A Really Meaty Item

In a previous year, I posted, on a certain day, about raw meat being made into clothing.  (Apologies because the original link from my April 1, 2012 post no longer works.  If I find the original post I was discussing, I will fix the link!)

This year, I found, to my surprise, a website that is actually selling a hoodie printed to look as though it is made from raw meat.  Kangaroo meat, to be precise.  The site is Gamiss.com and you can find the "raw meat" hoodie here.  Sadly, it is being sold in men's sizes only.

Happy April Fool's Day!

A Meaty Item

Readers with long memories may recall that I have written, in the past, about costumes made of meat and other foods.  I used to think that this sort of costume was a purely 20th century form of humor, but the photograph with this post shows that I am wrong.

I recently re-discovered a photograph I once found on the Internet, dated April 1894.  It appears to the left side of this post.  Unfortunately, I cannot recall where I found it.  It appears to be from a newspaper, and records that the gentleman won 40 guineas as first prize at a fancy dress (i.e., costume) ball in Covent Garden.

He is not wearing bacon.  But he is dressed in a costume meant to depict him as a side of bacon.  That is, if a side of bacon wore a hat.  

It seems to me that someone should compile a history of historical costume that focuses on costumes meant to depict strange and fantastical subjects.  The 16th century concept of a masque involved such costumes, and the costumed parties would participate in a kind of skit, often based on mythological themes.  Masques may have involved concepts that are in better taste than a side of bacon, but the ultimate purpose--entertainment--was the same. 

If any of my readers are aware of other manifestations of the modern idea of a "costume" before the 20th century, please let me know in the comments.   Otherwise, have a great April Fool's Day!

Secrets of the Historical Costumers Revealed!

via GIPHY

Here is the perfect costuming post for a day like today (note today's date). 

Most costumers have cats, and blog about them. But this isn't just a costumer's cat, it's a costuming cat! Or at least a sewing cat. (She's so intense! I want to pet her gently and say, "It's okay! Take your time. It will come out all right!") 

This GIF is even historical, in a sense, because the cat is clearly not using an electric sewing machine; so her project must have been done no later than the early 20th century. Though how she is cranking the machine is beyond me. Cats can't work foot pedals, and she's got both front paws on the fabric!  (Maybe it is an electric machine, designed to look as though it has a wheel operated by a pedal. Or maybe the hand crank or pedal is located below the working surface and is being operated by a person who can't be seen in the animation.) 

Many thanks to P. Jennifer Christie, who spotted this GIF and posted it on Facebook, where I saw it. Happy April Fool's Day!

A Belated April Fool's Joke

I was unable to find a suitably clothing-related joke for an April 1 post this year, but right after April 1 my husband found an interesting post on Google Plus about a Roman blind skirt. 

The pictures show a rather attractive midi skirt that can "adjust" to a tiered knee-length skirt.  So how do I know this post is an April Fool's joke? There are several reasons. First, it was posted by a company whose other products are all window treatments. Second, the pricing. To get a price quote, you need to enter a waist measurement and a length (in cm, mm, or inches). The resulting prices are absurdly high for a skirt (over 5,700 pounds sterling!).  Third, most of the Roman blind window treatments the company (called English Blinds) sells are made from patterned cloth, but none of the alleged skirts are.  It seems to me that if a window treatment company sold a skirt, it would make it available in at least some of its best-selling patterns.  Finally, the line about the skirt having a "child safety device" for the adjustment mechanism takes the page over the top, at least in my opinion.  

Happy (belated) April Fools' day!

Fashion--Home Depot Style

Today is April Fools Day, and for the past few years my postings on this day have either been hoaxes related to clothing, or about phenomena that have the look and feel of hoaxes.

Today's post follows this general trend. Today's subject--duct tape clothing!

There's a brand of duct tape (which calls itself Duck Tape) that has for several years had annual contests for the most imaginative costumes crafted with their products. They conduct (no pun intended) two annual contests: the "Stuck at Prom" contest for best prom outfits for singles or couples (rules here), and a "Stick or Treat" contest for Halloween jack o'lanterns made from duct tape. (rules here). The prom contest awards larger sums and bills itself as a scholarship contest. (For a slide show of Duck Tape prom costume pictures, look here; the costumes featured are surprisingly attractive, ornate, and original!). 

Duck Brand isn't the only impetus for duct tape clothing, however. Last year the New York Times ran a story about young people who were for various reasons making duct tape clothing as a hobby, an avocation which manufacturers like Duck Brand and others are shamelessly encouraging by making their tapes in a wide variety of shades and prints. Want to see pictures? Surf on over to Duct Tape Fashion, another promotional site which features accessories made from duct tape. Check out this site on how to make a duct tape Viking helm (with horns, though the authors freely admit horned helmets aren't period!). Finally, Pinterest features several boards of duct tape fashion projects, of which I think this one shows the most interesting costumes. 

Using duct tape to make reproductions (again, no pun intended) of actual historical styles is left as an exercise for the reader.  If you do that, or if you find photographs of such reproductions on the Internet, please comment, and provide links!  And have a wonderful day!

The Viking Bread Costume

Today, my other blog, Food Through Time, combines my interests in historic food and costume, so I searched for a similarly interesting link that combined costume with food.

Here's what I found: a Viking costume! Made from bread. Well, it's mostly made from bread. And it's not terribly historical, as Viking costumes go. And it fits in with some posts on my other blog that discussed recreating Viking bread. Gee, maybe I could make the costume featured in the link above out of a historical recreation of Viking bread! That would make it authentic, right?

No, it wouldn't. But it's still good fun, in the spirit of the day.* Enjoy!



* If you are wondering why on Earth I chose such an unusual topic, look at the date of this post.