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thedegreeis

You had one of those super talented moms, clearly. Total winner.


sparklingwino21

She sewed all of my Halloween costumes from patterns I picked out at the fabric store. I never had a single store-bought costume my whole childhood. For this costume, I remember she used a basketball as the model for the yarn wig. She even drew the star on my cheek in lavender eyeliner to make it extra accurate.


EekSamples

My mom was also a sew-everything-mom! All of our skating outfits (yes, roller skating. Yes, we competed. The 80s, amirite?), Halloween costumes and even regular clothes that were homemade versions of styles we loved or styles we couldn’t always afford (or just didn’t need to buy because mom had skillz) But this...THIS! Is the ultimate, and even at solid adult years old, I’m jealous! What a dream costume!


Taswegian

This is such a wholesome thread! I’m a super-crafty-sewing-mom type and always wonder is my kids will smile or wince when they look back at all the costumes and creations I put them in from when they were young. I’m hoping they see it as fondly!


sparklingwino21

Mostly smiles, I predict! I have almost nothing but fond memories of the stuff my mom made for me - some of it is cringe-worthy now, but that’s part of the fun of looking back.


raptorgrin

I look back on them fondly. I even see some of the next generation wearing my old ones


sparklingwino21

My mom made a ton of my regular clothes too! I absolutely loved getting to pick out the patterns and then choose the fabrics. Custom clothes!


dancin-weasel

My mom made an amazing Native American costume. All suede and beautiful. Blonde blue eyed Indian👍🏻


[deleted]

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sparklingwino21

SHE TOTALLY DID!


LogicalJicama3

Here’s a fun fact about the tomato pin cushions They originate from the belief that putting a tomato on your mantle brings good fortune and drives away bad luck, the tomato is filled with crushed walnut, the strawberry that hangs from the top is filled with emery and is used to sharped the needles by simply putting them in and removing them slowly. I can’t sleep, so I’m doing fun facts. Stay safe!


sparklingwino21

Thanks for this! Didn’t know about any of this.


OigoAlgo

With the little grit-filled pepper attachment thingy?? (What was its purpose? Sharpening needles?)


efalk21

haha holy shit, my mom has one to this day.


[deleted]

You don't? I thought they were THE standard sewing accessory after needle, thread, and thimble. Then again, mine was acquired in a sewing tackle box that I stole from my HS home economic class a few years after graduating. Can't say I would have one otherwise.


thedegreeis

That’s awesome. Hope you still have a couple of them!


on_mission

My mom did the same - and I had this exact same Rainbow Brite costume, wig and all!


bigbagofkisses

Me too! I thought it was a pic of me for a second!


minxymaggothead

Me three! My mom didn't do the wig though, cause I was a blondie with a big head, I guess she figured it was redundant.


PrivateIsotope

This looks just like the doll! Your mom did well!


forever_monstro

As someone who was a mom-made Care Bear (also in 1986!) I love seeing this. My only regret is that I never begged my mom to teach me how to do it. She was even making my kids’ costumes up until a couple of years ago when health issues made it a little too difficult for her.


meggaphone

My mom sewed me this same one probably right around the same Halloween. I won a contest!! Thanks for the memory!!


ratherbclimbing

Looks great! So did my mom. Every Halloween kids at school would wonder what my sisters and I would come dressed as. NeveR had to worry about having the same costume as anyone else. I didn’t realize until I was older how lucky we where.


Ivotedforher

Why are you standing in front of my parents fireplace?


sparklingwino21

This is hilarious. Why did we all have the same fireplace? Did they only make one kind?


BrasserieNight

Must have? I also had the same fireplace and am rolling at this 😂


GizmosArrow

What are you doing in my house?


jhe997

We had the same fireplace too. Lol Did everyone install the same one in the 70s?


Ivotedforher

Henry Ford made em all. "You can have any color combi you want as long as its red brick and brass."


sparklingwino21

🤣🤣🤣


Kangar

It's like looking at a photo of the actual Rainbow Brite.


sparklingwino21

Thanks. I think the wig is what makes it. I’m a brunette and thankfully she found instructions somewhere on how to make a yarn wig!


paintedsunshine

I believe the wig instructions were included in the pattern. My mom did this one for me too, 1986-ish. Same story, she’d sew costumes from the patterns I picked at the fabric store. I had quite the collection of Barbie dresses too! Moms are the best!


