Daring and Sexy Authentic Pirate Costumes

Oh my goodness! It’s Halloween and I don’t know what to wear again. Looking for great Halloween costume ideas for women but just can’t seem to get going? Is this you? Are you never prepared for what to go as to the masquerade party or club? Do you love pirates? Well, you might consider wearing authentic pirate costumes this year to brighten up your face. Arggggh!

The pirate headgear

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.

More about pirate Halloween costumes

In the 17th and 18th centuries, pirates were notorious beings, ravishing the coasts of the Caribbean with particular fervor. Port Royal was the infamous base of these freewheeling thieves.

While legs and eyes were commonly lost in their battles with the law abiding ships on the high seas, pirates have come to be romanticized figures today.

Perhaps because of their bad boy reputations, a certain carelessness and rowdy, cavalier behaviors, pirate Halloween costumes are a popular choice for both kids and adults. As with most historical figures, authenticity is key to pulling this one off. Instead of golden doubloons, you get a fine largesse of sweets and treats.

Authentic looking pirate Halloween costumes aren’t nearly as difficult to put together as you might think. There are a number of telltale signs, which, properly imitated, make you unmistakably, a fearsome Pirate.

How to make a pirate leg for your authentic costume

For example, the dyed in the wool pirate has got to be missing a leg. Here’s an easy way to follow in Bluebeard’s footsteps. Use a couple of sturdy sticks of a length to run from your knee to just above the ground.

Wrap a length of cloth around the sticks, top and bottom and secure them with duct tape. Now, wrap a piece  of stiff beige or brown felt around the sticks. A glue gun works well to attach the ‘wooden’ leg to the underlying cloth. A sturdy tennis shoe, covered in felt nicely simulates your one legged appearance.

A patch on the eye

The macho pirate Halloween costume demands you be one-eyed as well. Eye patches are readily available at cheap prices. Another indispensable prop is your flagon of rum, matey.

If you’ve got a small empty liquor bottle, great. If not, any glass bottle of the approximate shape and size works just as well. Maple syrup bottles often have a little handle, allowing you to take swigs at the twist of a finger. Just fill ‘er up with water and add a few drops of red and yellow food coloring for that proper amber tone.

Completing the pirate Halloween costume

You can find pirate style pants at the Navy surplus stores, as well as the Navy pea coats, which you can embellish with swashbuckling accessories.

 For a pirate Halloween costume that really walks the talk, Google images of Bluebeard, Captain Hook and other genuine or movie character pirates.

Jot down notes on the detailing of shirts, bandannas, gaudy jewelry, knives, guns, sashes and such. Wearing just one tall black boot will enhance the peg leg effect. Add a rag-tag looking wig and you’re fit as a fiddle in your imposing pirate Halloween costume!

If you’re at a loss for words while trick or treating, you needn’t be too articulate. A throaty “Aaaargh, be it a trick or a treat, ye landlubber!” Your booty is, of course, candy!

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