I found a couple lists of terrible costumes from the 1970’s and ’80s. You’ll probably have to be 35+ years old to remember these characters. Apparently you can still find this stuff on Ebay.

The list was started by retroCRUSH, and KinderTrauma followed with a list of their own. Check out their websites, they are hilarious!

Fantasy Island Costume

 

Mash Babies Costume

 

Gong Show Costume

 

One Day at a Time Costume

Those are downright creepy!

On the web: retroCRUSH | KinderTrauma

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has converted the world’s largest collection of historical clothing and accessories, The Costume Institute, into a searchable database which is now available to view online.

This project begin back in 2000, and for eight years they’ve worked on formatting and digitizing their 31,000-piece collection. Amazing!

Harold Koda, the museum curator, reports, “Once we got the information together, we thought it would be ideal if the general public could log in and, for instance, find all of our Christian Diors.”

Wow, a person could spend countless hours on their website, and still not see everything. It’s so great that the museum is digitizing and preserving this information for countless generations to come.

Disney knows a good thing when they see it. So they came up with their own line of Disney / Muppets Star Wars action figures.

The Disney action figures will be sold individually for $9.95, and include Mickey Mouse as Anakin, Minnie Mouse as Amidala, Goofy as Jar Jar, Donald Duck as Darth Maul, and Stitch as Yoda, available for sale inside Disney Theme Park gift shops.

Muppets Star Wars figures will be packaged separately or in a boxed set. Characters include Kermit as Luke Skywalker, Miss Piggy as Princess Leia, Beaker as C3PO, Fozzie as Chewbacca, Rizzo as Yoda, and Gonzo as Darth Vader. These figures are also for sale sale inside Disney Theme Park gift shops.

Just when you thought you were done collecting action figures…

Check out welovefancydress.com - it’s a fun costume website that lets users upload their costume photos. Their motto is, “Your online dressing up box. Put ideas in, take ideas out….”

You can browse through the photos, and “tip” the ones you like. Tipping is basically voting, and you can see which photos are the most admired. Fun!

The website is run by Clementine & Rebecca. Great job, Ladies!

www.welovefancydress.com

The Dragonfly costume from Superhero Movie is up for auction on Ebay.

Direct from the set, this is Mike’s screenworn Dragonfly stunt costume. This hero stunt costume includes a green and black w/ black dragonfly on front and attached mask spandex zip up the back dragonfly superhero shirt, green and black w/ hard shoes inside spandex dragonfly superhero pants and a green and black w/ velcro belt that attaches to shirt w/ black buckle. Includes the original wardrobe tag.

This movie is a silly spoof on superheroes. It was released in theaters last March, and the DVD comes out this July, 2008.

Here’s the official movie trailer, if you haven’t seen it already:

I don’t think most people need further proof that geek culture is really sheik these days. However, for those of you who do, I’d take a look at any fashion magazine or blog today.

On Monday night, big named celebrities sardined packed themselves into the Met’s Costume Institute Gala to get a glimpse of the new designer exhibit to go up at the Institute. For those not in the NYC know, it’s called “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy”. That’s right, the world of high fashion has jumped on the Super Hero spaceship and is making a contribution. Who would have thought?

The attendance of Tinsel Town A-listers was high, and so was the paparazzi. Although none seemed to come in mask and cape, there were some “costume-esque” getups sported by a few celebs. Maybe some of them are superheroes in disguise? I have my suspicions. Check out the most extensive fashion coverage at PopSugar.

Our interest centers back on the actual exhibit, of which is likely to not be so fantastic without seeing it in person. We found this YouTube friendly exhibit, but if you want something more high quality check out this link.

More and more, this becomes. Art meshes with fashion, fashion partakes in fantasy, fantasy masks imagery, and masks hide monotony. The costume stands in as a qualifier of culture and life.

jing’s artwork describes this most efficiently.

via the artist’s site:

jing’s SUPERHYPERREAL world is full of people infused with visceral, unsentimental, in-your-face attitudes!

With shiny-eyed optimism and close interaction with everyday people,

jing combines his eye for subtle gestures and expressions with a tropical color palette and the classical formality of the tableau,

instilling the colorful character of his subjects in his images.

Utilizing a healthy dose of kitsch and humor to disarm viewers’ expectations,

jĭng explores the social instinct of people to form communities and identities,

and questions our tendency to define characters and cultural stereotypes.

jing’s appreciation of cultural references and authentic environments, coupled with strong conceptual direction,

help to create contemporary fictions, alternate realities and mythologies in our urban social narratives.

Peek in the gallery to get a closer look at jing’s depiction of culture through movement, apparel, and color as perceived by society. Head over to the main site for a closer look at the merging of art with costume by jing.

