Where do you get your costumes?

Community Gear
#1

If the Armageddon marketing push has been successful, then hopefully we should be seeing some new LARPers in the community. One question that is likely to crop up is where to get costumes from?

Costume hire shops are an option, especially for short games. However, if you plan to play a lot then it may be more economical to own your own.

Shop such as Paddywhack (and other overseas suppliers) now sell pretty decent LARP costumes. This can be a good option, particularly if you are playing a campaign where you expect to get a lot of use out of a single costume. However, the price might be a bit daunting for someone just starting out.

My preferred method is sew-your-own. This has an upfront investment in a sewing machine and taking the time to learn to sew. However, if you make a lot of costumes it works out quite cost-effective (patterns regularly go on sale for ~$5, and fabric can be acquired cheap over Trademe or from Salvation Army shops if you’re patient)

Other people manage to find useful stuff in 2nd-hand shops.

What other sources would people recommend?

#2

In Auckland we have leveraged the local TV industry to purchase whole costumes, clothing items and props typically in a fantasy theme. It’s how most of us got our chain maille.

I know the Lead Designer from Legend of the Seeker and she would hold sales timed so the larp community could attend (e.g. in proximity to a large campaign game so that out-of-towners could attend).

The next opportunity will be when The Chronicles of Shanara eventually finishes (it’s into it’s second season) and I would expect there will be a sale at that point.

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