Aladdin Sane umbrella.
 
The first thing that popped into my mind when I saw these custom umbrellas made by “maker of groovy things,” Etsyer Kayci Garline Wheatley, was that I had to have them all. Which makes sense as I live in Seattle. And if you believe the legend of the rain here—and you should—then you can never have too many umbrellas on hand. Of course, the second thing that popped into my mind was how often I lose umbrellas. And losing a custom-made Aladdin Sane umbrella would hurt way more than losing the basic “plain Jane” umbrellas we all buy and replace over and over again during our wet lives.

In addition to the ones I’ve included in this post, Wheatley also does custom orders so you could theoretically have the umbrella of your dreams created, and then cry bitter tears when you lose it on the bus a week later. More information on all the umbrellas in this post can be found on Wheatley’s Etsy shop.
 

Prince umbrella.
 

 

 
More nifty umbrellas after the jump…

 
For years now, and at GREAT personal expense, I’ve been quietly putting together a convincing Prince Charming outfit, praying waiting for the day I could sneak into Disneyland and cavort undetected with Jasmine and Pooh.

Well, thanks to Natasha Narula (above right) and her daughter, Drew, I can now kiss that dream goodbye.  Hey, Natasha, next time you wanna “blend,” maybe pick something more elaborate than that shabby 40-dollar wedding dress?!

The mother-of-two told yesterday how she was left ‘stunned and humiliated’ after being ordered to return to her hotel to change when staff insisted she could not enter the complex in fancy dress because she could be mistaken for a Disney princess.  She said that one of them then told her the dress was ‘too pretty’ and may be confused for a member of staff in character.

‘But I spoke to a manager and she said they were concerned children would think I worked there and wanted to have their picture with me.  ‘I didn’t even have any make-up on and didn’t look anything like the characters in the park, it wasn’t like I was wearing a big Mickey Mouse outfit, it was just a dress.  She was forced to change into an old pair of jeans and a shirt before she was eventually admitted to the park.  Drew was allowed to keep her dress on. 

The divorced mother said: ‘I was just a bit of fun for me and my daughter but we were treated like criminals.  ‘The only things I had left were what I’d worn the night before so I had to go into the park wearing dirty clothes.  Disneyland confirmed it had a global policy banning adults from wearing fancy dress in their theme parks.  A spokesman said: ‘No one over the age of nine is allowed to enter our theme parks in fancy dress.  It prevents confusion.’

Ah, yes, “confusion.”  I’m sure that’s exactly what it prevents!

Mother and Daughter Banned from Disneyland…Because They Were Dressed as Fairy Princesses