Pokeman {A Halloween Showcase}
Hi, SLPCOers! My name is Jessica, and I have a little story for you.
Once upon a time, long, long ago, waayyyyy back when in March (when my husband and I were sweet and naïve and still possessed things like optimism), we started considering the ways in which we could “make the most of the time we were being given” during our state’s lockdown. Of course, like so many others, we made plans to start a garden and read books and redo our kitchen. (See, isn’t that adorable? Naiveté at its finest!) While that was all fine and well for us, we quickly realized that our two young kids were sorely hurting for some entertainment. Don’t get me wrong: they were absolute CHAMPS about the fact that “the virus” had changed nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Their positive attitudes couldn’t make the walls of our home any more entertaining, though, and we wanted to help them find something to fill the time, so—like any good parents—we turned to electronics.
I’m kidding! Mostly! You see, my then 6 year old son had become slightly (read: totally and completely) obsessed with Pokémon in the fall of 2019, after he stumbled into the ownership of two Pokémon cards. Before we knew it, those two cards had multiplied, and he had a collection of nearly five hundred cards…most of which he had memorized. He quickly pulled his little sister into the obsession, and they would spend hours sorting the cards into “decks,” taking breaks only to bounce around on the trampoline and shout things like, “Pikachu, use iron tail!” and “Dodge it, Eevee!” at each other. I mean, how cute is that?! So can you blame us, then, that introducing them to Pokémon Go during the time of quarantine seemed like the natural thing to do? It gave us an opportunity to get out of the house when there was nowhere to go, and quickly became a sweet family bonding experience. We even pulled aunts, uncles, and grandparents into the fun! “I love you more than Pokémon” has now become the most sincere expression of affection in our family.
Of course, the bloom is off the rose a bit when it comes to 2020 overall, but I’m happy to report that the Pokémon love is still going strong over here even in October! When we started talking Halloween costumes, the theme was obvious. My son wants nothing more than to be Ash (and has even grown his hair out to play the part!), and my daughter had her eyes on being Misty. I was so on board with this (I love costumes that can be worn later as everyday clothes!), and knew that SLPCO would have the patterns I needed!
Now, if you’re a Pokémon aficionado, you might notice that my cute little five year old isn’t sporting *exactly* the same outfit that Misty has. We live in the Midwest, and it is cooooooollllld on Halloween, so a belly shirt and tank top didn’t seem like a great choice. The Lydia leotard, on the other hand, seemed like the perfect fit, and indeed it is! This is the simple, modest back option with ¾ sleeves made in a sunny yellow cotton spandex. I have made her several other Lydias—she is always so happy to see them coming off the machine! I think wearing a leotard gives her a certain kind of confidence and spunkiness…there are a lot more cartwheels in our world when Lydia leaves the closet. This Lydia is no exception, and is proving to be the perfect base for our Misty costume!
I turned to the Maggie shorts and made some slight variations to replicate Misty’s denim cutoffs. I used a lightweight chambray and opted for the low-rise waistband and POCKETS—the secret to every girl’s heart. I added a one-inch cuff to the hem and pressed it toward the right side of the shorts to get that cute folded look, and tacked it up at the outer side seams so that it would stay. I decided to get some elastic suspenders from Amazon (I didn’t have any red fabric—can you believe that?!), but am looking forward to making some of the Maggie suspenders for her to wear with her shorts next summer. I’m thinking a bright floral will be really cute!
We added a cute little Togepi plush, a messy side bun, and some high top sneakers, and suddenly there was a mini-Misty in our presence! She has had SO much fun playing in her costume; it was a struggle to get her to put pajamas on and go to bed on the night it was finished!
As an added bit of fun (and as a precaution in case my sometimes finicky girl decides at the last second that she does NOT want to be Misty) I decided to make a pretty princess skirt to swap out for her shorts. I had some of this sparkly yellow gold tulle lying around, and it was just begging to be worn with that sweet leotard! I decided to grab the skirt from the Elouise pattern; I LOVE the asymmetrical overlay! And when you turn it so that the long section is in the back, it looks perfectly princessy! I sized up so it would be a little fuller and a little longer than normal, and attached an elastic waistband to finish it off. It was so quick and easy, and now we have two totally different looks with the same base piece! Because sometimes you want to be a Pokémon Master, and sometimes you just want to get your twirl on.
All in all, this Misty costume is a hit, and SLPCO patterns made it so easy to pull together. When you have a great inventory of styles like this, almost anything is possible! I hope your Halloween is every bit as lovely as it could possibly be, and that you have much costume and candy success!
