A fortnight ago, we began our celebration of The Greatest Christmas Movie Ever, The Muppet Christmas Carol. Today we conclude the series with a little miniature cosplay!
As detailed in that post, there are clearly manifold reasons to love The Muppet Christmas Carol, from the performances to the skillful adaptation to the music… to the costumes—including Scrooge’s magnificent wool paisley dressing gown. It’s such a glorious piece, and my hopeless desire to possess, and then make, such a garment of my own only grew over the three decades since I first laid eyes upon it.
All the costumes in the film are masterworks, especially the Muppets’. Created by longtime Muppet costumer Polly Smith*, the exquisite detailing helps the illusion that the Muppets are simply more actors on the stage, and contributes to the exceptional worldbuilding of the film. “The costumes that the Muppets have worn meant that they are better dressed than we are. They always have been. The Muppets have real pockets in their costumes. They have real lining in their jackets. There’s so much fidelity,” Gonzo performer Dave Goelz recalls. And the costumers didn’t stop there, including gorgeous, telling elements like signs of wear and age on Bob Cratchit’s (Kermit the Frog) dated suit.
Check out the incredible detailing–and the layers! Shirt, waistcoat, jacket, cravat, scarf, topcoat—every piece a real garment, from tophat to shoes. (And pockets.) And then check out Rizzo’s even smaller version!
As impressive as the Muppet costumes are (Ghost of Christmas Present!!), my personal favorite is one of Scrooge’s outfits—specifically, that aforementioned dressing gown and nightcap. 
Scrooge’s robe is inspired by the lavish dressing gowns worn by wealthy gentlemen of the era. Characterized by exotic, imported fabrics in the “Orientalism” style influenced by the flourishing British Empire, dressing gowns, banyans, and smoking jackets kept gentlemen warm at night, especially those who were too miserly to light their fireplaces, and instead enjoyed the cold.
He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days, and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas. External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, not wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Foul weather didn’t know where to have him. —A Christmas Carol
Read more about Charles Dickens and the Victorian Revival of Christmas
Contrary to expectations for gentlemen of his class, original A Christmas Carol illustrator John Leech depicted Scrooge in the simplest and meanest of nightclothes:
“Marley’s Ghost”
But thankfully for us, Polly Smith chose to lean into the era’s gorgeous fashions and bless us with a very finely-turned-out Scrooge, indeed. From a filmmaking perspective, it makes sense: you want your star to be well-attired if he essentially wears the same costume for the whole film. But the garment must fit with Scrooge’s character, and not outshine the action and message of the story. The muted colors of Caine’s robe give an impression of luxury, but a suggestion of age: we suspect he’s had this dressing gown forever. He bought one good one, once, and has kept it all this time. (Glances down at own threadbare robe. Ahem.)
And we are talking Luxury-with-a-Capital-L. Fabrics like this were a status symbol in the 1830s; nowadays they are well beyond the reach of a humble scribe with eight mouths to feed. (This similar dressing gown is going for a bargain £3,500.00! In case you want to know what to get your favorite author.) So each year I would turn on The Muppet Christmas Carol, ogle the dressing gown, and sigh. Humbug.
And then. And then! When I flicked on the flick for its annual screening in 2021, I had a Scrooge-style epiphany: I could keep Scrooge’s dressing gown in my heart—er, I mean, make one, after all!
A doll-sized version would be perfectly affordable! I could sew up a luxurious miniature Scrooge dressing gown without sending my entire family to the poorhouse.
Clearly ranking among the best fabric finds *ever.* The colors! The texture! The scale! The luxurious hand! Perfection!
The secret? An inexpensive wool-blend pashmina/scarf! The scale was perfect for a doll, the price was perfect for the seamstress (just $8.00), and the entire affair became a splendid little project to celebrate my love for this most wonderful of holiday movies and its glorious costumes, large and small (and very small).
Even the “meeces” wear tiny, intricately crafted 1830s garb
After the fabric, the next step was selecting a pattern.
Simplicity 5276, by toy and doll designer Elaine Heigl, was the perfect choice–a shawl-collar robe with sash, pockets, and piping. I lengthened the sleeves to include lush cuffs, and added some beautiful rust twisted cord (one of the best features of Scrooge’s robe). My pashmina was very soft and drapey, so I underlined the fabric for a little more weight and stability, like the finer details Goelz noted as part of Muppet costuming.
But the dressing gown is only part of Scrooge’s iconic ensemble. No self-respecting, freezing Victorian Gentleman of Quality would dare traverse space and time without proper headwear! And having achieved the Magnificent Paisley Dressing Gown of my dreams, I could hardly call my miniature ensemble complete without its matching hat.
Man’s dressing gown and hat, 1834 (detail), showing the seamlines
Although Leech’s Scrooge has the long, pointy nightcap we usually think of, Smith once again turned to the day’s high fashion, creating a hat with intricate seaming and a refined-yet-slouchy structure. I auditioned multiple fabrics before selecting a flannel in a lovely tone-on-tone ivory/beige herringbone print… and tossed out patterns altogether to draft my own from screencaps.
A beige-and-ivory tassel and some red stitching complete the miniature (cat paws for scale). Behold that perfect slouch.
All the warmth and luxury any Victorian hero, antihero, or heroine could want
There you have it! A tale of how thinking small made this big ambition totally achievable, in the best way possible, by valuing the little things while keeping the big picture in mind—a sentiment Dickens could appreciate. I finished this in December 2022, just in time for the 30th anniversary of The Muppet Christmas Carol. I am delighted that my own journey into Victorian life, including Everything Christmas for Cold-Blooded Myrtle, took me full circle to bringing one of my favorite holiday traditions to life in glorious miniature.
Remember, The Muppet Christmas Carol is streaming on Disney+ and available for purchase on Vudu—so you can keep the Dickensian holiday spirit alive all the year round, in whatever way you choose to celebrate (may I suggest mittens for your meeces? Or, you know, a mystery novel. Or five.). Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a doll to dress. Christmas and its spirits are just around the corner!
*Female athletes everywhere are indebted to Polly Smith for inventing the sports bra in 1977. Read more: Sports for Victorian Girls