Costume collectors are poised to bid on the famous Batman suit worn by Michael Keaton in Batman Returns at a Southern California auction this Thursday. The full Batman suit, described as being in good condition, is part of a large auction of Hollywood memorabilia being sold in the 31st Profiles In History auction. According to Artdaily.org, there are more than just costumes available that will make up more than $1 million in movie merchandise. The site reports:

A King Kong Six-Sheet movie poster, one of only three known to exist, measuring a colossal 81 x 81 inches! ($200,000-$250,000); a huge collection of Special Effects Creatures and Puppets including a Hydraulic screen-used Velociraptor from The Lost World: Jurassic Park II ($80,000-$100,000), The T-Rex Killer!—Hero screen-used Spinosaur head and neck from Jurassic Park III ($60,000-$80,000) and a Pteranodon display featuring a full set of screen-used Pteranodons “babies” from Jurassic Park III ($60,000-$80,000); The first-ever Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (one of only 37 EVER GIVEN OUT), presented to Darryl F. Zanuck in 1938 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences($150,000+); Michael Keaton’s complete “Batman” costume from Batman Returns ($60,000-$80,000) and Charles Middleton “Ming the Merciless” cape from Flash Gordon (Universal, 1936–$40,000-$60,000) are just some of the 1100+ iconic pieces of Hollywood history that Profiles in History, the number one company in the world for authentic Hollywood memorabilia will offer in their upcoming two-day auction, March 27 and 28.

Costume memorabilia collectors have long made up a siginificant portion of the alternative costume enthusiast crowd. Last year’s Marylin Monroe “Lost Dresses” show brought in a slew of donations to the Alzheimer’s society as fans and collectors gathered.

The costume from the 1992 Tim Burton Batman sequel represents the early days of an evolving on-screen franchise that continues today. With the release of 5 major blockbusters, and another on the way, the “Dark Knight” seems to keep his popularity alive amongst movie goers. Lucky collectors will have a chance to see the costume as it was used in its original form.

Stop by the Profiles in History website to find out more about the auctions and many of their most remarkable auctions to date.

2007 brought us upon some of the coolest sites we have seen in a long time. We thought we’d pay a quick visit back to some of the big ones and see just what’s up…

Project Rooftop

I fell in love with this site immediately, as it’s something I’ve never seen before. Comic book artist Dean Trippe put together this blog with the endeavor to re-costume some of the most well known super heroes in pop culture. In the end there are some terribly clever adaptations on classic looks that we have seen on Project Rooftop.

Rooftop likes to host contests for wardrobe redesigns and new looks. I browsed a few of them and must say they attract the most creative artists and gung-ho enthusiasts.

Most notably is the Fights, Flights, and Tights contest. This is where they trade pen and paper for fabric and mask. The annual costume contest brings in some of the more clever comic fans, so you can expect some real classy looks.

Don’t miss the contest and leave some comments. There’s sure to be a MyDisguises reader that will be submitting to the contest soon enough.

Handmade Detroit

Handmade Detroit isn’t quite all about costumes. However, they have their share of content that is great for anyone who is into the DIY thing. Whether you’re dressing up your body for Halloween, your house for the holidays, or your wardrobe with something flashy, it’s good to get tips here.

Since we were last at Handmade Detroit, we noticed plenty of posts covering the Holidays. Regrettably, I personally didn’t get the chance to implement any of the suggestions for my own personal holiday celebration. However, there’s always good content flowing in and out of the site.

My personal pick for the Handmade Detroit contribution not to be missed is the “12 Days of Crafty Projects” segment. It’s classy and looks like a lot of fun.

retroCRUSH

Ahh retroCRUSH, I love you. This site is worth more than all the Garbage Pail Kids you can muster (Actually, I bet they’d love to see your collection). It’s a respectful, light-hearted, and amazingly fun tribute to all things of the past worth remembering. I get a warm feeling every time I even peek in to see what’s going on.

retroCRUSH always has gems, and it’s hard to pinpoint their best. Personally I’d take a look a few particulars.

First is the retroCRUSH Toy Box of Glory. Here you’ll find all the cool toys you played with as a kid and couldn’t let go of. Slinkys, Stretch Armstrong, Weebles, Ouija Boards, you name it. The gallery is pretty comprehensive and there are videos and pictures to accompany everything.

I’d say that the Gallery of Retrobabes is something for the guys, but there’s just too much good nostalgia for women to not appreciate. On the costume side of things, it’s real fun to see some of these old actresses and celebrities decked out in some of their famous garb from popular films. It’s an enthusiasts hot spot.

Heck, even the web site’s layout and design is pleasantly retro.

