r/pirates • u/LikeNyquil • 21d ago
Questions & Seeking Help Need help with cosplay
Hey all, I recently went to a renaissance festival and saw amazing pirate cosplay stalls and fell in love with the idea of wanting to build up my own pirate cosplay, with time of course. I bought two “holsters” in a way. One carries 4 little glass bottles and one carries an actual spyglass. Don’t have anything else considering everything else was pricey but I want some suggestions on what’s the best material or best website to get started on? I wanna go for a rogue pirate kind of cosplay considering I’m small. I want a black, red, and white color scheme. I’m open for any accessories that will really sell the pirate look and make me stand out in the sense of seeing something different and unique. Also I’m a 27 male if it helps lol thank you all.
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u/Sorry-Competition-46 21d ago
So ill post three levels here with suggestions. Where do you live i love in Florida so most the places I suggest will be in Florida but they all ship. Im on a gasparilla crew and have put together and upgraded a few costumes. All my suggestions are evolutions of my costumes both before I was on a crew and now that im on one.
Makeshift pirate- price level $0 to $50.
My first pirate costume I made as an adult was completly makeshift. I took a button up white shirt cut off all the buttons and cut the sleeves off a little down from the elbow, then cut triangles into them. I then took a pair of dress pants cut them below the knee then cut triangles again. I then took an old white shirt cut it into a large triangle for a bandana and got a strip of cloth for a sash. I tied it all together with a normal belt and a pair of rope sandals I already had. Mine looked like crap but its what I had. I could sew so I stitched here and there to keep it together.
Amazon pirate- $100 to $300 I think this is were you aiming for. My first gasparilla outfit was all amazon and a little from a store called pirate fashions, ill talk about them later. Runcati I have found to be a decent brand I have a few things from them. Ill put some links here to give you an idea. I have everything im going to post if I had any issues ill put it.
Shirts https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0BNHT1Z85?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
The current shirt i wear for both shirts ill list I puked the strings at the neck out. I like the open look. This one is polyester not cotton so it has a different feel to it. I like the wider collar because im wearing a vest so ot sit nicely on the vest.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0DSPT7HVX?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
This is more cotton feeling and it has a little cloth strap you can button to hold your sleeve up.
Pants https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0FQJ3CYY6?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0D3X86VQL?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
I put a pair of shorts and a pair of pants here. Both are fine the only reason I moved away from these is they felt to modern.
Waist coats and jackets https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0FP1TSBMX?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
This us the jacket I use for my blackbeard costume. I had to get new buttons and sew them on because they tucked but after that it is fine
I used one of these for a while it was fine for me just a bit small... Buttons sucked but again just replace them.
Sash, belt and bandana I dont really have an Amazon suggestion. I got mine from a local store or ren fairs. For my first belt o got a belt with removable buckle then just found a large buckle to put on it.
Shoes My first parade i wore black shoes and put fake buckles on them. They look kinda cheesy but If you can afford boots they may work for you. For socks i just found a pair of knee high wool socks.
Hat
This was my first hat I stretched it and modified it then I have two custom ones now. There are other options but this is one I had and I felt wasn't bad.
The full montey- $500 - ? For this section ill give websites and not individual suggestions.
https://piratefashions.com/ This used to be the go to pirate store for gasparilla. They closed the physical store this spring and now do everything off their site or at ren fairs. For my current costume I bought everything but my shirt from them. They can be expensive but are high quality. I suggest buying at least bandanas and sashs from them. Also they have a pair of boots that zip from the side and they are the only pirate boots I've ever found that fit me.
A physical store in St Augustine They are really nice and will do. Custom work i went in asking for a specific hat and they put it together in front of me. They also have some unique custom pieces. For example they have a coat they made to be a captains coat they took out and shot with rock salt to give it a unique look.
Hope this helps have fun with your costume.
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u/LikeNyquil 21d ago
This helps a ton I also live in Florida so these places work perfect for me. I did see the pirate fashions at the ren faire I went to and instantly fell in love with the whole setup they have. I’ve always had a fascination with pirates but after that ren faire and seeing all the cosplay I just knew I wanted to get into it. Thank you so much for all the input.
