Costume ideas and discussion?

[lordgale119]

Hey guys, so I guess this is the forum one would go to to discuss things like one's costume or such, right?
Well, I would love to get some help with the makings of my Halloween costume, since it's only a month away.
Now, I already have a cape with a hood, it's homemade, and I think it OWNS store-made ones, because the fabric is nice and flowy, it isn't too heavy, and the material is one way SEE THROUGH. Meaning the Hood doesn't obscure my vision when I wear it Assassin's Creed Style! Unfortunately my dad borrowed my camera for a weekend-long concert out of town, so I can't show you guys how it looks, but what I really wanted to ask would be: How would you guys make your own homemade Sith or Jedi costumes within only a month and on a very low budget?

[Manroon]

Well, if you know somebody who can sew..... dig up (I think it was McCalls?) old Halloween Star Wars pattern set from Episode II and just buy some nice homespun looking fabric from a fabric store and make the Jedi Costume from that set. Put it with any old leather boots and some earthy colored pants and you are pretty much good to go.

Either way, you can get a good belt together by hitting your local target or wal mart store and buying one of those large fashion belts out of the women's section (be sure it's black or brown) and get another normal belt (black or brown) from the men's section to put over it. Make sure the men's belt will cover the buckle on the women's one and you have an instant movie style Jedi belt.

If you do not know anyone who can sew.... things get a little more difficult, but not horribly so. Find a Karate Gi you like and buy it, that will be your tunic. Then from there follow the same pants advice and belt advice as above. Same boot advice too. (In a pinch, ordinary Jack Boots or no-laces work boots will do just fine, or even black rubbers from Army Surplus) Then I'd say find something like either a brown turtleneck or something with a Han Solo style collar to wear under your GI as an inner tunic.

I'd estimate either path to run you anywhere between 50 to a 100 bucks, but no more than that, and it should turn out very well and stand up to PLENTY of use. Not to mention it's easy to upgrade and modify either option. You can use a sash or long fashion scarf for the obi (cloth belt under the leather one), or even find a real one at a Japanese store if you know where one is.

Hope all that helps!

[lordgale119]

Well, if you know somebody who can sew.....
......
Hope all that helps!

Thanks a bunch, man. I've got a thrift store pretty close by, and then a few clothing outlets as well. I think I could find some of that stuff for cheap easily, and if I can't....well...I'll improvise, I guess.

I also thought of taking a gray vest and cutting off one of the shoulders to make a sort of....Naruto-like jacket for something resembling body armor.

[Qui-Tom Helms]

One other thought if you go with the Karate Gi route;  If you plan to dye them to change the color, it won't work well.  I tried both suggestions on the dye label: Washing machine and sink method.  They came out looking terrible.

[lordgale119]

One other thought if you go with the Karate Gi route;  If you plan to dye them to change the color, it won't work well.  I tried both suggestions on the dye label: Washing machine and sink method.  They came out looking terrible.

Then I definitely won't be trying that. Thanks for the warning. Perhaps a black turtleneck in place? I already own one of those.

[Master Nero Attoru]

I gotta recommend the Karate gi idea.  Artorius wears one for his Jedi outfit and it looks great, works perfectly as a tunic (you can make the tabards and obi pretty easily from what I read).  He has an older one in a tan color, though nowadays you can never find colors like that.

Essentially his and my outfits are simple - just tunics with pants and robes (I have a cloak, he has a robe).  I got my boots on eBay for cheap, like $35 or so, PM me if you're interested and I can find the link for you.  You really don't need anything too crazy to be a Jedi, as long as you're wearing a cloak or a robe and wielding a lightsaber you're distinctive enough

[lordgale119]

Thanks a lot for the info.
I'm sure it'll help a lot....when I plan on being a Jedi. My costume this year will most likely be a Sith though...
Any Sith on here willing to share tips?

[Darth Caugnien]

Same advice as above, but in black material, lol. No, but seriously, if you want a sith costume, you're already like halfway there if you have a cape with a hood. Is that black? I too am piecing together a Sith costume, but I purchased the majority of my pieces (tunic, obi, tabbards) from a place called twinrosesdesigns.com. It wasn't cheap, being $130, but I am VERY pleased with the quality. I already own black Wushu martial arts pants and red and black leather Doc Martins (boots), so all I need is the outer robe, the belt (VERY good idea, Manroon, I will have to steal your idea!) and maybe a dark maroon inner tunic to match the boots. Oh, and of course my beloved RGB Bane with Obsidian ( and hopefully Ep. III sidious font, if I can get the launch program to work) set to Blazing Red!  So yeah, sorry for the tangent, but if you have a little extra cash lying around, I would recommend twinroses. Heres their star wars stuuufff.....

http://twinrosesdesigns.com/Mens%20Clothing%20for%20Sale.html#Jedi_Style_Tunics_Obis_and_Tabards

But if its not in your budget, I too would go Karate Gi. They are really easy to find in black, no dye needed.

