic! I was -this- close to being Amelia Earhart this year but alas, no time. I had sick kiddos too :(
    Your little man is too cute!!!

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  5. Your jodphurs are simply fabulous. The whole outfit is of course, but jod's happen to be a favorite of mine. Your boy looks so happy and so cute:)

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  6. COOLEST. COSTUME. EVER. You look GREAT! Can't believe you made the jodhpurs and jacket yourself. I mean, I can, because I've seen your other pieces, but WOW. Good job!

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  7. Amazing, amazing costume!! I really adore those jodhpurs, and your hair looks especially perfect!

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  8. Your costume is stunning!! I am always so impressed by your amazing sewing skills :)

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  9. AWESOME. I can't believe you made the jacket! Wonderful job! My niece is actually named after Amelia Earhart, so she would know who you were :D

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  10. Awesome costume! Your little boy looks so excited, bless him!! X

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  11. You are so amazing love the whole outfit

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  12. I adore those pants, and well, the entire outfit. I probably would have thought you were going as Amelia, though.

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  13. Just found your blog, and after scanning through some of your posts I have to say I'm really in awe about how good all your outfits look! So well made! And this Halloween costume is amazing! The only thing missing is an old plane in the backyard ;) Your son looks adorable in his Mickey Mouse costume too. If that's what he wanna wear, it's completely ok to buy a ready made costume. He does look very happy in it! :)

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  14. That is awesome! I went as Amelia Earhart a few years ago, but yours is much better! I'm new to your blog and I already love it! I'm a historical reenactor, and it's always good to meet other historically-inclined folks.

    My own blog is at www.driftingfocus.com

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  15. You are just awesome!!! I'm new to your blog, but one day I'm going to sit down and go through your archives. I just hope you don't paralyse me with your perfection. You're a hard act to follow lady! But please continue to be my inspiration.

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  16. PURE perfection!! I did an aviatrix look last year, but your ensemble leaves mine in the dust. WOWOWOW!

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  17. Anne Morrow Lindbergh...I read her diaries growing up. I wanted to be her. Living that life, married to her handsome man...I was sorry to read later that she suffered from depression...and well, her husband, he didn't help the situation with his own foibles. But great costume! I did see who I thought was Amelia Earhart at the bar Halloween.

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  18. Thanks, everyone! Sean, since I didn't get a chance to make my little one's Charles Lindbergh costume, I pretty much could have been any '30s aviatrix. Amelia is definitely the most well-known, so I happily answered to that name! I was just glad when I didn't hear, "What are you supposed to be?"
    Kelsey, I'd love to see a picture of your costume, and your blog is terrific!
    Baroness: I remember! I loved your aviatrix costume last year; I was (and still am!) jealous of your vintage breeches! But your costume this year definitely takes the cake!

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  19. I absolutely adore your costume! And that hair... I wish I would learn to do my hair like that. Very stylish!

    Rhia from
    http://www.evildressmaker.com/

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  20. Hello,

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    Thank you!

    -Rhiannon
    mars@boudoirdoll.com
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/normavalentine/

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