Meeska… Mooska… Mickey Mouse! Okay, maybe I shouldn’t be starting off the post with those words but trust me, if you’re an OG Mickey Mouse fan, then you would know where that line comes from. Or maybe if you have toddler kids then you would probably have heard those few words over and over again. Oh Toodles!

Okay, I am done making Mickey Mouse Clubhouse references now and I will tell you exactly why I am going Mickey Mouse crazy on the blog today. So today’s Fashion Friday is a little bit different. I decided that I wanted to feature Mickey Mouse (MM) as my trend inspiration on the blog today because I have seen MM everywhere in stores and online lately! When I say everywhere, I mean it. The most popular cartoon of our time has been seen all over clothing, extending far beyond kiddies clothes, mugs, stationery, wall art, accessories and shoes.

There is a perfect explanation for it and that is because Mickey Mouse turns 90 years old this year on the 18th of November. Yes my darlings. Mickey Mouse has been around since 1928 when he first made his debut appearance on the cartoon Steamboat Willie. Years later, MM is still the world’s most loved cartoon rodent and of course I can see exactly why. Over the decades, so many international designers have paid homage to MM by designing capsule collections drawing inspiration from the friendly mouse. This was seen in collections ranging from bags, to jewellery, to shoes and even clothing ranges. Recently Moschino showed their love for MM in their Disney collaborative collection with H&M (which btw is available in South Africa, I have included a piece above). Designer’s love for Mickey doesn’t end there though. Pandora currently released an entire collection celebrating MM’s 90th birthday, as well as Vans.

I scoured the net and pulled my favourite Mickey Mouse pieces. I went with mostly summer clothing as that is where we’re at in the Southern Hemisphere. As you can tell, MM merch is a bit on the pricier side but you can definitely see it as an investment piece as Mickey never goes out of style.

Fun Fact: The idea for Mickey Mouse just randomly popped out of Walt Disney’s mind onto a drawing pad on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood. 90 years later, the character has evolved and grown as a firm favourite cartoon for many, worldwide. Mickey Mouse being a style icon in his own right, has become such a pop culture phenomenon, even celebrities are embracing the mouse and showing their love for him through their outfits. The first celebrity I ever saw wearing a Mickey Mouse branded item was a “vintage Twiggy” black and white image dated back to 1967. That just shows that Mickey has been the ultimate fashion muse long before social media influencing became a thing.

If you’re not a fan of wearing a cartoon on your clothing, shoes or accessories, you can always opt for the classic Mickey or Minnie Mouse colours and patterns like stars and stripes and polka dots. For some MM just stands as childhood nostalgia, whereas for others Mickey Mouse will carry on right through to adulthood in the form clothing and merchandise.