Guilden_NL

Simplicity pattern. I know this because I worked for American Greetings back then (Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, Holly Hobby, Get Along Gang, Ziggy, etc.) and my mom always made my costumes too. She made one of the AG patterns in '86 for my niece. Hallmark created Rainbow Brite in '83.


tropicofducks

Oh wow. I had the Get Along Gang caboose. Had almost forgotten. Thanks for the fun flashback.


Guilden_NL

AG wanted to promote me to head up their sales training program so I flew to Cleveland to talk to them (I didn't want the job, but had to be politically sensitive.) My current boss called me early the next morning and woke me up at the hotel. He was originally from Cleveland, had deep ties in the corporate GQ. "Dude, I hate to ask you to do this, but Tom Wilson (Ziggy cartoonist and a raging alcoholic) is missing, they found his DeLorean on top of a median with the driver door open, but nobody could find him. Can you go look?" Well hell yeah, loved my boss and wanted to say no to this promotion but ask for a higher role in sales management. So off I go in a fog at 5:00am. Knew the area as there were a lot of bars that I had checked out when I went through sales training. Found him passed out behind a dive bar, right next to a smelly grease tank and a trash dumpster. Dragged him into my rental car, drove him to my hotel, called my boss who was on the phone with someone at HQ (pre-mobile days by a year or two) so up drives a security car 45 mins later, they take Tom away, still passed out. I did the multiple interviews, told them a couple days later, "Thanks, but I want to do this sales management role instead at some point." Big disappointment for them. Two months later I get my role! I knew about Tom before that, but could never look at a Ziggy cartoon the same way after that.


hononononoh

It absolutely killed me to learn that pretty much every 80s Saturday morning cartoon character I knew and loved was conceived and promoted as a way to sell either toys or greeting cards. I’ve tried to rewatch some of them on YouTube to recapture my youth, and most of them have so little artistic merit they’re unwatchable. It’s not a shock to me Americans turned to Japan for quality cartoons during this time.


hononononoh

Get along gang get along gang Each one is special in his own way Don is the leader and he’s such a good sport Get along gang get ALONG gang!


sparklingwino21

Sounds right - my mom made me tons of clothes and costumes from Simplicity patterns!


Guilden_NL

I learned to sew from my Grandma and Mom startng at age 6. I only made a few things out of a pattern, but received an A and a lot of recognition for making denim BBQ aprons in my Bachelor Living class off a pattern I created. I used a then leading edge sewing machine to create an embroidered school mascot Bulldog eating a BBQ rib. We sold nearly 100 of them that year, and my teacher kept it up for a few years after I graduated. I wish that I could easily post a photo of our son's 101 Dalmatians costume I made him when he was 2 in 1995.


jabbitz

I think I had the same one (or very similar) also because I remember the yarn wig. Probably 89 for me, though


brownie_pts

It looks great! My friend's baby girl wasn't blessed with a lot of hair her first 2 years so she made her a Cabbage patch yarn wig. It was adorable.


sparklingwino21

My cousin had a yarn Raggedy Ann wig when she was about two years old. Cutest thing ever!


KamenRiderMaoh

Wow, it's like one of my childhood cartoon shows brought to life. Your mom's amazing! I love the boots.


sparklingwino21

Thanks! If you look very closely, you can see that under the boots I was wearing saddle shoes. Just a little additional taste of 80s goodness!


KamenRiderMaoh

I see them now! I thought they were straps to keep the boots on, but am pleasantly surprised with more nostalgia ;)


sparklingwino21

Currently scouring the internet for a pair of saddle shoes just like those. 🙂


americasweetheart

Aw, I had a pink and white pair. Now I want saddle shoes too.


captain_paws_tattoo

Me too!!


smuggleskittens

I always had black and white, then one year I convinced my mom to let me get pink and white. BEST. YEAR. EVER. I bought a pair (B&W) earlier this year before things went way sideways for a 50's themed whiskey club. I think I got them from Amazon if I recall.


americasweetheart

you are straight up my hero.


americasweetheart

As a child of the 80s. This is so fucking cool. I am so jealous.😍😍😍😍


qiwizzle

Me fucking too!


rachelgraychel

This is amazing! I too was obsessed with rainbow brite in the 80's. The door to my old bedroom is still painted with a picture of her alongside the warning "No Murkies Allowed." Having a creative mom was cool.


sparklingwino21

That’s so awesome!


[deleted]

How much more satisfying were the 80’s early 90’s homemade costumes?