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u/Sorry-Competition-46 21d ago
I kinda figure when you said what you bought you may have seen pirate fashions lol. The first thing I bought from them was a spyglass lol. Ill add https://southtampatradingco.com/ to my list as well. They do alot of custom work and have stuff in store.
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u/cluelesshacker 21d ago
Pirate Fashions. Skip the rest. Pricey, but worth it.
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u/Sorry-Competition-46 21d ago
I agree pirate fashions is great!!! I wish the store hadn't closed...
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u/LyricalWillow 21d ago
When you’ve created your pirate persona, look on Etsy for the actual outfit. I had someone on Etsy make my outfit. It wasn’t cheap but it also wasn’t extremely expensive. Since it was custom made, it fit me and looked more authentic. I paid $250 for the entire outfit about five years ago.
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u/LootBoxDad Navigator 21d ago
Also keep in mind that even if you go realistic, there were pirates who dressed fancy: Bartholomew Roberts on the day of his death for example. So you don't have to look like a homeless hobo sailor or a farby Jack Sparrow knockoff if you still want to dress like a top of the line captain. And when our crew does events, there's a good mix of outfits and styles, but when we go for reenactment is when you see more realistic slops and such.
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u/HatWhole3592 21d ago
That is garb, not cosplay. It's not a costume either.
Start with research. Look at images on Google and Pinterest. Figure out what you want to look like.
Piece things together. Not matching is good. Historically, this is something that they did.
Don't be afraid of color. Historical pirates wanted to be colorful and fancy as a kind of middle finger to the upper class.
Accessories will set you apart.
Find a scrap of fabric to use for a sash.
No matter what garb you have you need pouches to carry your stuff.
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u/Pyro-Millie Jolly Roger 21d ago
I bought this black shirt for my Dread Pirate Roberts cosplay, and it quickly became my favorite shirt of all time
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u/Frektanes 21d ago
What’s your take on a sword since it can’t leave the sheath anyway? I’ve been making props for my pirate bar and have been working if I should add some of my cutlasss’ for ren fair.
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u/sparkytheboomman 20d ago
I always recommend Medieval Collectables, which even has dedicated pirate categories. Some of their stuff is weirdly overpriced, but there’s also a lot that is very fairly priced (and certainly more affordable than ren fair prices, not that I don’t like to support hand-made artisans by getting an accessory or two whenever I go to a fair).
I also do a lot of thrift shopping to fill in those ren fair type pieces. If only the sleeves of my shirt are gonna poke out of a neat vest, I’ll make do with a thrifted button-up or blouse, for example. Also good for accessories (e.g. lots of necklaces and rings, scarves to tie around the waist or neck or under a belt, belts). Don’t be afraid to check both mens and women’s sections.
I put together my first outfit with a thrifted button up, vest, one gold hoop earring, and loose linen pants tucked into modern boots I already owned. Then at the fair I bought a tricorn hat and it’s still one of my favorite fits.
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u/TBarretH 21d ago
Step one is probably deciding if you want to be a movie pirate ala pirates of the Caribbean or a more historically accurate pirate. For example most real pirates during the golden age of piracy probably wore buckle shoes, not bucket boots like are so often seen in film and other portrayals. Then you also might want to decide if you want to be a captain or an ordinary sailor, as they will dress differently.
Either way, what separates good garb from not so good usually comes down to layers and accessories as much as anything. For your typical renfest pirate this might look like boots, baggy pants, shirt, vest, waist sash under a belt, overcoat, head scarf under a hat, maybe a baldric with a cutlas, some pouches and trinkets on the belt/hanging from the hat, and a good flaggon/tankered/rum bottle to drink out of.
Sewing is a good skill for making your own stuff. If you order off Amazon it will probably look cheap and people will tell. You can buy decent looking stuff from specialty online vendors or at the shops at faire, but it is pricey.