So Why is it so SPOOKY this time of year at Satin Stitches?

Satin Stitches | Oct 28, 2009 | 0

Spooky stuff at Satin Stitches households this time of year!

It is SPOOKY this time of the year, at Satin Stitches! WHY?

The NBA season starts this week. We have been preparing sassy new outfits for the Portland Trailblazer Blazer Dancers, Golden State Warriors and the New York Knicks City Dancers. It is Show Time! Not to mention all of our HS Dance Teams needing their new competition costumes and Show Choirs getting outfited for their upcoming season!

Oh, but there is a holiday right around the corner. Oh yes, it is Halloween!

Being the head designer of a custom design costume manufacturer, you would think that my kids and myself must have had incredible Halloween costumes, right? Well, not so much. As the saying goes, the shoemakers children usually go barefoot. I usually do not have much time for spending on personal, family Halloween costumes.

We are into our busiest, most stressful 4-weeks of our year RIGHT NOW. So there is usually not very much time to devote to what most people think about in late October. But there have been a few glitzy-bright spots! Read more to find out.

My orange crepe-paper fringe on a burlap sack, made into a dress, a la The Roaring Twenties, that I fashioned for myself in Elementary school, complete with gold painted shell pasta necklace, was my favorite costume, as a child.

I continued this theme and era, when I dressed myself for a costume party as an adult. After honing my design, patternmaking and sewing skills, I fashioned black chiffon with beautiful crystal rhinestone and beaded Art Deco appliques trimming the drop waisted Twenties style. Yes, I have always loved the fashions from the 1920s.

Now that I am thinking about it, one of my best designs for my Senior fashion show in college was a 1920s dress. This one was a pink Lurex gown-which was a really pretty costume!

For Halloween, I currently have my Prisoner of Love costume, which is in the photo. Both my husband and I have worn it, as well as my stepson. You will have to ask him why he wanted to borrow it, on more than one occasion! I will never tell. I promised!

For my kids? Oh sure, I went overboard a few years. I remember an adult sized purple dinosaur named Barney and his little sister, Baby Bop. A kindergarten teacher friend borrowed that costume, one year. It was pretty good costume, if I do say so, myself!

But then there was the leftover black satin tuxedo jacket that became a costume for one of the kids, when they were too young to complain. And lots of white fabric, leftover spandex, by the way, turned into ghost costumes. Of course a simple witch, hobo, and pumpkin have adorned my kids, over the years. And who can forget those dance studio recital costumes that become fairy princess costumes?

Then there was the year of Desert Storm, where I do pride myself on sourcing some fun military badges to add to the authenticity of the kids camouflaged uniforms. Oh, my daughter requested a 3-tier ruffled skirt to be part of her military apparel. Never say that I stifle creativity! I thought that was hysterical, by the way. If you look closely at my photo, you will see it!

The costume that I still have in the shop, is one of my favorites. One year we created a Latin ballroom costume for a client that had black lace with a red lame ruffle underneath. I had a yard or two extra, pre-ruffled. It magically turned into a little mini-Latin ballroom dance costume for my 3 or 4-year old! It is all a blur, as we are always so busy this time of the year. She was little, in any case.

I personally whipped it together in 2.5 hours flat! Yes, I timed myself, as I was in a hurry and had no time to waste. After all, we had Satin Stitches costumes that we needed to delivery!  

You can see this personally-sewn-by-me costume featured in my Celebrating 30 Years of Custom Dance Costume Design Blog listed at www.satinstitches.com, where you can access my complete list of blogs. And yes, the sewing is usually done by our talented sewers, here at the shop. I usually stick to designing!

This little trip down memory lane, has been fun. As an empty-nester with work to do, I do not often have time to reminisce. So now, BACK TO WORK!

Have a safe and happy Halloween, everyone!

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Teacher, Enthusiast, Parent, Costume Design, Costumes (all tags)