Authentic pirate costumes aren’t that hard to put together if you do a little research. Pirates have well known tropes that I’ll list for you here.

First, you need the correct hat. This is typically going to be a tricorne, or three-cornered, black hat. The traditional hats of pirates in the movies, it is the first piece for authentic pirate costumes of all types. On that hat itself should be an image of a skull and crossbones, or “The Jolly Roger” as it’s known. Wikipedia gives the history of The Jolly Roger here:

The name “Jolly Roger” goes back at least to Charles Johnson’s A General History of the Pyrates, published in 1724.

Johnson specifically cites two pirates as having named their flag “Jolly Roger”: Bartholomew Roberts in June, 1721 and Francis Spriggs in December 1723. While Spriggs and Roberts used the same name for their flags, their flag designs were quite different, suggesting that already “Jolly Roger” was a generic term for black pirate flags rather than a name for any single specific design. Neither Spriggs’ nor Roberts’ Jolly Roger consisted of a skull and crossbones.

Richard Hawkins, captured by pirates in 1724, reported that the pirates had a black flag bearing the figure of a skeleton stabbing a heart with a spear, which they named “Jolly Roger”.

Despite this tale, it is assumed by most that the name Jolly Roger comes from the French words jolie rouge, meaning “pretty red”. During the Elizabethan era “Roger” was a slang term for beggars and vagrants who “pretended scholarship” and was also applied to privateers who operated in the English Channel. “Sea Beggars” had been a popular name for Dutch privateers since the 16th century. Another theory states that “Jolly Roger” is an English corruption of “Ali Raja”, the name of a Tamil pirate. Yet another theory is that it was taken from a nickname for the devil, “Old Roger”. The “jolly” appellation may be derived from the apparent grin of a skull. Theories that the epithet comes from the names of various pirates, such as Woodes Rogers, are generally discredited.

So you can see why the Jolly Roger is such an important part of authentic pirate costumes.

Also required in real authentic pirate costumes are such accoutrements as a flintlock pistol, a hook for a hand, a pegleg and a parrot. And if you can grow one (or buy one from a costume shop), a handlebar moustache can go a long way to completing the look.

Wannabe a pirate for Halloween? Tips for boys and girls on creating an authentic pirate costume

When the pirates of Bluebeard’s time weren’t gathering booty from His or Her Majesty’s ships, plundering riches from every nation’s fleet, they were flaunting their riches and making merry in Caribbean seaports where other nations dared not intrude. The pirates dressed in a manner reflecting their disdain for the ordinary law-abiding people, making law as they went along, frequently stealing from one another as possible and getting into sword fights, sometimes losing eyes and even legs in these battles. When piracy was finally – for the most part – brought to an ignominious end, over a couple of centuries, the less admirable qualities of pirates faded in memory, to be replaced with a sort of romanticism of colorful, adventurous individuals which still lives on today. Halloween is the perfect occasion on which kids can dress up in an authentic pirate costume.

While in reality, female pirates were scarce, on Halloween, there’s plenty of room in the neighborhood for girls in female pirate costumes to share in the romantic thrills.

All real pirates were splashy dressers, men and women alike. First, we’ll cover the elements that both boy’s and girl’s authentic pirate costumes have in common: The tri-cornered hat, typically black, always carried the insignia of the crossbones and skull. Men’s hats were usually much plainer than the women’s, decorated with a long feather – or two, but absent the rows of fancy laces and ribbons with which the women embellished their hats. The ordinary pirate crew members sported scarves and bandannas, instead of hats, deferring to the Captain and his ‘officers’.

All you boys and girls need a sword and a pair of swashbuckling boots. Feel free to  enhance that plastic sword with a row of jewels, fastened with a little glue. The flashier the better!

Now, for some of the subtler differences between girl’s and boy’s authentic pirate costumes: boys need an eye patch, demonstrating their experience in battles at sea.

If you’re a girl, every authentic pirate costume should show that feminine side – lots of lace, brighter colors, striped off the shoulder tees, fancy jeweled belts and more elaborate hats and jackets, heavy on the lace and decorative accessories. By all means, add plenty of bangles, necklaces and outrageous earrings!

Pirate men generally dressed in a simple tunic shirt, left hanging outside long breeches, with a simply cut vest, affording freedom of movement on the high seas. Female pirates wore more tightly fitting garments, designed to show off a shapely figure. A fitted bodice and vest replaces the man’s loose tunic shirt and simply cut vest.

The authentic pirate costume can be a very inexpensive proposition for a great Halloween costume that makes you stand out in the crowd. Shiver me timbers!

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