Sourcing personal costuming for Crucible?

Community Gear
#1

I imagine I’m pretty much re-treading the wheel here, so please forgive me, I can’t remember the advice from previous threads I assume have existed, but can’t remember seeing :stuck_out_tongue:

So the first Crucible weekend game was my first ever weekend game as a player in a campaign, and I wasn’t really happy with the costume I ended up wearing (black medieval pants and shirt I had bought from Paddywhack for a Chimera game last year). The quality and ‘wearability’ of them were totally fine, but it didn’t seem very Korashuran-mage-y to me (even for a relatively uncaring character such as mine). So I would like to acquire a new costume for the next weekend game, but the problem is I really have pretty much no idea how to acquire costuming, and I have absolutely no handicrafts skills.

So my question is, how do you recommend that I, as someone who would like to get a nicer costume but is sewing-impaired and slightly lazy about costuming, go about trying to assemble/acquire new and more interesting costumes?

Thanks in advance :slight_smile:

#2

If there is enough interest, I am happy to approach Jane (who owns the Legend of the Seeker costumes) and ask if she is willing to hold another sale.

#3

You can also commission costumes off those who are more sewing-inclined. Alternatively, there are plenty of LARP costume websites out there, particularly in the US and Europe, but you’ll usually pay extra for shipping. This all depends on budget, of course.

Getting a few re-usable, generic staple items (like the pants and shirt you have) that can then be customized with accessories (hats, belts, light and decorative outer garments, etc) is my preferred way of building a costume. For a mage, robes are always popular. Possibly accessorize with a pointed wizards hat (just… not a blue one with silver moons and stars… there are tasteful pointed hats out there), staff, pouches, and jewelry? Alternatively, capes are awesome (I quite like the Gildroy Lockhart from Harry Potter / The Musketeers 2014 TV show style of cape - useful for keeping one hand free for spellcasting). Also, never underestimate your need for pockets.

#4

The first thing I recommend is finding pictures of costumes that have the general look you’re going for. It’s much easier to try and build/source/commission costumes if you can show pictures that get across the idea you’re working toward.

Once you’ve narrowed down your look (taking into consideration stuff that’s easy to move/fight in if required), that’ll give you an idea of the level of skill required to assemble something close to what you’re after. It may give you a clear enough idea of how to put together the outfit that you’ll be able to do it yourself. Otherwise, grab friends who are more costume-savvy and ask them for advice/company while you shop/etc…

If it’s something that needs to be made, rather than purchased, put out a call for commission work and see if anyone is interested, and research the cost of similar items to help give you an idea of what sort of payment you should be offering your costume-maker (unless they’re volunteering their time).

If it’s really, really complex, or you want something movie-quality, look for the Seeker Sales that come up (as Mike mentioned) - or chat to the team at Frontier Costume. They’ve actively been getting to know the LARP community, promoting Crucible at their stall, and are doing a bunch of commission work for people in the community already: facebook.com/Frontiercostume?fref=ts

#5

Sound slike you’ve got a good base layer. As for how to add to it:
[ul]
[li] a sash. You don’t need to sew this, but it will last a lot longer if it has hemmed edges. [/li]
[li] a cloak. My favourite one is an old grey army blanket with the coloured edges unpicked, worn rectangular-style. You can buy cloak pins over the net, or make them yourself (a $2 pendant from the Warehouse or Spotlight, a big kilt pin, and some superglue works wonders)[/li]
[li] robes: there’s a simple design on the Empire wiki here (requires basic sewing, but a friend should be able to whip these up in an hour if you provide the fabric). There’s an Odyssey £30 Kit Challenge which has some good ideas. Or you can use a chiton, which is basically a long piece of fabric and a couple of pins. I used one of these for [i]Insubstantial Pageant[/url], and it looked pretty good, despite being very simple.[/li]
[li] bling: if you hunt round on Trademe, Etsy or Ebay you can find cheap jewellry to match a costume. Or you can assemble it yourself from components from Spotlight, or make it with wire, pliers, and a steady hand. Rings, chains, broaches, and cloak pins are good accessories.[/li]
[li] footwear: depends on the character. Seeker Boots look cool if you can get them in your size, or you can often find leather riding boots on Trademe for ~$50. You can buy cheap vinyl turnshoes over Etsy, which look cool but are slippy and really only suitable for indoor use (also, as turnshoes have thin soles, careful what you walk on in them)[/li]
[li] headwear: you can make a traditional wizard hat by stretching a felt cone. Or you could go with a rus hat, bag hat, or simple arming cap.[/li]
[li] belts: cost $2 from the sallies. You’ll want one to hold your pants up, one to stick your pouch on, and maybe one to put your weapons on if you have anything more than a dagger. Can also be used as random strapping on other things.[/li]
[li] pouches: you can acquire a suitable handbag from the sallies or over TradeMe, and either use as is or chop the straps and add belt-loops to the back (rivets are your friend here, but superglue will probably work just as well). Small pouches are easy to make from scrap leather or cloth (take long rectangle, fold in half, sew sides together, turn inside out, punch holes for drawstring). I can’t sew for shit, but because these are all turned inside out, it doesn’t matter. Scrap leather is dirt cheap over trademe - you can get a big bag of it for under $10. [/li][/ul]

#6

Thanks people, you’ve been very helpful :slight_smile:

#7

I get my costumes from yourdressmaker.com

They’re based in Thailand so shipping isn’t too bad, and they make the costumes themselves. They’re more expensive than making them yourself but cheaper than most of the USA based websites (Plus some of the USA ones buy from them so you’re paying for their mark up). They also have an Etsy store and ebay store which they have specials on sometimes, and also have clearance specials on samples so sometimes you get lucky and they have the right size at a reduce price.

I also recommend op shopping, because you’d be surprised what you can pick up that can work for a costume or can be adapted. Pinterest is fantastic for browsing for larp costume ideas and you can pin your favourites for later reference.