So I’m sitting here watching the Les Miserables concert DVD. and began to wonder how difficult it would be to outfit myself as a Les Mis character for Halloween.
I’m thinking about a good-quality, real, custom-fitted costume – and then I began to wonder how I might do that for other genres – maybe in 2013 I could be Guy Fawkes.
What’s the best way to get costumed like that?
My advice would be to look up your local Society for Creative Anachronism, and ask them to help get you together with a costumer-for-hire.
(Go for the costumes, stay for the fighting…and the food!)
Another resource might be your local science fiction or fantasy convention; drop by and ask people about costumers.
Find someone who can sew? If you don’t know anyone personally, talk to a good tailor?
I’m decent when it comes to sewing, but by NO MEANS a professional. I am still able to make Halloween costumes for my kids every year and there are a lot of “historical” patterns available commercially, right down to historically accurate undergarments. Even if there aren’t patterns available, generally you can piece together elements from different patterns to create the look you want.
For example, my daughter wanted to be an Ice Climber from Super Smash Brothers (Nintendo) for Halloween and I was able to piece it together from the bottom half of a Santa Claus costume and fur-trimmed parka from some women’s line. We created a giant mallet out of a dowel and a oatmeal container, painted it to look like wood and it was epic.
Or, learn to sew? Most fabric/craft stores run intro sewing classes and sewing is really just like putting a 3-D puzzle together. Sure, zippers and buttons are difficult, but false buttons and Velcro is easier!
Try the National Costumers’ Association at www.costumers.org. These are the folks that are open year-round and can custom make to your heart’s desire!
I would recommend seeing if you have a local chapter of theInternational Costumers Guild (ICG) .
These are the folks who establish guidelines for and frequently help with running, SF convention costume contests, including WorldCon. They also have their own yearly event, CostumeCon. The organization is for anyone who loves the art of costume, whether they make fantastic Elizabethan gowns or just like to see what other folks do. There may be a chapter near you, and if there is, it’s likely they can hook you up with someone. I’m a member of the St. Louis chapter.
Now this is the kind of stuff I was looking for. Thanks so very much!!
And this too!!
There are theatrical rental houses in the NYC area that supply costumes to groups all over the country. Some of them are actual costumes worn by the actors in Broadway shows and touring companies.
About thirty-five years ago I was involved with a high school production of The King and I. We rented costumes from a New York place. At least a few of the pieces had the names of actors marked inside. (One generic leather belt that could have been from any play at all had “Will Geer” written on the inside in heavy marker.)
I’m guessing there’s quite of Les Mis stuff available to rent in a variety of sizes.
What you want is custom tailoring. If you were to take the actual costumes from Les Mis and look them over, you’d find they have some unorthodox construction techniques, which make them suitable for the stage, but not for everyday wear. Often they’ll have hooks and eyes or velcro/magnetic closures instead of zippers or buttons. They’ll have unlined pants with elastic sides which make them easier to move in and to change out of easily, lots of little things like that. They’re meant to look good, not necessarily hold up to a lifetime of wear. The fabrics are chosen for durability(which is subtly, but importantly different from longevity) and colorfastness(very important in a show) not comfort. While professionals do take some efforts to make their costumes for the stage bearable, if not comfortable, it’s not a guarantee. These are intended to be worn for fifteen or twenty minutes at a time, not hours and hours on end.
They’re also designed for indoor wear and it’s assumed they’ll get special handling in the wash. When we have our costumes laundered they’re done by either our costumers or their assistants. Many pieces are dry clean only.
If you want an actual garment that the stage costumes are meant to imitate, your best bet is some of the hobbyist, or professionals who cater to the hobbyist. Something actually meant for stage wear might seem cool for the first couple of hours, but they’re not something you’d want to keep long term, let alone wear long term.
Enjoy,
Steven
I have found etsy to be a great resource for this. There are lots of sellers doing this kind of work, and you can ask for custom stuff.
If you are thinking of a Halloween costume to be worn only a few times, you (or your costumer) can take shortcuts that would never cut it for actual re-enactment or re-creation clothes/costumes. Examples are coats/vests/waistcoats without lining or interfacing, polyester fabric, or dyes that never existed at the time. Compare a Halloween costume of a Civil War soldier to a re-enactor’s costume.
Something I heard eons ago when I was doing Ren Faires was that we weren’t wearing costumes, we were wearing clothes. They weren’t the clothes we normally wore everyday but they were the clothes someone wore everyday to cook, clean, work, care for kids, etc. and had to stand up to wear. In fact, we were advised to wear our costumes all day at home to vacuum, cook, etc.
The difference between a Halloween costume and clothes from another era can make a big difference in cost.