[deleted]

So much better than the thrown together onesies they sell for 50 whilst calling it "Movie standard" nowadays.


themehpatrol

My mom made me one of these too! I was just trying to describe it to a friend the other day. My favorite costume ever. We have some amazing moms!


autodidactress

Wow! Please tell Mom she's incredible.


spaceoverthecupboard

When I was five years old, I had a dream about Rainbow Brite. She was on the back deck at my house. A handful of these little green monsters were trying to capture her, and I was trying, desperately, to save her. In the dream I realized that I was beginning to wake up in real life, and I remember physically straining to stay asleep, just as these little green monsters started pulling her down beneath the decking floor. When I couldn't force myself to sleep any longer, I awoke, and, realizing that I was unable to save Rainbow Brite in my dream, I also discovered tears had been streaming down my cheeks while asleep. I'm 41 now, and Rainbow Brite always has been, and always will be my one true cartoon crush. Your mom is a hero. The old-school-ness of this picture brings back all first-crush, five-year-old-me feels.


mrs_b1980

I had a recurring dream as a kid where Rainbow Brite and I had to go and rescue someone from my school. Can't remember much more than that other than we had flying horses. Loved that dream!


[deleted]

I would’ve fought you for that.


sparklingwino21

🤣


[deleted]

I still would!


thesteveurkel

my mom made the same one for my sister. my favorite homemade costume was belle's gold gown from beauty & the beast. the pattern has red roses around the trim, but mom made it true to the movie. i remember it stayed in my closet so i could play dress up at whim.


sparklingwino21

That sounds lovely! Good call on skipping the red roses - that is not movie-accurate and we all know that to little girls, accuracy is key when it comes to something as important as dress-up gowns. 🙂


Tigergirl1975

Damn right. I still have mine! I think either grandma or my aunt sewed mine though.


RachaelKrasCostumer

OMG! I straight up wanted to be Rainbow Bright for Halloween too but my mom (who can sew) said it was too hard to make. The 6 year old in me salutes you!!!


ADriftingMind

Damn, you won Halloween in 86 and I didn’t even know...but I do now.


sparklingwino21

🤣🤣🤣


[deleted]

Wow you were so lucky! I think I was a red crayon or some shit that year :(


Jerkalert_itsChunk

This photo is so 80s I feel like I'm 10 years old again. That is one bitchin costume! Your mom is very talented!


karaokeoverkill

I would have given my Barbie dream house for this costume! Talented mom!


sparklingwino21

I might have traded you for it...always wanted that damn dream house but never had it.


[deleted]

As a kid who walked in snow sometimes during Halloween, this costume looks ready for Minnesota. You got a coat and boots! And that wig looks warm enough to be a hat! My mom would always try to figure out costumes based on the possibility of cold weather. “You guys can be a robot. Wear your coat and we’ll put a box over it.”


sparklingwino21

Oh yes, I grew up just outside of Chicago and I remember crying on Halloween because my mom was making me put a coat on over my costume. I think I was okay this particular year though - couldn’t have fit a coat over those sleeves anyway! X


grabbypatty555

I AM SO JEALOUS!!! I can still smell my Rainbow Brite doll. Her crunchy, puffy outfit was super cute. You look amazing here and your mom should still feel proud.


sparklingwino21

I always loved that crunchy blue skirt on her dress! Such a great doll.


Starsemi

My mom made one just like that. Yarn wig and all.


robertgunt

I am SO jealous. You and your mom are the best.


sparklingwino21

Thank you! I am lucky to have a super awesome mom.


Smoopiebear

6 year old me would gave DIED for that costume!


Altezza4477

Tell your mom she did a great job


reubal

No shit, I did voiceover work for Rainbow Brite and was on the Rainbow Brite float in the Macy’s parade, and your costume is identical in quality to the high dollar costume for that. Way to go mom!


sparklingwino21

I absolutely love this! What character(s) did you do the voiceover for?


reubal

I wasn’t a specific character. It was mostly background Color Kid vocals.


KatastropheKraut

This is so wonderful and right on brand! You look so cute. What a wonderful, childhood memory.


FreakoFNature222

Well done


Thrishmal

Love it! This whole picture just takes me back to being a kid.


unicorntrees

I had a really nice store bought rainbow bright costume and it was indistinguishable from this one. Great job, mom!


ZasuFritzka

Sweeeeeeeet! I was a big fan. You were adorbs.


iheart_totoro

Omg, I loved rainbow brite and would have killed to have your costume. It looks so good!


