Excuse me, but I moustache you a question about cowboy costumes!
Dressing our cowgirls and cowboys need not be expensive. Clothing stores are chocka full of western themed fashion at the moment. It seems people arn't too keen on looking like cowgirls in their daily life so it is also all on sale!
Here are some things I found around Wellington. The image to the right would be suitable for characters Bets, Ursula and Nellie.
These items are mostly from Mirrou, Valleygirl, Cotton On and Temt. The shoes are from Number One Shoes. All items $8-$20.
Both The Warehouse and Farmers are having 50% off sales at the moment. I got a great skirt+jacket from Mirrou for $25 all up to add to our kete. Of course, these are all fast-fashion stores which is the unfortunate down-fall of the deals.
Cowgirl/boy costumes are available to purchase of course but with most ranging from $35-$70 you may as well pick up a couple of items locally. These are all fast-fashion stores so it depends on your own preferences.
The boot covers pictured are great. Just slip them over your shoes! Available from CostumeKing through TradeMe and on my favourite site www.costumebox.com.au
NZ's Kiwi Costumes have western items available too.
Girls can accessorise with lace gloves, bandanas/leather trips tied aroud then neck or wrists, spurs on their boots, roses or lace pinned in their hair, and/or jewellery featuring minerals or faux pearls.
Ursula Mortimer has the opportunity to go a slightly different way (possibly Bets Clanton too).
Saloon girl fashion is lots of fun but a bit harder to find. Your best bet is to buy online. When searching online be sure to search for "Can-Can" as well as "saloon girl" as the costumes are pretty similar. Also Can-Can costumes tend to be a bit more... modest.
While in London, I went to Camden one afternoon to get the dress on the far left for Freya (hoping it would be a bit longer on her!), unfortunately they were sold out then. Try searching Ebay for items with free international delivery. BuyandSend is a UK company with free delivery available through their TradeMe store. Amazon and online Australian costume stores are also good ones to check out.
All of the accessories pictured are available from local discount/bargain stores.
There are so many options for dressing the men!
Oversized chaps would be excellent for a character like Rooster. Costuming could be a simple as throwing a poncho over jeans. Ponchos are $13 at Mirrou but you could also just buy a metre of fabric and chop out a hole for your neck. I saw some great fabric at Pete's Emporium in Porirua.
Accessories could include hats (of course)- cowboy hats, top hats, even victorian gentleman hats would work well. Bananas around the neck, bolo ties, cravats and string ties are all fabulous.
Best of all though, is facial hair! Bargain shops are FULL of facial hair options, however, TradeMe, eBay, Amazon and costumebox.com.au have masses of specialist facial hair fashion items. The above is just a small selection. Which one suits your character best?
Emory Cooney is our oldest character and could be white/grey haired- as could Cassidy Stirling.
The girls can keep their hair long and out as men.
Students should spend some time googling different looks and work out which one suits their character and could be the most fun for them.