[Master Nero Attoru]

I second Darth Caugnien's idea.  Twin Roses is awesome, and I love my stuff from them.  If you're gonna order though, better do it soon if you want it for Halloween.  Also, they're not taking any more custom orders right now, so they only offer the standard Sith stuff (which should be fine anyway).

[lordgale119]

Same advice as above, but in black material, lol. No, but seriously, if you want a sith costume, you're already like halfway there if you have a cape with a hood. Is that black? I too am piecing together a Sith costume, but I purchased the majority of my pieces (tunic, obi, tabbards) from a place called twinrosesdesigns.com. It wasn't cheap, being $130, but I am VERY pleased with the quality. I already own black Wushu martial arts pants and red and black leather Doc Martins (boots), so all I need is the outer robe, the belt (VERY good idea, Manroon, I will have to steal your idea!) and maybe a dark maroon inner tunic to match the boots. Oh, and of course my beloved RGB Bane with Obsidian ( and hopefully Ep. III sidious font, if I can get the launch program to work) set to Blazing Red!  So yeah, sorry for the tangent, but if you have a little extra cash lying around, I would recommend twinroses. Heres their star wars stuuufff.....

http://twinrosesdesigns.com/Mens%20Clothing%20for%20Sale.html#Jedi_Style_Tunics_Obis_and_Tabards

But if its not in your budget, I too would go Karate Gi. They are really easy to find in black, no dye needed.

I have an extremely limited budget (I spent almost everything on my Aeon LE, and I don't regret it a bit), but yes, I already have the cape, and yes it IS black. And it's amazing! It's very thin, and pretty much one-way see-through, so when I put the hood up and over my eyes I can still see where I'm going! The material is also VERY light and flowing, so it looks GREAT. I also have several belts, so I might be able to pull off that too. I have a black turtleneck, and several different pairs of black cargo pants and a pair of black martial arts pants (no clue what they're called though) that I could tuck into boots.....which brings me to the fact that I don't OWN boots. D:
Also, on the subject or armor or something like that, does anyone know how or where I could find something fitting for bracers or gauntlets for cheap?

[Darth Caugnien]

Ok then. Nice choice on the saber, btw! And as for gauntlets....hmmm........maybe Walgreens would have like a forearm brace that you could spraypaint silver??? I dunno, that was the first thing that popped to mind.

[Qui-Tom Helms]

Really, from what you have you are pretty much good to go except for boots.  You should try the womens section of Sears, Penneys, and those type of clothes stores.  There was a thread about this and the consensus is - if it fits wear it.  There is an on-line site http://www.spirithalloween.com/product/mens-horror-walker-black-boot/  These are 70.00 this year, last year they were 35.00.   They may last a couple of seasons, are comfortable, but I recommend going the sears, penneys route, cause you don't have to pay shipping.  Plus womens shoes are always on sale, just ask any husband

For armor, do you really need it this year?  Suggest waiting until next year and getting something possibly cool.  There is a site on ebay selling a complete set of mando armour but it is unpainted and is like 150.00 with shipping.  Unfortunately the estimated arrival is like a few days before Halloween.  If you are interested just search ebay for mandalorian armour.

[lordgale119]

Thanks so much for all the input, guys!
I typically use some of this stuff for last minute costumes and stuff (A ninja last year) but I guess I never thought about proper application. And I guess you might be right about the gauntlets and such. I might just have to troll Savers, Salvation Army and Spirit to find something suitable. You've all been very helpful!

Once I get the outfit together, I'll take photos for sure and post the up here for you guys to see.

[Varan Folos]

I think the sewing pattern Manroon was thinking of is Simplicity 4450.  This pattern is no longer in production but there are some still floating around there (eBay, etc).  It's a good pattern if you can find it.  Currently you can get Simplicity 5840, the inner tunic and the outer tunic are the same as the old pattern. However the cloak in the pattern isn't very Jedi. Also the tabard is not as good as the older pattern.

[Manroon]

Ah, thank you Varan! That is the one I was thinking of! McCalls musta been the Star Trek one.... lol Anyways, I can vouch that the Tabbards on the earlier pattern ROCK. I never tried the cloak though, so I can't say there.