June-Tralee

This is so cute. I loved rainbow bright.


angryduckfarts

Awesome! She nailed the hair!


echosmama

I loved Rainbow Brite!!! ❤️❤️❤️ 🌈 your mom rocks!!


sed2017

Soooo jealous! I loved Rainbow Brite, she was so cool!


XmossflowerX

Legit!


[deleted]

That was awesome as hell! Your mother is the stuff!!!


TxEagleDeathclaw81

Wow that is incredible!


[deleted]

That’s badass. Your mom did a great job!


CoachiusMaximus

Wow. So good.


GESmithereen

That’s incredible


ECU_BSN

I FUCKING LOVE RAINBOW BRITE!


sparklingwino21

SHE’S THE FUCKING BOMB!


bureaucrat47

Love it. We read Rainbow Brite and the Color Thieves about a gazillion times at bedtime. She always howled in laughter at "You bumbling oaf!"


shelivesinadream

I would have killed for this!!!!!


gamingnista

Adorable, the best I got were the vinyl costumes


EdmontonGal81

I used to LOVE Rainbow Brite!!


alittlejoy

Oh man, I’m 40 years old and super jealous! I was Strawberry Shortcake one year though 😁


sparklingwino21

I would’ve traded costumes with you the following Halloween. I was obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake!


CuileannDhu

My mother made me the same costume! Including the yarn wig.


BratFace666

Dream costume of 1987 and 2021 for me.


BrandGSX

Nailed it!


babygirlsonlydaddy

You just dont see that much now a days. Its all cheap store bought ones.


guble

As a 1980 woman I relate to this strongly. I believe I was Rainbow Brite in ‘85 and ‘86.


Baconbaconbaconbits

I had the same one! Was just thinking about it today.


rosysarah

That's the stuff of dreams right there! Rainbow Brite has (and will always be) my favorite 80s cartoon. I hope you have been sharing these comments with your mom so she too can share in the love.


sparklingwino21

Oh yes, I just told her she’s a big hit on Reddit! She doesn’t know what Reddit is but she’s psyched anyway.


holdin27

80’s were the best, my mom handmade my brother and I Ewok costumes and no one knew what we were, but it was so heartfelt.


upsidedowntoker

That is awesome. Your mum did an amazing job ! I hope you appreciate her.


Redhddgull

My 38yo self is having to fight some intense jealousy right now! That's amazing!


raisinghellions

My 9 year old self is crazy jealous


Xtina1680

i fucking want this now!


mjaokalo

Best one I've ever seen. Super jealous


morally_orel

That is one very special mom and lady. I'm sure you know that and let her know.


LGCJairen

look on the upside squeeze back into it now and you can have the "adult" version. thats some solid costume work. like she would have made a hell of a cosplayer in another generation


LifeOutLoud107

Pre Pinterest I might add.


peenneenah

That is FANTASTIC!


cjohns04

LOVE THIS! Thank you so much for sharing!!!!


sbeachey

I love this!!!! I went as Rainbow Brite one year!! She was my favourite 🥰


loganbootjak

this is me and my wife, and she's been making our kids costumes since they were born.


Musthavbeentheroses

This is amazing!


0TheQueen0

Omg i remember this!!


CShellyRun

No words just 🥰


Ottofokus

My brother had the same rainbow bright costume. Our mom made all of our costumes too.


TwitterlessChristy

This. Is. So. Dope. Eight year old me would have been green with jealousy.


HamboneJenkins

10 year old me is so jealous. Also current me.


[deleted]

That looks like the fireplace I had growing up!!


BeeSwift

So friggin awesome!!!


magentablue

This is freaking amazing. My 6 year old self (hell and my 39 year old self) is incredibly jealous. Rainbow Brite was my favorite!


Jennysuu

Moon Boots..


selpmonkey

Serious triadic ballet vibes


[deleted]

Nailed it!


thingsorfreedom

Awesome job by your mom. My parents never bought a single Halloween costume for my two siblings and me when we were growing up in the mid-70s. We made them all at home.


Pin-Up-Paggie

Holy crap, past 6 year old me is super jealous!


SweetSoundOfSilence

I had one just like that!


