As a child I wanted to be Rainbow Brite
for Halloween, but was unable to obtain a Rainbow Brite costume. But
this year, the 30
th anniversary of the Rainbow Brite
brand, I decided to make it a reality.
I bought a vintage size 8 McCall's
costume pattern and with my mother's help we increased the size of
the pattern to fit me, as an adult. My mom chose taffeta as the
fabric, because of it's good breathing and shape keeping. Since I
live in Florida, the fall days are some what iffy. Between surprise
rain, and heat and cold fronts, I know I wanted a costume that could
hold up to it. Also, the fabric photographed so well!
A lot of it was experimenting with the
pattern and a lot of mistakes and successes. My favorite part of the
dress was a part that I designed completely from scratch: The Color
Belt.
I made a removable color belt. To get
the Rainbow as close to the real belt, I actually increased a real
Rainbow Brite image from the 80's and used the belt image as a
template. The Rainbow itself is felt, as the costume requested, but I
made my own improvements
1: To make the belt have weight and
substance I bought firm felt and made an actual belt base. I cut it
into strips and sewed the strips together.
2: I wrapped the taffeta fabric around
the felt belt, and made a pocket in the back to insert custom LED
lights.
3: I bought battery operated lights and
arranged them in a “Rainbow” pattern to back light my belt for a
fun lighted effect. I wanted a sound effect box, but I didn't have
one...maybe in my next costume...
4: I also added two over sized buttons
on the back to mimic the real double buttons on a REAL Rainbow Brite
image (from behind)
From head to toe, here is the costume
Head:
Wig: Blond Pony Tail Wig (Ebay) $19.99
Bow: Left over scrap taffeta from
dress, Blinking Red Star pin from party store ($3)
Eyes: Blue Contact Lenses (Pinky
Paradise) $21.99
Dolly Eye lashes: $4
Cheek Star: Foam Star painted purple
Basic make up: Pink lip stick, pink
cheeks, pale make up (I'm olive skinned, so I had to lighten my skin
to match the hair and eyes)
Dress: Shirt: homemade
Jumper/skirt: homemade
Crinlin: Homemade
Boot Covers: homemade
Accessories:
Twink Purse: vintage
twink, stuffing removed, and zipper installed, taffeta scrap for
strap
“Prism” Ball: Store bought blinking
ball with rainbow strips and blinking lights
Umbrella: Large Rainbow Umbrella Store
Bought with 2 strands of battery LED lights, sewn to umbrella.
(Lights were $3 each)
Over all look: PRICELESS!
I debuted my costume at Mickey's Not-So-Scary-Halloween-Party in Disney World.
The costume was a big hit with fans. My
mother came with me and she kept telling me how people were
commenting as I walked by.
I stopped for photos a lot, and gave
"star sprinkles" (foam star stickers) to anyone who asked for my photo or stopped me to comment on it. This included costumed families and Disney Cast members. One of
my favorite is when an official Disney Character actually called to me...a real
one! Sadly I was unable to get a photo with them because they went on break, but I love that my
costume called to them.
I was told I needed to be in a contest
that my costume was so well done. I blushed so much. It was such a
wonderful time. I was told I made so many people happy and made their
nights by being there representing their childhood and this
character.
I hope I did the fans, the brand, and
everyone who appreciates costumes justice.
This really was a dream come true. Some
times you have to take your dream in your own hands and make it
happen.
Also, don't forget to tune in to Brite Cast to hear mine and Katy of Rainbow Brite.Net's costume memories!
Until later,
Have a Rainbow Day!
