Miscellaneous

Tips If you are not sure how to dress for a pirate event, you probably cannot go wrong if you dress as a non-pirate in the authentic historical costume of the period, e.g. seventeenth or eighteenth century.

If you wish to dress as a pirate but are not sure what to wear, you can imitate what you see in the paintings of Howard Pyle or N.C. Wyeth, except possibly for the parrot in Treasure Island. You can save yourself a trip to the library by doing a web search for “images for Howard Pyle,” “N.C. Wyeth pirate images,” etc. You should avoid copying what you see on television or in motion pictures, plays and operas.

Weathering

If you are leaning toward the “weathered” or “distressed” look in your outfit, just remember: at a costume event, it is okay to look like you have not bathed in six months – it is not okay to smell like you have not bathed in six months. For a tutorial on how to distress an article of clothing, see the Jack Sparrow Costuming web site and go to its Shirt Tutorial page. A quick and easy way to temporarily “weather” linen or muslin is to dip it in water, hang it and let it drip dry.