Retroween
Halloween is one of our favorite holidays here at the Modern Bear Lair. It’s a magical season featuring tricks and treats, over-the-top costumes, “haunted” houses, and hello, our fave color orange! The spooky and mischievous mood brings out the Cub in us! Our modern Halloween and many of its customs originated from an ancient Celtic festival. But it has been in the last 50 years that Halloween has become such a popular holiday, especially here in the United States. Over the years, many collectible vintage items were created, that today collectors are snapping up at antique stores and on eBay. The retro craze has many Mid Century Modernists recreating Halloweens of yesteryear, decorating their homes with vintage decorations and throwing themed parties.
Halloween is one of our favorite holidays here at the Modern Bear Lair. It’s a magical season featuring tricks and treats, over-the-top costumes, “haunted” houses, and hello, our fave color orange! The spooky and mischievous mood brings out the Cub in us! Our modern Halloween and many of its customs originated from an ancient Celtic festival. But it has been in the last 50 years that Halloween has become such a popular holiday, especially here in the United States. Over the years, many collectible vintage items were created, that today collectors are snapping up at antique stores and on eBay. The retro craze has many Mid Century Modernists recreating Halloweens of yesteryear, decorating their homes with vintage decorations and throwing themed parties.
50’s magazine ad for Baby Ruth and Butterfinger candy bars.
Funglasses” from Foster Grant – and only 29 cents!
Frankenstein
You may remember these but don’t know who the artist was: illustration by Pete Hawley.
F
For spooky background ambiance, you put on an old school vinyl record such as this one produced by Disney from the 70’s!.
For many kids during the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, a Halloween costume meant a plastic molded mask with an annoying string in the back which came in a box with a flimsy, cheap polyester costume!
These Halloween classics were designed by the Beistle Company which produced many popular die cut paper items and helped popularize Halloween decoration in America They are still in business and reproducing these decorations available on their website: www.vintagebeistle.com
Halloween –A-Go-Go. A must for every 60’s teen party! And dig that “Swingin’ Watusi Action!”
Halloween is for adults too! As shown here in this vintage ad proclaiming, “Everything tastes better with Budweiser!”
Popular with the Mad Magazine fans, “Wacky Packages” were a series of collectible stickers featuring parodies of consumer products and well-known brands and packaging – first produced by the Topps company in 1967.
Fizzies were sort of a combination of Kool-Aid and Alka Seltzer. And if you think that sounds terrible, you would be correct!
Classic 50’s abstract ad art is featured on this Trick-or-Treat bag.
As seen on TV! Where Weebles wobble and go bump in the night!”
Beistle Décor
Vintage Masks
Fab Finds from the Fifties!
The Swingin 60’s!
1967 Wacky
Pacakges
Shrunken Head
What kid wouldn’t want this creepy craft? And with Vincent Price on the cover no less! We want this now!
Fizzies
Halloween
a GoGo
It’s a Mod, Mod World ~ The 70’s!
Vintage Games
After you get home from trick-or-treating, it’s time for some game playing! Here are some of our childhood faves!
Weebles
Haunted
House
Planetof the apes.mask. Mod Monkeys! We are relieved that the mask was “ventilated!”
We hope our feature brought back some fond memories for you! For more vintage nostalgia, visit: retroween.com
We wish you a fun, safe, and always modern Retroween!
