So, You Want to Be a Pirate for Halloween?

So, you want to be a pirate for Halloween? This year, I suspect there will be a lot of people thinking the exact same thing. And the costume companies are likely thinking along those same lines as well. There will be a wide array of pirate costumes to choose from in all of the stores, and many of them are already stocked and ready for your perusal. But my experience with store-bought Halloween costumes is that they tend to be poorly made, uncomfortable to wear, and you will probably use them for only a single Halloween event.

So instead of buying a pre-made pirate costume, here are a few tips on putting together a costume out of items you may already own, or that you can pick up at a thrift store for much less than you would spend on that pre-made costume, which, by the way, was obviously designed for someone five inches taller and 20 pounds lighter.

For most pirate costumes, you will want to start with a white shirt and a dark pair of pants. It’s pretty likely that you will have something that works already in your closet. It helps if the shirt is either cut in a somewhat billowy style, or, alternately, is a few sizes too large for you. (Kids may be able to borrow something out of their parents’ closets for this, but be sure to ask first!) The pants are best if they are non-tailored pants – cargo pants or sweat pants would work fine. Alternatively, for a female pirate, a loose, flowing skirt works very nicely, but that’s strictly up to the pirate in question. Personally, if I were a pirate, I’d prefer pants.

Dressing up the basics can come in the form of a vest or waist sash – and here, the brighter the colors, the better. Vests aren’t nearly as popular now as they were a few years back, so you may need to cruise the thrift stores for something appropriate. A sash could be made out of a dressy scarf or a winter scarf, or even a scrap of fabric for those of you lucky enough to have access to a stash of scrap fabric. You may also want to add a belt at this stage, which may or may not be used as a gun/weapon belt. Something sturdy and leather is probably your best bet for a belt, though the waist sash can double as a belt.

Probably the most difficult part of the costume is going to be a good hat. I would guess that most people don’t just have a tri-cornered hat lying around their house. So you may have to go with a store-bought hat. But if you’d rather not, tying a bandanna over your hair could work, or you could be one of those wild and crazy pirates who goes without head covering. You might also add a beaded braid, which is certainly an easier suggestion for those with longer hair, but is not out of the realm of possibility for those with short hair.

Beyond that, pretty much everything you might need is a matter of personal preference. Eye patches are a traditional favorite, but they do get in the way of your seeing things clearly, which is more problematic at night. There are a wide array of toy guns and swords that could be added on to a costume, with emphasis on the TOY portion of that – you really shouldn’t carry around a real weapon with your pirate costume! Other possibilities include a compass (a la Captain Jack Sparrow), a hook instead of a hand, or even a fake peg leg. The last suggestion here requires both skills at body contortion and balance, so it’s definitely one that I would have to pass up. But if you have the skills and the willingness to go all out, it’s a great touch.

So this will cover the basics of your costume. But knowing that there will be a lot of pirates running around this year, you might be looking for that one thing to make your costume stick out from the crowd. With that in mind, consider these suggestions:

1) Don’t try to look like Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, or even Elizabeth Swann. There will be a plethora of people wearing costumes straight from the movies, so if you want to stand out, steer away from the modern icons. Movie pirates are great for the basic inspiration of your costume, but making modifications to their look is what will make your pirate costume memorable, rather than being lost in the sea of other pirates.

2) Dress up a kid’s wagon to look like a pirate ship. Some poster board or thin cardboard, cut to shape and colored appropriately, works great for the sides of the ship, and, if you’re ambitious, you can mount some sort of flagpole in the front, and fly the skull and crossbones with pride. This would be a great way to take along children who are too young to walk on their own (especially adorable if they’re in pirate costumes as well), or a good place to put candy when the kids’ bags get too heavy to carry. Just be sure you’ve got someone willing to pull the thing over whatever terrain you might encounter on your route.

3) Go with a variation on a theme. Get a skull and crossbones T-shirt, wear some comfortable jeans, carry your iPod, and tell people you’re a music pirate. More punny than funny, but it will definitely be a memorable, comfortable, and cheap costume.

Happy Halloween!