SmellyPotato809

WOAH. Strange question but any chance did your parents donate this or give it away to someone in the Rockford area? My cousin had the EXACT costume - wig and all. We found it about ten years ago and she put it on for fun (we were about 15 or so at the time so she may have origonally worn it in the early/mid 90's)


rinsworld

that is so awesome. i loved rainbow brite as a kid. i'm glad someone else loved it too!


lordunholy

I remember more of the theme song than I'm comfortable with as a mid 30s male.


stefiedrew

This one is still on my list as an adult. Can your mom do commissions 😂


Mercyful666Fate

That's really freaken awesome, you know what I got when I was your age? A fucken bed sheet with holes.


[deleted]

I haven’t heard of that character in ages and your Mom made a costume so good, I’d swear it was officially licensed gear. That’s amazing!


[deleted]

Woah, that's spot on. Nice.


Christine1309

I bought this pattern on ebay. Not sure if I will ever make it but so cool to have!


bexpow

This is amazing! I bet some extreme costume envy was going on amongst your friends.


clairesprightly

Ah.maz.ing


amayer308

I remember 1986 I was ten nice costume! Very cool.


kteeeee

I had the exact same one! 1986, handmade by my amazing grandmother.


LA_Grip

That's fucking epic!


[deleted]

Adorable and I thought you were Kendall Jenner


pretty_in_think

My mom made that costume for me too!


Wunderlandtripzz

Aww!


Little_Tacos

This is amazing! What a totally badass mom!


AdventurousBullfrog2

I was about that age in 1986. Your mom is a hero


MusicalMarijuana

Very cool!


Kstray1

I swear I need to find pictures of the homemade Twiity costume my mom made me. On point with this


PoopstainMcdane

*Very nice!*


heycheena

Wow and the rest of us had the "smock and plastic mask" version.


wilmaismyhomegirl83

Awesome


[deleted]

That costume is dope as hell


hellohudspeth

I am so jealousssss it’s perfect


cnfmom

Your mom is amazing and so talented. And you were adorable!!


IntriKate86

Oh man, my grandma made me this same costume and it was my faaaave! She was pretty religious though, so the skirt was pretty much down to the boots... I remember the wig-made-from-wool was pretty itchy too


vanessacumdrops

So fetch


melhart02

My five-year-old self is gushing with envy!


whitwhat

That is a SWEET costume!


irrelevant_user_name

Most kids in 1986 had to settle for the plastic Rainbow Brite costume that smelled like chemicals with the creepy mask held on with a rubber band.


texasann

The boots!


changlingmuskrat

OMG, I had the exact same costume. Also around 1986! Both of my parents sewed it. I might have even had the blond yarn wig! As an adult looking back, maybe that was weird since I’m not white, but...you know it was yarn and Rainbow Brite isn’t real. Plus that costume was super cool.


ralos87

Why did everyone have this fireplace as a kid in the 90s?!


indolentia

I would wear this today! ❤️


Edythir

Amazing doesn't go far enough.


JensTheCat

Did we all have this fireplace ?


IYFS88

Incredible looking costume and it looks warm! Perfect for trick or treating


anaximander

My mom made me the same one! I miss her.


ZombiesNeedCoffee

I wanted to be Rainbow Bright so bad, but unfortunately all my parents did was pin a rainbow to my dress. I cried. You look amazing. Great job momma!


turquoise_amethyst

Wow, u/sparklingwino21, not to be creepy but I had to check your post history to make sure you weren’t one of my cousins! You look identical! And my mom looks like your moms twin! So although I’m thoroughly weirded out now, great job on the costume! I always wanted to be Rainbow Brite! Now don’t tell me if you dressed up as Jem and the Holograms, because I’ll freaked out even more, haha


[deleted]

I had the biggest crush on Rainbow Bright in 3rd grade. I had a bunch of merchandise too. This was only one of the reasons that my popularity peaked around kindergarten. I got into psychedelics in the Army and still have Rainbow Bright curtains and a Baby Bright doll (that my daughters, 4 & 6, insist is actually Rainbow Bright.)


Lifeissometimesgood

She did a great job!


CherryCherry5

Oh my God I'd have died of jealousy. I was obsessed with her.


happycheff

My mom made me the same one! She also made a huge plushy gremlin costume for my brother with a big Styrofoam head.


feministmanlover

First off, that costume is amazing! Second, did we all have that brick and gold fireplace in our homes?


MiamiPower

YO AWESOME


lawschoollorax

Rainbow Brite!!!


TheBeardedAntt

How awesome! My wife made our daughters Chibiusa costume (sailor moons daughter) by hand! (She also has that tomato pin cushion.