LARP Costumes

[Hazkali]

Hullo to LARPers-itp!

I've been invited to a LARP event over the summer (UK Maelstrom, for those interested) and as it's my first LARP event I don't really want to spend loads on a costume if I decide that LARPing isn't my cup of tea. So I was really wondering whether anyone knew of any good sources of cheap LARP costume- online stores, easy things to make etc. Ideally I want to go for an seventeenth/eighteenth-century soldier feel.

:smallbiggrin: Thanks!

[Altair_the_Vexed]

Ah yes: I know Maelstrom... :smallbiggrin:

"Simple" stuff: Making a Pirate-Coat and briches:
Get an old suit that's too WAY big for you (sleeves too long, shoulders too wide - preferably double-breasted) from an OXFAM or similar charity shop (Salvation Army is cheapest, I always found). If you can find one with a contrasting lining - brilliant! Seventies-style dinner suits are perfect.

Take off the lower calf-section of the trousers, turn up the hem, and stitch on a nice shiny button. Keep the bits of the trousers you cut off.

Open the seam of the coat where the sleeves' buttons are. Fold back the sleeve-cuffs. Re-button the folded back sleeves with shiny buttons from a haberdashers (a few quid).
Pop the collar up, fold back the lapels and re-button them with similar (but smaller) shiny buttons down the chest, so the double-breasting of the jacket is now all pirate-coaty.
Grab the two back seams of the jacket at about the waist, fold it over in toward the middle - so that when you have the jacket on, the folded-back lapels still meet at the front - and stitch in a short length of belt (made out of those bits of trouser off-cuts I told you to keep, remember?). Add more shiny buttons.

Get a white cotton, collarless (or wing-collared) shirt that's too big (from the same place, probably).

Get a contrasting sash to wrap around as a belt.

The Expensive Bit: Get some fake leather, and eye-punch and metal eyelets and some long boot-laces. Make some swash-tops for your regular army boots - you'll have great grip on the surfaces if any action kicks off, and it's cheaper than buying knee-high kinky boots... :smallwink:

Have a look here (http://chimera-costumes.co.uk/slideshows/slideshow.php?s=2) at the sort of thing you're aiming for. All this can be approximated with a bad suit, gold braid and buttons! I've totally done this myself, and impressed "proper" costumers.

[Hazkali]

Wow! Thanks! I must admit I'm not that good with a needle and thread, but I definitely think I'll give this a go. I was pondering doing something with a second-hand suit jacket and now you've given me precisely what I need to do!

I would give you a cookie but there is no cookie icon. Have a chocolate :belkar: instead.

[GlasgowPhill]

Felt compelled to register to be able to post on this. As someone who has come along with the same concept two years previously might I suggest coming and speaking to the soldiers of the 33rd. If you're based in Durham you should be able to speak to a few who go to Durham Univeristy Treasure Trap and they might be able to help you some way.

Main reason for posting though is to say that it's distinctly not necessary to wear the Maelstrom uniform of shirt, trousers and big coat. You may have more fun being from a different and interesting culture. Oriental shops will sell stuff that will very much suit a Kamakuran concept, get furs and suede from a charity shop and you can hack up and put together something quite neat for a Fidelian.

I'd recommend kamakuran in fact given the hosts of the easter event being of that culture.

[Wraith]

Over the years I have picked up a ridiculous amount of stuff from eBay - a catchall response, I know, but it's still a good one.

Searches for "Larp", "Fancy Dress" and "Renaissance" have all served me, so hopefully they will for you too.

[Hazkali]

Thanks for the responses!

@GlasgowPhil: Who are the "soldiers of the 33rd"?

@Wraith: Yup, I'm regularly trawling eBay for suitable bits of costume that I don't feel adventurous to try to make myself. The last piece I found was perfect but I got sniped at the last minute...c'est l'eBay!

[GlasgowPhill]

The 33rd is a mercenary unit drawn from numerous backgrounds, mostly having been on a losing side at one time or another and having made the decision not to be on a losing side again. We're one of your better chances of getting stuck into some combat at an event too, which can sometimes be a bit lacking at Maelstrom.

[Hazkali]

The 33rd is a mercenary unit drawn from numerous backgrounds, mostly having been on a losing side at one time or another and having made the decision not to be on a losing side again. We're one of your better chances of getting stuck into some combat at an event too, which can sometimes be a bit lacking at Maelstrom.

Ah, thanks. At the moment I'm probably joining an independent group that a friend of mine is starting for the newbies that he knows, but I'll bear them in mind if I get more experienced at LARPing.