How to Make a Realistic Pirate Costume: Ideas and Examples

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Sooo, you want to look like a Pirate this Halloween!? Well, that's no surprise, given the blockbuster success of recent Caribbean Pirate movies and memorabilia!

But, making an adult pirate costume is alot of fun and probably alot easier than you'd think! Just follow this checklist and you'll soon be on your way to Swashbuckling Heaven!



* Your Clothing: The clothes are by far the most important aspect of any realistic adult pirate costume! First let's go through the items you will need to get and then we will explore where to find them.

* Pirate Pants: The pants will preferably be black, although gray and brown are also options. There are two different ways in which you can create your pants. The first way is to get black pants that are a little tight. Do not get them so that they are so tight that they are uncomfortable, but tight enough so that they are snug to your skin. The second way its to get black or vertically-striped pants that are quite baggy. After you get these pants you will take them and cut the bottoms of the legs off so that they are just below the knee. You should cut the bottoms in a jagged or zig-zag pattern, so that they look old or well-worn.

* Pirate Skirts: If you are a woman and you wish to dress up like a female pirate, all you need to do is get a pirate skirt instead of pants.

The skirt can be long or short. If you choose a longer skirt, the best is to get a "peasant" type of skirt. If you choose a sexy short one, it is best to get something knee length so that you may take some scissors and tear up the bottom to cut it shorter and to make it look tattered and old.

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* Pirate Shirt: The pirate shirt is simple. All you need to get is a white long sleeved button-up shirt. You will want to make sure that the shirt is not too dressy and not too business-like. The baggier the better, and you will want to leave a few buttons undone at the top.

Let's remember, these swashbucklers weren't always the "cleanest" of people either, so feel free to try and stain it up a little bit (see our video below on applying pirate makeup), or even tear it in certain areas. If you are able to locate a long-sleeved white shirt that has ruffles on the cuffs or a Victorian styled ruffle on the collar, then you are very lucky! This would suit a pirate costume perfectly!

* Pirate Vest: For the pirate vest, you are looking for pretty much any black or red vest. Try to avoid any that might have designs on them, unless it is just a striped pattern or something which would still suit the costume. If you cannot find either of these colors, and you can find white, you should be able to dye the vest. You can find "RIT clothing dye" at almost any craft store in the country. They are easy to use even if you have never used it before!

And remember, ACCESSORIES (wigs, hats, jewelry, makeup, purses, toy guns, eye patches, et cetera) are also very important to ANY authentic-looking pirate costume!


* Pirate Boots: Pretty much any pair of tall black boots will work here. Some people even use brown boots, but you'll want to try to stay more with the "Army boot" style rather than the "work boot" (e.g., Timberland, for example). And, if you're able to find the type of leather boot that folds over at the top, that would be perfect! For a woman, the boots can be a bit more extravagant, encrusted with fake jewels or sparkles, for instance. And, if you're really going for the Sexy Pirate look, they can be thigh-high and/or high-heeled! Those are really hot this year!

* Pirate Wig, Bandanna or Costume Hat: For long or short hair, these are great ways to accessorize your pirate costume. Find yourself a sexy pirate costume hat, and put the bandanna or wig (w/ or w/out dreadlocks, like the guy below) on your head under it!!
Your bandanna could either be black or red. You do not have to wear the hat, if you don't want to. You can just wear the bandanna, or the dreadlocks wig. If you have longer hair, you might consider putting a few braids in your hair here and there to give it an "authentic" pirate's look!

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* Pirate Sword: Of course, you'll want to get a "toy" (for safety reasons) pirate sword or maybe even a pirate hook for your hand. After all, how can you have a realistic pirate's costume without them??


* Pirate Sash or Belt: There are two things you can do for this. You can find a belt, which should be a very wide belt with a bigger buckle preferably, and should be black or red, depending on the colors of the rest of your costume. You can also choose to wear a flashy pirate's sash. This should be red, usually, but black will work as well. Remember that both of these will be tied on the outside of your white button-up shirt.

* Pirate Earrings and Jewelry: If you have pierced ears, then a few gold hoop earrings or maybe an eyepatch will be a great addition to your costume. Any other jewelry is completely up to you. Wear whatever you think looks good. Remember that pirates were pretty flashy, so anything you have (even fake jewelry) will work just fine!

Where to Go Get It All: Finding all of these items is easier than you'd think, and cheaper too!

Your Own Home: The first place you will want to check is your own house and closet! You never know when you might have an article of clothing or accessory that will suit your pirate costume just fine!


Local Thrift Store: The second place you will want to check out and the most important is your local thrift store! Go to places like the Salvation Army and Goodwill and any other stores in your area that are secondhand and dig in! You would be surprised at what you can find there.

Garage Sale: The third place is at garage sales! This is similar to going to a thrift store--the only difference is you are most likely going to pay even less! These days, you can find a shirt or pants for 25 cents, and who can argue that! Arrrghh!!

Costume Store: Usually, costume stores are a great place to shop for anything in your costume. There are some items that may be harder to find -- such as the hat -- that you may need to look at a costume store for. But in order to save money, I would leave that as a last resort.

Toy Store: The last place you will want to go to is a toy store. These can include anything from K-mart to your local "Dollar store"!

There are a few websites listed that will give you some visuals on different pirate costumes so that you can come up with some pirate costume ideas of your own. Have fun creating your pirate costume (of course, you could also explore Movie Costumes for Halloween, Halloween Pirate Costumes, Pirate Wench Costumes, Lady Pirates, and Tavern Folk Jasmine Princess Costumes, Cheap Pirate Costumes for Halloween, etc.) and remember, keep your creativity flowing and don't be afraid to have fun and "color a little bit outside the lines"!