It is so much fun to dress up and dressing up as a pirate might be the most fun of all.  The best part of dressing up as a pirate is that it is easy and you most likely have much of what you need at home or can get it in a local thrift shop.  The pirate costume is also one of the best costumes to suit both men and women, which means it would make a great couples costume.  All you need is some old clothes, jewelry, and accessories and a bit of creativity and you will make as convincing a pirate as Captain Jack Sparrow himself.

The very first thing that you need for your pirate costume are the clothes.  These are easy to obtain and you might have the perfect things at home.  Let's start with the pants.  If you can't find a pair at the back of your closet, then check out your local thrift store.  They are sure to have a pair of pants the will suit your needs.  Ideally your pants should be black, although brown or gray will do.  The tighter the pants the better or, at the opposite end of the spectrum, baggy pants would also work.  Cut off the pants just below the knees and make the cuts jagged so that the pants look old and worn.  If you are a woman and want a skirt instead, find a black skirt that is longer than the knees and cut it off in a jagged manner.  A tighter skirt is good if you are aiming for the sexy pirate look.

Next you need a shirt, a white shirt.  If you can find a old Victorian-style shirt then you are set.  The fancier the shirt the better.  Frills or ruffles are great.  Then when you wear the shirt you need to leave the top few buttons unbuttoned.  Once you have your shirt picked out you need to find a vest to go with it.  Your vest can be blue, red, or black.  It should be plain or striped.  If you can't find a colored vest, then you can get a white one and then buy some fabric dye and dye it the color you desire.

There is no doubt about it, the clothes are important, but it is the accessories that make the pirate.  Really and truly there are a number of accessories that a pirate needs to look, well – piratey.  First, you will need either a hat or a bandanna or both.  A bandanna is a must and it should be black or red.  Wear the bandanna and if you have longer hair, then put some braids in it or if your hair is short, then get a pirate wig.  You can then get a pirate hat to wear over the bandanna or you can just wear the bandanna.  Either way you will look great.

You will also need boots, black or brown will do.  As long as they are tall boots they will be fine and if they are made of soft enough leather that they can fold down at the top then even better.  You can add to this a sash or belt and some fantastic pirate jewelry and you are set.  The belt should be wide and black or brown, depending on the rest of your outfit.  It should also have a large buckle.  If you choose to wear a sash, then make sure it is red or black and this or the belt should be worn outside of your white shirt.  When it comes to jewelry anything will do as long as it is gaudy and stands out.  Pirates are flamboyant and so the bigger the better.  A large ring or two, some chains, and some hoop earrings will do the trick.  The final addition to your costume is a sword and you are set.

As you can see, much of this you can find just sitting around your home, either in the back of your closet, your basement, or your attic.  What you can't find there you might be able to find at your parent's or grandparent's place and when all else fails your local thrift store will have what you are missing.  If you have any need to go further in finding items for your costume, then your local dollar store or party supply store can finish things off for you.  You will be the most convincing pirate when you are finished and the fun of creating the costume almost equals the fun of wearing it.  So get creative, search everywhere, and the pirate costume of your dreams will happen.