Costume Craze

This is some sponsor love, because we really mean it. Costume Craze has had a wonderful year, and they are growing to become one of the fastest growing and reliable companies in the U.S. today. Over the past year, they really expanded their costume offerings, and have done a great job keeping our blog alive. How else would we deliver such consistent content?

Since we last checked in with Costume Craze, there’s been a lot to see. What’s most notable is the exclusive offering of custom costumes by Valerie Tabor Smith. There’s absolutely no other way to get costumes this cute for your kids.

We try not to be too preachy, but we owe it to Costume Craze for being so great and for having such a wonderful catalog. Check out the exclusive costumes you can even stock up for next year ahead of time.

For those who are into the more sophisticated history of costumes, the Met is the place to be. With more than 30,000 costumes from all over the world, it’s a respectable collection for any costumer. Although, in many ways the costumes are focused on style and fashion, there is also a vast and extensive historical collection of costumes from 5 different continents and numerous cultures. If you love all things costume, it’s really a must see destination.

That being said, here’s something of note. The Met Costume Institute will be hosting a new tour called “The Art of Dress”. This comes via the Costume Institute website:

 

“The Art of Dress” is a new cross-cultural guided tour that focuses on the way artists have used clothing to express identity and influence from the 6th century B.C. through the 20th century.
This new tour is offered between special exhibitions, when the Costume Institute is closed. This innovative guided tour offers insights into the landmarks of costume history and examines the different materials used throughout the ages. Featuring clothing represented in stone, wood, and paint, the tour covers trends and developments from all over the world starting in ancient Greece and continuing through the 20th century.

It’s sure to be a remarkable display of the pedigree of fashion and costumes. Not quite in the sense that we think of when we hear the word, but all the more worthy of the inevitable attention the tour is sure to gain. We hope to look into this more, as we can’t foresee getting out to New York any time soon. If luck blows our way, we’ll surely cover as much as possible.

What’s old is always new. Growing up I was able to climb into the recesses of my attic and find all kind of costume goodies that were amassed by my family over the years. The best part was that my dad used to be in an improv company and had the wierdest things. I somehow managed to find some cheesy costumes that were big hits. Most of it was unwearable because I was always too small, but I sure found something every year to alter and be totally unique. Most of the items in our family costume box are impossible to find anywhere else, and therefore timeless.

So why not make a history of it. Halloween is a huge part of our culture and who we are. After you’ve taken the pumpkins out the to trash, eaten all the seeds you can handle, and took down the last of the decorations start your own costume vault. There’s more to it than just putting a bunch of junk into a case though. Here are a few ways to make your costume vault a classic.

• As the night goes on, take lots of pictures. You can take these pictures and encase them in plastic protection. Once you’ve protected them, create a tag that can accompany the costume pieces. This will give anyone who will be using it in the future good ideas to start with when pulling the dusty costume out of the closets.
• Hang your costumes. Some boxes are made for hanging clothes. Make sure you have the right kind and protect your costumes from getting ratty. It’s very little effort for mass protective abilities.
• If you really wanna be organized, you can make a book of all your photos. Later on people can browse what you wore over the years, as well as anyone of your family members’ costumes. It’s a great way to prevent people from rummaging through everything recklessly next year.
• Here’s a clever one. You wouldn’t believe how many people get rid of old costumes at the end of the holiday. If you know any of these people, ask them if you can keep them for them.

The great thing about a costume vault is someone will always go back to it for the classic stuff. As time goes on, you’ll find costumes that may have been popular but will be hard to find in the future. Soon, your timeless collection will be well known.

Good luck and happy vaulting!

According to various news sources from the UK, several of Marilyn Monroe’s dresses have been put up for show for the first time in 40 years. That’s right, the dresses themselves have been “lost” for a long time, and well it was all done by design.

By lost, we mean that they were in the care and ownership of award winning costume designer, William Travilla until his death in 1990. Following that time, the dresses were trusted in Travilla’s partner’s hands, Bill Sarris. Mr. Saris also had Alzheimer’s disease, for which a charity is being held by showcasing the dresses.  

Some of the dresses include the famous white dress worn in The Seven Year Itch. The remaining 5 are also of similar fame. There seems to be a ton of attention surrounding the dresses from all fans.

These iconic costumes will be showcased at the Hilton Brighton Metropole Hotel in the UK and will be showcased with some of Travilla’s sketches and designs. This will be their first showing to the public and a great opportunity for Monroe fans to get a close look at the originals.

The show will run from Oct 3-7 and all proceeds will go to the Alzheimer’s Society.

Here’s a look at a few of the dresses to go on display for the event:

 The famous “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes will bring the pink dress to the event.

 This red sequin dress is from the same film, and will be on display.

 Monroe’s most famous dress will be there, this shot is taken from The Seven Year Itch.

This is a purple satin costume worn by Monroe in How To Marry a Millionaire.