I’m looking for a quickie costume and thought it might be amusing to go as a Priest, you know, black pants and shirt with the white collar. Where do you get one of those shirt and collars? I could go with a costume shop, but for this type of thing it seems like the real thing would look best and be reasonably affordable. The doctor costume was anyways.
What kind of store sells these things?
Additionally, any thoughts about how to add a little humor to the costume are welcomed.
Priest costume, from Fright Catalog.
To get the authentic stuff, visit friartuckapparel.com. (At least this is the ELCA Lutheran site for the garb.)
I once went to a fancy dress party dressed as a monk.
I borrowed the habit from a local theatre so that is an option you might consider. Going to a function as a priest is fraught with danger. You must remember that if anyone asks you anything remotely to do with religion, you should look at them pityingly and say:
“That is an ecumenical matter.”
You should then make the sign of cross before getting yourself another large brandy.
Instant priest costume :-
Get a black/dark grey format shirt.
Get an empty bottle of washing up liquid. (Must be a white bottle, obviously).
Cut a suitably sized rectangle out of the washing up liquid bottle.
Tuck rectangle into shirt collar, against previous curve of bottle.
Pair with appropriate dark trousers, jacket,etc.
Looks surprisingly convincing.
I don’t see anything about clerical shirts or Roman collars on their website, but you might call
J.F. Morrow & Sons
6015 N. Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago, IL 60646
773-631-8844 in Chicago or 800-621-1331
If they don’t carry that stuff, they should know who does.
Here you go:
The House of Hansen
4223 W. Irving Park Road
Chicago, Illinois 60641
(773) 736-5858 | (800) 522-1457
Email: sales@thehouseofhansen.com
No priest costume is quite complete without accompanying waist-high altar boy!
You could do what one of my unethical freinds from high school did. He went to a church and lied saying he was in a play and he needed a priest costume. The priest lent it to him. He went around for a while wereing the shirt and collar and ragging on the church. He never returned it. If there is a hell he was deffinatly trying to get in.
I did this a few years back. I had a black polo shirt and I took the cardboard out of a dress shirt from the laundry and cut the white strip from it. I tucked it under the collor of the polo shirt. I wore a pair of black dress slacks and a black sport coat. Along w/ black dress shoes a black socks I was very convincing. I even had one of the band members call me aside by calling out “Father, father!”, he then wanted, very apologetically, to ask me if I was a real priest. My date went as a nun. We stopped at a lounge on the way home, for a nightcap, and got some strange looks. Great fun.
Was it not Halloween?
Is there a Catholic supply store in your town? Or any that serve other denominations with similar dress codes?
This catalog illustrates options that might be locally available. Simple shirts or even inserts with the Roman collar don’t cost much.
(The vestments are pretty neat but also a bit pricey.)
Yes, it was, and that’s what made it funny. The band guy figured it was a costume, but he just had to know for sure. At the other bar, I’m sure people figured it out quickly, but to see a priest and a nun walk in together must have taken them aback for a few seconds.
Your google-fu impresses me grasshopper. Stopped by and the shirt and collars ran about $45-50. Reasonable for a no bullshit costume. The only trick is that I found a funnier costume at the store to go with. Any costume that incorporates a fake, exposed ass is just too good to pass up.
Gerken’s Religious Supplies in Boulder CO has shirts and collars in the $30-50 range, or you can go for the full cassock and alb outfit for about $200. They don’t have stoles, however, which is unfortunate.
If you want to go all out (and drop about $500), I recommend a chasuble, such as those available at the Blue Cloud Abbey in South Dakota. They also have some nice looking stoles, but they’re expensive.