When I was a child my grandma who was a seamstress had four trunks full of wonderful costumes. The trunks contained not only cast-off clothing, but many costumes in all sizes, and a load of fabulous accessories. The costumes had been collected from theater and dance troupes, costume shops, charity shops, and from the closets of relatives, friends and neighbors.
There were ethnic costumes representing several nationalities. I could be a ballerina for there were real hand tutus. I could be Cleopatra or a belly dancer. I could be a Princess and wear a gorgeous embroidered ball gown. Or I could be a fairy and wear gossamer wings. I could choose from a vast array of women’s headwear ranging from wigs and hair pieces, and tiaras and crowns to hats and veils. There were many masks and some were beautifully bejeweled.
I loved rummaging through the trunks and pulling out all treasures – role-playing costume choices I could make for rainy day play times, masquerade parties, and for Halloween. I was an imaginative child and those rainy days and parties were perfect times to become someone or something else just for the night.
Many members of my family are dancers, actors and actresses, and all the women in my family have followed grandma’s costume trunks tradition. We rarely purchase any last minute Halloween costumes. We all love masquerade parties and Halloween and we can all sew.
Today I have those trunks that belonged to my grandmother. I take great delight in sharing the contents with friends and their kids on rainy days and on Halloween nights. Some of the older clothes are gone now — mended until they were beyond repair and then torn apart to make other items. But every year the contents have grown as others have caught on to the idea of collecting as well as borrowing. When we find a special piece of odd ball clothing with costume potential at a garage sale or in a charity shop or in someone’s closet I tuck it away in the trunks.
Do you have a costume trunk?
Nicone
October 28, 2010
What a gorgeous treasure trunk / coffee table! I have a more modern (read: boring) one for my kids’ costumes from IKEA. It does the trick but I would have loved having an old heirloom like yours.
timethief
October 29, 2010
Hi Nicone,
I think everyone ought to have a costume collection and keep building it. Over time you may want to gift your own kids with it and they can pass it down the line when they are ready to do that too. I have included some of my 1970′s “hippie” clothes in the trunks and added even more clothes from the following decades. From 1920′s flapper girl outfits to go-go boots and mini skirts I’ve got it all. Trolling through charity shops and garage sale items is such great fun and can produce some terrfic costume pieces. Sizes aren’t much of a concern when you come from a large family and when you can sew. I collect whatever I think may have costume potential.
Baxter
October 29, 2010
I don’t have one now but when i was a child i remember seeing these things at a relative’s house. It’s really amazing-the feeling of opening one and finding out the contents. I do love seeing people in costumes and it’s really cool to indulge yourself in something like this now that Halloween is here. It’s really a great feeling. Thanks for sharing this wonderful post.
timethief
October 29, 2010
I’m so happy to hear that you had the same childhood experiences I did. Opening those trunks on a rainy day was an experience full of discoveries that unleashed our imagination. Sometimes we kids would dress up and create our own little plays, which our parents and relatives would dutifully watch and applaud loudly for even when we were awful. Dressing up and trying to act in character produced some hilarious times which have been caught by the camera’s lens, and sharing copies of the images of us all in costume throughout the family brings back wonderful memories.
JaneneMurphy
October 29, 2010
I have a costume trunk, as well. It mostly contains costumes my children have worn over the years. I can’t say I have much use for a size 4-6 Tigger costume, but I just can’t part with such wonderful memories of the past. They are one of the few things I still hold onto, plus it’s fun to see the kids try and squeeze into them today. They’ve grown so much, but the memories remain.
timethief
October 29, 2010
Memories of happy times are precious treasures and the items that cause us to recall them can be passed on, although it may take a few years for that to happen. I love looking for new pieces with costume potential and accessories all year round. My girlfriends and I are thrift shoppers and our charity and recycling shopping adventures are memorable excursions too. The next time you are thrift shopping and spot a clothing item or accessory that causes you to exclaim: “OMG I wouldn’t be seen dead in that!” remember that Halloween is coming and buy it. ;)
Funkkeejooce
October 30, 2010
Hi TT! :)
We do have costume and decoration trunk for special occasions like Halloween, Christmas and Easter. In fact, just an hour ago I rummaged through the trunk to get the Halloween masks, costumes and decorations out. The costumes are for us and our staff, and we decorate our work place as well. We have big bags of sweeties ready for work as well as for home when the children comes to do “trick or treat.”
