Costume for a School Play

Updated on February 01, 2013
E.T. asks from Coppell, TX
13 answers

Where do you guys who do not sew get the costumes for school plays and musicals etc?
I can sew but don't have time, nor will for it right now. My son would need a ringmaster suit for a school play. I checked the web, eBay etc, but didn't find anything, and Party City has costumes only during Halloween, I assume... Any ideas? I checked the closets too, and we do not have anything even close to what's needed. At least a top hat and jacket would be needed; the rest I could figure out.

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Ring master outfit.....

I googled it too and came up with a couple of ideas. It's the accessories that make the difference. If you put a top hat and stuff with a red jacket and black pants you give the illusion of a ring master. There are other accessories that say that too, like a mustache...

Here's a pirate costume that has a red jacket and black pants. Get the top hat at a local costume/party place or even online then add a couple more accessories and you have it made.

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http://www.chasing-fireflies.com/pirate-captain-costume/p...

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With this one you could get the jacket, add black pants and go from there.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/94087091/boys-blazer-the-sail...

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Although they don't carry this costume anymore if you look at it the pirate costume above is nearly the same thing with different accessories....

http://www.thisnext.com/browse/ringmaster/
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L.R.

answers from Washington DC on

Secondhand, thrift or resale store, Salvation Army stores, Goodwill -- whatever they're called in your area. Don't look at boys' clothes -- look at men's small jackets and blazers.

Top hat - you will truly need to make this but it should be easy: Use black poster board, roll a cylinder of it that fits his head and staple the ends; put cylinder down on flat poster board and cut a circle to be the top of the hat (attach on the inside with tape) and then cut a larger circle, with a hole in it to fit his head, for the brim; attach the brim to the cylinder at one end with tape, again on the inside. You are just not going to find a top hat unless you pay a bundle on some costume company web site and it should take maybe 10 minutes to make.

Thrift shops may also have men's suit vests -- you might find a bright one to go under the jacket and spice it up. Get a very loud, bright tie or even a bright small scarf to tie like a cravat!

A ringmaster also might have a "riding crop" type of thiing to point to acts and/or a "megaphone" -- very easily made because it's just a cone that's wider at one end than the other and is open at the narrow end so he can speak through it. Again, use poster board, this time very bright, perhaps, and staple the cone together.

Your posting really caught my eye because today my daughter had to take in her costume for the 6th grade musical. Fortunately the order was for "long skirts in any earth tone, black, brown, gray, olive etc., and a white shirt or top" so that was easily done at the local thrift store.

The key to using thrift stores for costumes is to look outside the kids' department at the adult clothing and be willing to use pins or a stitch or two to make things roughly fit.

1 mom found this helpful
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N.W.

answers from Eugene on

Goodwill. You can trim a plain jacket out by adding buttons, trim and details with a few stitches or a glue gun. You can also create a top hat out of construction paper. Also check amazon.com. where I found a bowler hat for my son for under $10.

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B.A.

answers from Chicago on

Go to goodwill or other second hand store find a few items, i don't sew i hot glue gun stuff like this it holds for the event. Also ask on freecycle if anyone has something that would work.

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A.M.

answers from Dallas on

Have you visited Rose Costume in Denton? It's amazing! Or Dance World. Also ask around if you're on a yahoo group, or on facebook, because you never know what someone may have in their wardrobe! Amazon?

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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

Thrift stores, costume shops, Amazon.

Example: http://www.blockbustercostumes.com/p-7020-grey-stovepipe-...

A ring master could be a red jacket with tails (or not), black shoes, black dress pants, white gloves and a hat. You might find the gloves at Claire's or similar.

You can also contact community theatres or high schools to see if they can let you borrow something.

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P.G.

answers from Dallas on

Check google - just google "kids ringmaster costume how to" or something like that. If you have thrift shops in your area, call or visit them to see what they have.

T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

Thrift stores are great for this kind of thing. Look at adult size small jackets, you can probably find something that's easily altered (and it doesn't need to be a perfect fit anyway.)
Does the play have a costume committee? We usually had a group of moms in charge of tracking down, collecting and altering costumes for the main roles.

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C..

answers from Columbia on

Also try community theatres.... they may have a costume from performances past......

Or - they might have a costume person "for hire" who can help you put something together.... depends on your budget.

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S.B.

answers from Dallas on

I google it too and came up with this: Costumes Your Kids Can Help Make
www.parents.com › Holiday › Halloween › Costumes
Another listing showed that Oriental Trading Company had the top hat for $6-7. Maybe that will help.

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P.

answers from Dallas on

Over The Top in Southlake has a lot of costumes to rent or buy. You might want to give them a call.

T.F.

answers from Dallas on

There is a costume store in Dallas off Inwood Rd. I believe it is called Costume World. They are open year round and have rentals.

Also try vintage stores for costumes.

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