How to Make a Colonial Man Costume

You'll need a long coat for your colonial costume.

An authentic-looking colonial costume can be expensive if bought from a costume shop. But, colonial clothing items were not really that different from modern clothing. You can make your own authentic colonial costume by altering modern clothing, and you can find most of what you need from a thrift store. You may have to get your coat from the ladies' department. You can get a tricorn hat from a costume shop, or make one from a wide-brim felt hat.

Things You'll Need

• Long, knee-length coat or jacket
• V-neck, square-tail vest
• Needle and thread
• 1 yard of 4- to 5-inch-wide lace trim
• 2 dozen metal buttons
• White button-up shirt
• Dark sweat pants or baseball pants (should come just below the knee)
• Dress socks
• Pair of black or brown shoes
• Two square metal buckles
• Tricorn hat or wide-brim felt hat
• Short white scarf or caveat
• Iron
• Ironing board

Instructions

1. Cut all but about a half of the cuffs from the white shirt. Sew lace trim to the end of the sleeves. Turn the collar to the inside of the shirt.

2. Sew a piece of lace trim onto each end of a short scarf. Wrap the scarf around your neck from front to back and back to front. Tie it in the front.

3. Replace any plastic buttons on the vest with metal buttons.

4. Fold the back third of the hat brim up and tack to the crown with a couple of cross stitches. Fold the side brims into a point at the front and tack down.

5. Glue or sew buckles to the shoes and wear with dress socks.

6. Wear your pants so that they come just below the knees. They should come over the top of the socks.

7. Remove the buttons from the coat and replace with metal buttons. Iron the lapel of the coat out flat and the collar up. Fold the lapel to the inside of the coat. Tack it down with a needle and thread and iron the folded edge. You want a straight line from the bottom of the collar down.

Tips & Warnings

• If you can’t find a vest you like, you can remove the sleeves from a v-neck square-tail shirt or jacket.When looking for a coat and vest to use for this costume, look for solid natural fabrics or colorful brocades, depending on the social class of your costume. Colors may include black, blue and earth tones such as browns, greens and warm reds.

References

• Passport to Colonial Times: Ye Olde Colonial Fair