Vintage Halloween Pics Round up

At the beginning of October I put out the call for your vintage Halloween costume photos and brother, did you respond with your wood paneled goodness like this photo from Jason above.

To be honest, putting them all together became a daunting task, however, that's a good problem to have. An incredible vintage costume explosion awaits after the jump.

Les Super Heros!

This catalog page from France is like every other thought i had when i was eight. Nowadays I sadly think a lot about sandwiches more than Shogun Warriors....

Da Grail! Da Grail!

I managed to track down a major Halloween costume grail this past weekend and while it's certainly not the most expensive or most desired suit on my want list, it sure is a personal  favourite. More on this after the jump!

1968 Collegville Costumes Catalog

It's Halloween season and that means a shiny new costume catalog from one of my favourite companies in the entire world, Collegeville!

This year we go waaaaay back to 1968 and check out what was hot for kid's costumes that year. Leading the charge is Doctor Doolittle but in his wake are such familiar characters such as Tarzan, The Phantom, Doctor Solar, Major Matt Mason, Flipper and a nobody named Mr Spock.

Check out the 1968 Collegeville Catalog here!

Collegeville's TV assortment

I love this assortment from 1969, the majority of these characters would end up on costumes for decades. Promotion for these was done on TV spots but not in the usual manner but through participation with the myriad of local kid's shows that peppered the landscape at the time. 

Here are a couple of photos:

We need to bring back cartoon show hosts...

Seeking Vintage Halloween Photos!

Ah, It's my favourite time of year again and like always I'd like to put out the call for your vintage Halloween photos, show me me your store bought and home made costumes from the times of orange and brown.

Send them on in to Kid70s*at*gmail.com (replace the at with an @ of course) or load them to our facebook wall! I'll feature them on the blog this October!

1986 Ben Cooper Costume Catalog

It wouldn't be Halloween without at least one costume catalog on PlaidStallions and I'm thrilled to be showcasing this rarity from 1986.

It's pretty hard to find an 80s property that isn't represented here, I mean seriously this thing is chock full of cartoon and toy characters.



Check out the 1986 Ben Cooper Catalog here!

More Halloween at PlaidStallions

   

Halloween Department 1980

THIS is my happy place today.

All those wonderful costumes on display are from the 1980 Ben Cooper catalog BTW.

Spider-Man meets Zorro

This children's Spider-Man costume from France is pretty killer and detailed, the ray gun is weird but I bet kids didn't mind.

Cousin Eerie Halloween Costume

Well here is something I've never seen before, thanks to my buddy Matt for sharing. This is a Ben Cooper Cousin Eerie Halloween costume based of course on the mascot for the Warren magazine Eerie.that ran for nearly 20 years.




And it's a great costume too! Nice mask and smock action here.


According to Matt, there is a costume for "Uncle Creepy" as well but it must be rare as he doesn't own one. 

   

Sid & Marty Krofft Halloween Costumes Gallery

One of the biggest influences of my childhood were the Saturday morning programs created by the famed Canadian brothers Sid and Marty Krofft. I don't think I was alone judging by the amazing variety of Halloween costumes available almost every year of my childhood.


Thanks to my pal Dave McKroffterson for sharing his

amazing and often times obscure collection of

Sid and Marty Krofft costumes and prototypes for 


this amazing gallery.

From Electra Woman to Dr Shrinker and more 

Witchie Poo than you can shake a stick at it's all in

the Sid and Marty Krofft Halloween Costume Gallery!

   

Ben Cooper Star Wars

While Kenner was scrambling to make Star Wars action figures, Ben Cooper got Star Wars costumes out for 1977. 

Two weeks after Halloween, I doubt it mattered.....

Sesame Street the Count Play Face and Cape

I actually am kind of angry that I never saw this as a kid, it's incredible!

Star Trek Week: Capes by Norben

Here's a bit of weirdness from Canada, I actually remember finding one of these in the 80s. Halloween distributor Norben released a series of low cost Star Trek cape and mask sets using what I guess is some Ben Cooper masks from the first movie.



It's a pretty low rent affair complete with a card that had to be produced locally, there is no way anybody at Paramount approved this magical thing.




Let's get a good look at this, a really bored Ilia, Kirk in a pink shirt (which happens a lot with Halloween costumes), Mr Spock and a man with a shrimp ring on his head.




Around the back is the sticker I guess you attached to the cape to make it official. Even if Captain kirk wore a cape, it wouldn't have a picture of himself on it. Although I do believe William Shatner's would....

Needless to say, I adore this thing.

Atari Halloween

For some reason I didn't add this page to the 1983 Collegeville Catalog when i did it and it only took me 7 years to figure that out. I can't imagine the conversations when the designers were told tha they had to develop a costume for Asteroids but in the end, I can't say I could do better...

BTW i was true blood atari fan, I got in fist fights with Intellivision kids, I still hate George Plimpton...

Pod Stallions 22: Store Bought Costumes

As the title suggests, episode 22 delves into the wonderful world of Halloween costumes but none of that "Home made with your mom's love" kinda junk, this talks about the good old "smock and mask" stuff you got at places like Woolco or Kresge's.

In what is probably our most visual episode, Jason and Brian go through the many catalogs on Plaidstallions from companies such as Collegeville, Ben Cooper and Kusan.

From deep discussions about Grizzly Adams, The Village People, Hee-Haw, Tattoo from Fantasy Island and of course, Flash Gordon. This one doesn't leave many 70s stones unturned. Look for cameos by your favourite Star Wars characters Yada, Darth Vadar and Baba Fett.

Download the Show Here

Listen here

Show Links:

• 1974 Collegeville Catalog
• 1978 Collegeville Catalog
• 1979 Collegeville Catalog
• 1983 Collegeville Catalog
• 1980 Ben Cooper Catalog
• The Ad for Village People Costumes
• Denys Fisher Cyborg toys based on Henshin Cyborg.

Plenty more content on the PodStallions Facebook page!

We'll be adding Halloween Costume photos to Facebook.



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Hairy, Scary Monsters from Collegeville

1982 saw the Universal monsters depart Ben Cooper and move over to Collegeville for a glorious rebranding. The monster were all given weaves, gorgeous new packaging and Collegeville even added the Metaluna Mutant to the mix.

This Friday's Pod Stallions is all about Store Bought Costumes of yore, hope you'll check it out.

For more on the Collegeville Universal Monsters, check out the 1983 Collegeville Catalog here.

1974 Kusan Halloween Catalog

Kusan may not be as well known as Ben Cooper or Collegeville for Halloween  and they certainly didn't get the "A" licenses but they sure knew how to create some innovative and highly creative costumes.

From ideas like combining a kazoo into a Halloween mask to

Licensing teen heartthrobs like David Cassidy,  this is not just a fun trip but it's also one of the prettiest and well designed toy catalogs I've ever seen.

Check out the 1974 Kusan Halloween Costume here.


More Costume Goodies