Hey folks,
I’ve got a tour gig in July, here in Austin, where I’m supposed to dress in a costume from the 1880s. Obvious problem: I have no conception of what dandies in 1880s Texas wore. Any particular way I should go about finding out what people wore in those days? Once that’s done, do you recommend any particular method to assemble the costume? I’ll probably just be hitting up the second-hand clothing stores, otherwise.
Are you a bull or a cow? 
Judging from this picture, you could build a men’s costume pretty easily from the thrift store. A suit with a high buttoning vest and a string or bow tie’ll do you. For something not-so-formal, you want a striped shirt (with collar, of course) with dress pants and suspenders.
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If you’re a gal and handy with a sewing machine, I can’t say good enough things about Laughing Moon. Good quality, easy to sew and pretty damn authentic. Also (and this cannot be stressed enough) COMFORTABLE - even their corsets. A woman’s outfit is going to be harder to find pre-made. But anything that reminds you of Moulin Rouge isn’t too far off.
A bull, actually. 
But my colleague who’s doing the gig will appreciate the dress patterns, so thanks for that as well!
It’ll take a bit o’ work to get my hair looking like that, but otherwise the men’s costume looks do-able. Thanks again. Anyone else?
First you have to ask yourself who your audience is and what they expect. Is the emphasis on historical accuracy (period-appropriate sewing techniques using only the materials available at the time; this approach is about clothing rather than costume) or a reasonable fasimile of the look (Hollywood history, a costume). From what you’ve said already, I have the feeling that it’s more the second category than the first. This means that you can fudge things a bit, because the average audience member isn’t going to know that string ties were introduced in 1885, so wouldn’t have been worn before that date, for a made-up example.
The first step is to start accumulating images of what an 1880s gambler/dandy would look like. Since you’re just aiming for a look rather than pure-dee genuine, then it doesn’t matter whether you have primary, secondary, or tertiary sources. You can watch movies set in the period for an idea. Maverick would be a good one to watch. The costuming on the guys is pretty good, though I think it might be 1870s, but there isn’t much difference between the decades. This website has the look down pat, though I imagine it might be a bit expensive. This website has a nice guide to 19th-century menswear. Kent State University has a little info on an exhibit of menswear from the 1660s to the 1930s.
In general, dandies dressed to the very peak of fashion and would be very fastidious about their dress. The desired silhouette was very broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and slim hips. You’re probably going to be wanting to look for narrow trousers (tight but not skin tight, think early Beatles), a double-breasted or shawl collar vest, a frock/tail coat or a cutaway coat, a white shirt (a modern tux shirt would work well, with either a wing collar or a stand collar), and a black ribbon tie or a cravat/Windsor knot tie. For accessories, you’ll probably want a cowboy hat, a stick pin for your cravat (big flashy stone!), and maybe a pocket watch, if your vest has a watch pocket. A gentleman would carry a pocket handkerchief, both to offer to ladies in distress and to dust off his seat to keep his clothes neat. If you’re not a gentleman, you might want some brothel tokens. For shoes, you can go with a modern dress boot with a moderate heel. No tooled cowboy boots!
As for colors, the modern aesthetic is one for dark, solid fabrics, but the 19th-century aesthetic embraced plaid. You could even mix plaids and pinstripes. The jacket wasn’t always the same fabric as the pants, but would probably be of similar weights. The suit itself would probably be a darker color, but the vest could be a bolder color–a modern audience would expect red or dark blue or another manly jewel-tone. Fancy fabrics (silks, brocades, jacquards, etc.) would be flashy and obnoxious, which is what the dandy aims for.
Of course, this all assumes that you’re of European descent. If you’re portraying some muy macho young Mexican guy, it’s all going to have a different flavor to it.
If you want more recommendations for sewing patterns, ask away. Simplicity has a nice one for a vest, but I’d have to hunt down the pattern number. They also have an awesome one for men’s underwear if you want to go whole hog. And if you’re a girl, then let me know, okay? I have a lot more links for the ladies. And Lauging Moon is très awesome.
Jarnagin’s of Corinth, Miss. has a lot of cool period reproduction clothing, if you don’t mind spending a bit. They specialize in military clothing for reenactors, but have a lot of civilian garb too, IIRC.