I once heard a vacuous blonde supermodel say that in the world of fashion, you are either in or you are out. ItÂ’s true 
that fashion can be a cruel mistress, but there are those among us willing to buck the trends and take on the world with their own look. They throw caution to the wind and say “World, this is me and I’m a cartoon.” Cartoons have sported some of the most outrageous fashions and several have become fashion icons of their own.
Jinkies, is that an ascot: Perhaps the most famous cartoon fashion that has ever existed, is Freddie JonesÂ’ bright orange “I got made fun of in high school” ascot. Fred wore this for a good thirty of forty years before his wardrobe got a update in the 1990s. The ascot has been around for a couple hundred years and was popular among teens in the 1960Â’s along with tie-dyed shirts and LSD. By the time I got to watching Scooby in the ’80s, his ascot seemed strange and out of place and I kept asking, “Why does Freddie have a hankie tied around his neck.” Freddie does have some good ascot company including Michael Corleone in “Godfather II” and Don Knotts in “ThreeÂ’s Company.”
That mouse ainÂ’t wearinÂ’ no pants: Several prominent cartoon characters throughout history have chosen to spend their careers without the aid of pants. Strangely enough, they often wear shirts and shoes, but have no need to cover their cartoon junk. I donÂ’t know which would be more traumatic seeing Porky Pig with six nipples or his twig and two berries. Either way, I would need therapy. Mickey Mouse, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and countless others have waived the use of clothing. Dennis Franz may have made television history by showing his butt on NYPD Blue, but Bugs and Daffy were exhibiting nudist tendencies in front of children for decades before. ThatÂ’s just creepy.
Show us that ink, sailor: Long before Kat Von Dee strutted her stuff and showed of her multicolored skin art, Popeye the Sailor Man sported a tat and taught kids about the benefits of pipe smoking and a good diet. Tattoos and sailors have been synonymous for decades. My father is an old navy man who spent a couple of years traveling the world on an aircraft carrier and is proud of his to this day. Before anyone says anything about a tattoo not being part of fashion, should take a look at some of my fatherÂ’s inked brethren. Tattoos are focal points of fashion just as much as a pair of Prada shoes and a Giorgio Armani suit.
Black is the newÂ…black: Black has always represented evil and never so obviously than in cartoon villains. Who can forget NatashaÂ’s skin tight black dress and BorisÂ’ black trench coat in Rocky and Bullwinkle. Snidley Whiplash and Dick Dastardly just wouldnÂ’t be the same without their black outfits and handlebar mustaches. While heroes can be dressed in any color except black, villains are limited in their choices. While Dudley Dooright could easily fit in at a garden party, poor Snidely can only feel good at cocktail parties and awardÂ’s shows.
Papa Smurf, are you wearing white after Labor Day?: The Smurfs are the most benign goody goody cartoon series ever put on this Earth. These little blue people spend their days skipping around, eating smurf berries and using the world Smurf in every way including noun, verb and adjective. Maybe itÂ’s because they are forest people, but have stylized the pant/ shoe combo. They kind of look like industrial strength white panty hose and I can only assume either the shoes are covered by the pants or their feet are freakishly shaped. DonÂ’t even get me started about the hat.
There are obviously countless other cartoon fixtures that can be added to this list and please feel free to leave comments on any that I have missed. You never know when I might do a follow-up.
Image Source: flickr.com/photos/rspeed/4113966854
About brock
In tiny toons the fact that buster bunny had no pants was a running gag. as far as limited costuming goes take a look also at the teenage mutant ninja turtles al they had basiclly where ther masks.
as with bugs he was also know to don women’s clothing to dupe whomever he was facing so was the first animated cross dresser.
Huh? Natasha’s dress was lavender. It was black in the two live-action movies.
What about the Flintstones? My guess is that everyone in the show, with the exception of the infant Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, were going commando.
Papa Smurf wore red, all the other smurfs wore white.
What bothers me isn’t so much the fashion, it’s the fact that cartoon characters always wear the same things! Freddie’s always got the white shirt, Shaggy’s always got the green T-shirt, Daphne always wears the purple dress and Velma’s always rockin’ the orange turtleneck. Don’t those clothes get rank after a while?
Mickey Mouse ALWAYS wore pants, a very iconic pair of red shorts. Also, most cartoon characters wear white gloves; seemed a bit “overly formal” IMO.
I remember watching the cartoon Doug as a kid…he had a closet full of the same outfits, just hanging in his closet. Maybe that could explain the same outfits everyday? Haha
It also seems to me that pop icons are taking fashion cues from cartoon characters…I mean, Lady Gaga doesn’t seem to like wearing pants either.