Celebrate Halloween as we explore the fun photos of classic Halloween parties (for adults) from the past.

This blog post will look at a collection of fun vintage Halloween costumes, the parties themselves, and the cool photographs that truly capture the spirit of the holiday. You will be amazed at the level of creativity people had back then, with costumes ranging from simple to elaborate, and sometimes just plain silly.

So come join me on a trip down memory lane to explore the wonderful world of vintage Halloween parties!

1950s vintage photo of a 1950s halloween party for Adult featuring Halloween decorations and Halloween party poster and lots of people in halloween costumes.

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay, are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Vintage Photos from Adult Halloween Parties 1940s-1960s

A 1967 Halloween party featuring a woman dressed up as Mae West and I’m going to assume the man is a fan (share your ideas in the comments section)?

Our Mae West costume in this photo is fantastic!

1960s vintage halloween photo from an adult halloween party in 1967. The couple is dressed up as Mae West and her fan.

Source: Archive.org

The next few images are from the same 1967 Halloween party as the one Mae West attended above.

2 Parisians walk into a halloween party and they are the life of the party! “Happy HOLLOWEEN!”

1960s vintage halloween party photo featuring a couple dressed a two french people. Photo is from a basement party in 1967.

Source: Archive.org

A man dressed as a bartender and a woman as a 1920s flapper pose for a picture at the same 1967 party (gosh this looked like a good time!

1960s vintage photo of a a man dressed as a bartender and a woman as a 1920s flapper pose for a picture at a 1967 party.

Source: Archive.org

The invisible man and a top hot wearing happy go lucky fancy dressed man also attended the 1967 Halloween party.

1960s vintage photo of The invisible man and a top hot wearing happy go lucky fancy dressed man at 1967 Halloween party.

Source: Archive.org

Last photo from the 1967 party and this fun couple all “decked out” in playing cards. What a fun costume if they are going as “decked out” (I thought card shark at first, but that did not make sense).

1960s vintage photo from 1967 of a Adult Halloween party featuring couples in vintage halloween costumes, like this couple covered in playing cards.

Source: Archive.org

1940s vintage photo of a adult Halloween party from October 1941 featuring a man dressed as cowboy, women as maids, spanish man, a boxer (maybe a wrestler) and other costumes. So fun!

1940s vintage photo of a adult Halloween party from October 1941 featuring a man dressed as cowboy, women as maids, spanish man, a bee and ladies with fantastic 1940s hairstyles.

Source: Etsy – JakeRoeBucks

1950s Halloween party featuring three fantastically dressed ladies. One is “Miss Burlap”, another is a Lucky Strike Box (this brand featured many times had a beautiful model on the ad), and another lady is a “don’t mess with me” cowgirl. How fun!

Further Reading: Fun & Wacky Vintage Beauty Pageants & Pageant Queen Titles

1950s vintage photo of a halloween party featuring a woman dressed as lucky strike cigarettes a woman as a cowgirl and another woman as a beauty pageant contestant..Miss Burlap.

Source: Pinterest

1940s photo. Another cigarette box costume (Old Gold Cigarettes), but this time with a matchbox and…?? I have no clue what the middle costume is but what creativity!

1940s vintage Halloween party photo featuring a cigarette box costume and a matchbox.

Source: eBay

Halloween party for the troops, October 25, 1943 courtesy of the Florida State Archives.

Personal note: I LOVE the 1940s hair in this photo.

Source: nationalww2museum.org

At this 1950s Halloween party, everyone is having fun and letting loose.

1950s vintage photo of a 1950s adult Halloween party featuring 3 women and a man. The man is in Lederhosen, while his partner is dressed in a dirndl skirt and peasant blouse. A woman is dressed up as a man in front of a woman in an eastern european outfit.

Source: Archive.org

At this 1960s party there is a hillbilly, and two lovely ladies in cute costumes. Everyone is so happy even our party pooper with no costume, guy.