Our costumes and decorations are not hand-made but bought through the years. We have quite a collection now and our clients are looking forward to our Halloween special. I’m not a good seamstress and even if I was, I don’t think I would have the time for it. Sometimes, I do envy those who can make their own costumes. It must be a real delight to be able to make your own creations.
This year I’m not feeling too adventurous – so I guess I’ll be a witch (yawn) and hubby will be a Frankenstein. I’m more the person to work behind the scene.
Hope you have a great Hallow’s Eve. :)
timethief
October 31, 2010
Hello there,
The best thing about having costume trunks is one doesn’t have to buy anything or even do much planning. Even at the last minute one can find something to wear.
I’m wearing a purple ballgown over a silver colored body suit. I will also be wearing blonde wig, silver shoes and handbag, and a silver mask. Hubby is dressing as a tourist in shorts with big pockets bulging with maps, a Hawaiian shirt over a long sleeved T-shirt, sandals (with socks!), a slouch hat, and our broken camera will be hanging around his neck.
Thanks for the well wishes. I hope you have a wonderful Hallow’s Eve too.
P.S. My computer has been breaking down for weeks and it died. I have been popping into friend’s places to use theirs for a short periods of time this last few days. I can’t phone the repair shop until Monday and don’t know when they will be able to look at it. I sure hope I don’t have to buy a new one – so cross your fingers for me.
nothingprofound
November 1, 2010
What a wonderful legacy to pass on from generation to generation. The kids must have so much fun rummaging through the trunk, and playacting their childhood fantasies.
timethief
November 1, 2010
I love watching kids and adults too as they rummage through the trunks and select which pieces to make a costume from. Some of the most unusual get-ups are a mix of various pieces from different costume themes. I think imagination and playacting and good-natured responses to the same are among the very best aspects of Halloween.
Juliana
November 12, 2010
I come from a family where we don’t hang on to stuff so never had the opportunity of a costume trunk – mother would have nothing that could attract moths or beasties! :( However, as a child, my paternal grandmother had kept the wedding dresses of her 3 daughters, my aunts, and I used to so enjoy dressing-up in those as they were ones with big sticky-out skirts. I used to shove a bit of net curtain on my head and go tripping around feeling like the fairy godmother from cinderella!
But apart from that, never did the dressing up thing. I don’t think it’s a tradition we particularly have in the UK. The Halloween thing is of very recent times over here and the majority of us pay no heed to it whatsoever.
Our one big dressing up event is the Xmas pantomime where the actors dress outrageously and that is a lovely colourful English tradition.
timethief
November 12, 2010
@Juliana,
I laughed when I read about the wedding dresses. My grandmother was a seamstress who made wedding dresses, prom gowns, ballgowns, etc. My cousins and I would dress up in our mother’s heels and crinolines and gowns. One of the dresses I liked most of all was a wedding dress made for a very small woman and I was the only one among my cousins that it fit. Grandma inherited the dress when the wedding was called off. Years later it became an fairy’s gown that I wore in a school play. In another year when I was Snow White in a school play grandma had the perfect clothes in her trunks for me to wear.
It’s interesting to hear that you also had a X-mas pantomine. One place we lived in did have that tradition but I recall other times and places where masquerade parties were quite common. On May Day all the girls wore lovely spring colored gowns and we had a ribbon pole we danced around. It was great fun.
It’s aloways good to hear from you. Thanks for commenting.