Ready to Wear
I know it’s a little earlier to discuss Halloween costumes, but when you’re a kid every day is a good day to dress up. Imaginative play can turn an old skirt into a nun’s habit or a bride’s veil, throw a pair of underpants over your head and a bath towel around your shoulders and bam! you’re a luchador!
There was a great dress up feature in the old Martha Stewart Kids magazine titled 7 Grocery Getups with how-to instructions for amazing costumes made entirely of standard household materials. I really miss Kids magazine, but fortunately a good deal of its content is archived on their site. Their editorial staff had such a great way of coordinating and presenting fun and beautifully designed projects and activities.
Along the same lines, was their take on the dress-up box - an easy to assemble, economic and highly imaginative staple for the playroom.
“From the moment 2-year-olds first slide they’re tiny feet into grown-ups’ shoes, they’re stepping into the magical world of pretend. Experts will say they’re learning another person’s point of view, but to your little grown-up, it’s simply about having fun. You can help your kids enjoy the adventure even more by setting up a well-stocked dress-up box.
The best places to get clothes for a dress-up box are the closets of grown-ups. If you don’t have much to cull from your own closet, put the word out to family and friends. Or visit thrift stores, yard sales, and discount stores, which can provide a wealth of inexpensive selections. The items should strike a balance between ones that have specific uses, such as a football helmet, and those that can have many, such as a scarf. Be sure to add plenty of accessories, and choose a wide array of styles. A great way to expand your child’s options is to occasionally swap some of the box’s contents with a friend’s. There is one item you’ll want to include even though it doesn’t fit in the box: a big mirror.”
Read the rest of the article here.
And since we’ve been discussing Ms. Martha’s magazines, hard core fans will be thrilled to know that the intensely organized folks over at craftlog have created an index of Living archived issues. Ladies and gentleman, I give you the MarthaDex (cue angel chorus).
Finally on the subject of dress up, I want to introduce you to the amazing quick change artist Ennio Marchetto, a comedian who has created his own theatrical language mixing mime, dance, music and costumes made out of card-board and paper. What this man does with paper (paper!) will amaze and inspire you. Following is a video montage from his stage show. If your browser doesn’t support YouTube, you can view the video here.
