How to Make a Hermes Costume

Hermes is the Greek god who acts as the herald to the gods, carrying messages back and forth. Hermes wears a winged crown and winged shoes to help him perform his job. If you want to dress as this mythological character for a masquerade party or for Halloween, you can make your own Hermes costume to represent this god using muslin, spray paint, cardboard and florist's wire.

Measure your height and the width of your arms, fingertip to fingertip. Cut a piece of white muslin to match these measurements.

Place the fabric on your work surface with the arm measurement as the width and your height measurement as the height. Fold the top edge of the fabric down 18 inches. Fold the fabric in half lengthwise. Sew the length hems together with a sewing machine, using a 1/4-inch seam.

Slip the tube of muslin on your body. Gather the fabric over your left shoulder. Secure it in place with a simple, gold-toned brooch. Pass the pin of the brooch through the front and back of the muslin to form a traditional Greek garment called a chiton.

Tie a 48-inch piece of gold-toned rope around your waist. Let the ends of the rope hang down. Pull the top of the chiton up so it balloons slightly over the rope at your waist.

Wear a pair of simple, earthy sandals. Choose something in brown or black leather with no ornamentation to complement your Hermes outfit.

Measure your head just above your ears to determine the circumference of your head, using a fabric measuring tape. Cut a piece of florist wire to this length, plus an extra inch. Twist the ends of the wire to create a wire loop.

Draw a pair of 6-inch long wings on a piece of cardboard. Use an image of Hermes to determine the shape for the wings. Cut the wings out.

Attach a 4-inch piece of florist wire to each of the wings by inserting the wire into the edge of the bottom edge of the wing. Use hot glue to secure it in place if necessary. Spray paint the wire and the wings gold. Allow it to dry.

Twist the end of the wire sticking out of the cardboard wings around the wire loop to secure them on the sides, just above where your ears will be. Wrap the wire with a piece of gold-toned fabric tape until you have encircled the entire crown to complete your Hermes costume.