Hey, you want to look like a Pirate for Halloween!? Well, get a load of you! With the overwhelming success of those funny Caribbean Pirate movies I can certainly see why you would!

But, making an adult pirate costume is a lot of fun and probably alot easier than you’d think! Just follow this checklist and you’ll soon be on your way to pirate costume heaven!

First things first — Your Clothing: The clothes are by far the most important aspect of any realistic adult pirate costume! First let’s go through the items you will need to get and then we will explore where to find them.

Pirate’s Pants: Your pants will need to be black, although gray and brown are also options. There are two different ways in which you can do your pants. The first way is to get black pants that are a little tight. Do not get them so that they are too tight that they are uncomfortable, but tight enough so that they are snug to your butt. The second way its to get striped pants that are quite baggy. After you get these pants you will take them and cut the bottoms of the legs off so that they are just below the knee. You should cut the bottoms in a jagged or zig-zag pattern, so that they look old or well-worn.

Pirate Skirt: If you are a girl, all you need to do is get a pirate skirt instead of a pair of pants. The skirt can be long or short. If you choose a long skirt, the best is to get a “peasant” type of skirt. If you choose a sexy short one, it is best to get something knee length so that you can take some scissors and tear up the bottom to cut it shorter and to make it look tattered and old.

Pirate Shirts – Now, the pirate shirt is going to be “dirt simple.” All you require is a white long sleeved button-up shirt or two (depending on what each of them has on it). You will want to make sure that the shirt is not too, too dressy and not too expensive — you wouldn’t want to ruin a good shirt for this — actually, the baggier the better is the way to go, and you’ll want to leave a couple of buttons undone from the bottom.

The Pirate vest: For the pirate vest, you are looking for pretty much any black or red vest, should do just fine. You’ll want to avoid anything that might have designs on them, unless it’s just a striped pattern or something which would go with your costume — don’t be afraid to jazz it up a little! If you can’t find either of these colors, and you can find white, you should be able to dye it. You can find “RIT clothing dye” at almost any drugstore in the USA. They are easy to use even if you have never used it before!

Pirate Vest – For the vest, you are looking for pretty much any black or red vest. Try to avoid it if it that might have multi-colored designs on them, unless it is just a striped pattern or something which would still suit your “fancy” — think “Prince.” If you cannot find either of these, you should dye the vest red or black.

Remember, accessories are very important to any pirate costume!

Pirate Wig, Bandanna or Costume Hat: For long or short hair, these are great ways to accessorize your pirate costume. Find yourself a sexy pirate costume hat, and put the bandanna or wig (w/ or w/out dreadlocks, like the guy below) on your head under it!! Your bandanna could either be black or red. You do not have to wear the hat, if you don’t want to. You can just wear the bandanna, or the dreadlocks wig. If you have longer hair, you might consider putting a few braids in your hair here and there to give it an “authentic” pirate’s look!

The Pirate’s Trusty Sword: Of course, you’ll want to get a “toy” (for safety) pirate sword or maybe even a pirate hook for your hand. Besides, how can you have a realistic pirate’s costume without them??

Pirate’s Belt: There are 2 things you can do for this. You can find a belt, which should be a wider belt with a big, big buckle, and should be black/reddish, depending on the colors of the rest of your get-up. You can also choose to wear a flashy pirate’s sash. This should be red, usually, but black will work as well. Remember that both of these will be tied on the outside of your white button-up shirt.

Pirate’s Belt — There are other things you can do here. You can, for instance, find a very wide belt with a big buckle; belt should be black or red, given the color of the rest of your outfit. You can get a flashy pirate’s sash. This should be red, but black will work. Both of these will be tied onto your shirt!

Earrings and Jewelry — If you have pierced ears, then a gold earring will be a great addition to your costume. Any other jewelry is completely up to you. Wear whatever you think looks good. Remember that pirates were extra flashy, so anything you have (even if its fake) will work!

Your Home: The first place you will want to check is your own house and closet! You never know when you might have some clothing or accessory that will suit your pirate costume just fine!

Local Thrift Store: The second place you will want to check out and the most important is your local thrift store! Go to places like the Salvation Army and Goodwill and any other stores in your area that are secondhand and dig in! You would be surprised at what you can find there.

Local Garage Sale: The third place is at garage sales! This is similar to going to a thrift store–the only difference is you are most likely going to pay even less! These days, you can find a shirt or pants for 25 cents, and who can argue that! Arrrghh!!

Costume Store: Usually, costume stores are a great place to shop for anything in your costume. There are some items that may be harder to find — such as the hat — that you may need to look at a costume store for. But in order to save money, I would leave that as a last resort.

Toy Store: The last place you will want to go to is a toy store. These can include anything from Walmart to your local “Dollar store”!

There are a few websites listed that will give you some visuals on different pirate costumes so that you can come up with some pirate costume ideas of your own. Have fun creating your pirate costume — of course, you could also explore Lady Pirates and remember, keep your creativity flowing and have fun!