1960s Halloween party vintage photo featuring a hillbilly, and two lovely ladies in cute costumes. Everyone is so happy and having a good time it looks like.

Source: eBay

1957-Our costume wearing ladies are in need of some diner food and shoes off at the end of a fun night.

1950s vintage photo of people dressed up in Halloween costumes at a diner.

Source: Etsy – Therescuedphoto

I feel like this party was pretty wild from the state of our “chef” and the look of the room. Good times at this 1950s party!

1950s vintage photo of a Halloween Party featuring guests in Halloween Costumes like a chef and a man in lederhosen.

Source: eBay

No costumes for the 1950 ‘Carrier’ Company Halloween party, just some Halloween decor and well dressed staff & their partners.

Further Reading: The Vintage Work Christmas Party

1950s vintage photo of a company halloween party featuring a halloween tablecloth and people gathered around it for a photo in early 1950s fashion circa 1950

Source: biblio.com

Thanks for dropping by friends!

Will you be dressing up for Halloween? Or going to any costume parties? Share any thoughts on this topic in the comment section below. I love hearing from my readers.

See other costume inspiration here:

The below images from the 1940s-1960s will supply you with some fun ideas on what to wear to your halloween parties if your looking for a ‘vintage halloween costume’ idea.

Further Reading:

Liz

This past weekend I was at a CFL game (Canadian Football league) for the Toronto Argonauts and it just happened to have been their 150th anniversary (1873 they were formed). Amazing timing!

150 years is a long time to have been around and the vintage photos & videos they showed during the game, was a thrill for this vintage loving gal! Especially the letterman sweaters and varsity jackets that made appearances in the early days.

1906 photo of the Toronto Argonauts in their letterman sweaters.

(1906 Toronto Argonauts – Canadian Encylopedia)

After the game was over, I was so inspired by what I saw that I thought it would be fun to take a look at vintage photos of people IN these “badge of honour” jackets & letterman sweaters and share them all with you.

So let’s take a look at what I found!

1940s vintage photo of a young woman in 1946 tieing a scarf around a young man wearing a varsity jacket. 1940s Fashion inspiration.

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay, are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Note: If the item you clicked on is no longer available, just do a search for like items. There are loads of vintage items being added to Etsy and eBay daily!

1960s Vintage Letterman Jacket Patch LETTER K

Source: eBay

Brief History of the Letterman Sweater & Varsity Jacket

The word varsity is a shortening of the word “university.”

Varsity jackets, in general, are traced back to letter sweaters (“Letterman Sweaters”) worn by athletes from the Harvard University Baseball Team back in 1865.

Having the letter “H” stitched into the center of your sweater was a mark of honor. Back then, it was incredibly prestigious, and you were seen to be in the elite few!

Some of the best schools will only reward students with patches if they are outstanding in other academic classes, and the badges display a well-rounded player.

The letterman sweater trend eventually trickled into high schools with the earliest known example appearing on an Arizona student in the 1911 Phoenix Union High School yearbook sporting high school letterman jackets.

Varsity jackets didn’t come about until the 1930s; the sleeves were leather, while the trunk of the jacket was wool-bodied. This resulted from athletes complaining about being cold in their letter sweaters (Source).

1930s Photo from 1936 of a young man wearing a Millsaps Majors Letterman Jacket (Varsity jacket) - Jackson Mississippi posing with his stylish girlfriend / wife in a plaid 1930s dress and long coat.

1936 photo: Millsaps Majors Varsity Jacket – Jackson Mississippi (source: eBay)

Vintage Photos of Men & Women in Letterman Sweaters & Varsity Jackets

Note: A few of the photos below I have shared in previous posts, but they were so good I needed to add them to this post.

A young man in his letterman sweater is popular with our stylish 1920s ladies at the University of Chicago (what stunning 1920s fashions..the hats are fantastic!).

