Toddler Pan Am Uniform Costume
October 6, 2011 10:56 AM   Subscribe

Help me dress my toddler as a Pan Am stewardess for Halloween.

Our goal is the look from the TV show, more or less the uniform depicted at the top of this site. We already have a Pan Am logo bag which will sell the look, and if need be we can make a hat I'm sure, but what I'm having trouble finding is a good blazer and skirt in that powder blue. It wouldn't need to be exactly what's on the show, just that color and feel, and white gloves maybe. I think she already has a white blouse.

She'll be just under 2 at Halloween, wears size 2T.

(The only commercially-available flight attendant costume I could find isn't what we're looking for.)
posted by davextreme to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (8 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Can you adapt something like this?
posted by jenny76 at 11:09 AM on October 6, 2011


Best answer: A friend of mine made a stewardess costume for her niece last year, and it was totally adorable. She bought a lab coat like this. She took the pockets off with a seam ripper, and cut the coat in half so that it was a jacket and skirt. She put elastic through the top of the skirt, and hemmed the jacket. She dyed the pieces blue and cut wings out of felt and sewed them to the jacket. It wasn't Pan Am, just a generic stewardess. The Pan Am globe and wing logo would be easy to make from felt though. If you picture that lab coat top as a blue jacket, it's really very similar to the stewardess jacket, especially if you put brass buttons on it and have white gloves.

Another easy way to get the pin is to print it out on paper and then laminate it. You can buy that pin and Pan Am wings on Ebay and Etsy but they're expensive.
posted by iconomy at 11:26 AM on October 6, 2011


How are your crafting skills? I bet you could do it pretty easily and cheaply with a t-shirt. Nobody will mind that it's knit as long as it's got the hint of the shape that you're looking for, and your kid will be comfy.

So:
1. Get a blue long-sleeved t-shirt a few sizes too large, maybe a long-sleeved one.
2. Cut it down the middle.
3. Fold the bottom-half vertical edges enough so they look clean but can still overlap in front, then add some buttons. You could even glue them on; as long as you can get the shirt over her head, it doesn't need to be a functional opening or have functional buttons.
4. Top half: cut off the collar, then fold it open so you've got some lapels.
5. Arms: cut the cuffs off and fold them back to be tidy.

Skirt: if you get a t-shirt that's long enough, just cut off the bottom and turn it into a tube. Attach it on the inside to the blazer so it's more of a dress.

For most of this, you could use some iron-on fusible stuff instead of sewing it. The lapels are the only spot where the edges need a little fudging, but nobody will see the underside, so just cutting a bit of a seam allowance and folding it over (even at the notched part) will probably work.

Honestly, your kid is a toddler, so even the tuxedo-shirt approach of just drawing the blazer shape onto a t-shirt with a Sharpie would probably be hilarious. But you can probably still do this crafty version without looking too DIY.
posted by Madamina at 11:35 AM on October 6, 2011


Would a little boy's suit jacket work?
posted by Vaike at 12:48 PM on October 6, 2011


Response by poster: Realized I botched the link for the picture of Ricci in the TV show costume. Should be this.

We're going to look at jenny76's suggestion and see if we can make that work. I'll post photos when it's done.
posted by davextreme at 8:42 AM on October 7, 2011


Response by poster: Following up, here's what we were able to put together.

The clothes are the boy's suit mentioned by jenny76. We ripped the seams out of the shorts and made them into a skirt.

The hat is cardboard with fabric over it, and the wings and pin on the hat are gold foil. We had the bag already but the company that owns the Pan Am trademark sells them as well.

There was a pair of white gloves that we got but she refused to wear them.
posted by davextreme at 7:26 AM on October 31, 2011


ADORABLE.

This is why I love Halloween: several days of looking at people's children in their ridiculous outfits and going, "Awwwwwwwwwwwwww!"
posted by Madamina at 1:35 PM on October 31, 2011


So cute!! You guys did a great job. :)
posted by jenny76 at 7:35 AM on November 1, 2011


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