Further Reading: Vintage Photos of Student Life 1920s-1950s

1920's vintage college image of 2 women and man vintage style university of chicago — Source: University of Chicago Archives

1939 yearbook photo of ‘The Varsity Club’ at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

“The members of this club have given us many thrills on the several athletic club”.

Further Reading: Vintage School Clubs Part 1 & Part 2.

1930s vintage yearbook photo of the 'The Varsity Club' at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. A. & T. is an all Black University.

Source: digitalnc.org

Two handsome college men posing together with their matching “T” letterman sweaters under lovely long winter coats. Late 1930s/ early 1940s photo.

Two handsome college men posing together with their matching letterman sweaters on. Late 1930s/ early 1940s photo. Super vintage men fashion inspiration.

Source: eBay

1940s photo. Western Connecticut State University students share a chat beside a bicycle. The young man is proudly sporting his letterman sweater.

Source: Western CT State University Archives

1940s Photo: Date night! Curly wears his letterman sweater with an “M” patch and bowtie to impress Ann in front of a 1940s four door sedan.

Further Reading: Vintage photos of date night in the 1940s & 1950s

1940s Photo: Curly wears his letterman sweater with an M patch and bowtie to Impress Ann in front of a 1940s four door sedan

Twin brothers sporting their Fort Frances high school sweaters. 1940s vintage photo.

1940s vintage photo of twin young men wearing letterman sweaters from fort frances high school

Source: Etsy – maclancy

Early 1950s photo of 4 young women with absolutely stunning hairstyles and fantastic college fashions (including that letterman jacket) posing for a photo on the front lawn of what I’m going to assume is a sorority house.

Early 1950s photo of 4 young college women in early 1950s fashions, posing together on the front lawn of their sorority house. One woman is wearing a letterman jacket. They have fantastic early 1950s hairstyles.

Source: Etsy-DearMacyVintage

1950s photo of a man in a Baseball letterman jacket at a bar posing for a picture with a happy woman.

1950s vintage photo of a man in a varsity jacket letterman jacket with his arm around a 1950s woman

Source: Etsy-iloveyourmorephotos

1950s photo of a young Black woman, proudly wearing her Cheerleader varsity jacket for a school photo.

1950s vintage photo of a young Black woman in a cheerleader letterman jacket varsity jacket

Source: Etsy-JakeRoebucks

1950s Vintage Photo of Cheerleaders at Wayne State University.

Further Reading: Vintage Cheerleading Photos

Varsity jackets everywhere in this 1950s highschool sports team photo.

1950s vintage photo of a highschool sports team in their varsity jackets

Too cool for school! “A” patch on this jacket. 1950s photo.

1950s photo of a young man in a letterman jacket / Varsity Jacket.

Source: eBay

1950s vintage photo of two teenagers sitting on the back of a car. The young man is wearing a “F” Letterman Jacket. Photo is from 1954.

1950s vintage photo of two Teenagers sitting on the back of a car in 1950s fashions. The young man is wearing a Letterman Jacket. Photo is from 1954.

Fall Fashion 2023 Trend: The Varsity Jacket is a hit for this season. If you have one, break it out.

Don’t own one? No worries, I have started a vintage collection of “for sale” letterman / varsity jackets and sweaters on Etsy (updated monthly).

Question Time: Did you own a letterman sweater or varsity jacket? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comments section below. I love hearing from my readers!

1950s students sitting on the steps of their college / university in their Letterman sweaters and letterman jackets. — Source: Flickr-Josh Nativio

Thanks for dropping by!

Liz

Category: vintage images

Relive the Spooky Fun of Vintage Halloween Parties (1940s-1960s)

Vintage Photos from Adult Halloween Parties 1940s-1960s

Letterman Sweaters & The Varsity Jacket

Brief History of the Letterman Sweater & Varsity Jacket

Vintage Photos of Men & Women in Letterman Sweaters & Varsity Jackets