Who says you need a big budget to create historical threads? Here's a primer on how to fake, beg, borrow and buy costumes and accessories that will add some flair to your production.
by Matthew Power | Published June 20, 2006
Moviemaker Magazine

Many low-and no-budget directors shy away from period or fantasy films for a variety of good reasons, including tough locations, tricky acting and expensive costumes and props. Historic clothing has to look just right. A silly, cheap-looking accessory can ruin a scene; I know from experience. In one of my films I put a dorky rubber hat on a character, thinking it would look like cloth. We now roll our eyes and refer to that character only as “Condom Man.”

Think about the independent films you’ve seen in recent years. How many of the characters wore anything but off-the-shelf modern clothing? Why not take the leap? Period costumes offer an opportunity to boost production value—especially if you’re shooting on video or with limited locations. Maybe it’s my background in theater, but I love colorful characters and colorful costumes. Film noir be damned!

David LaGraffe, Rhonda Carlson and Dale Phillips dress for the Old West in “Liberty TV.”
For a recent episode of my show, “Liberty News TV” (www.libertynewstv.com), we needed to costume an elaborate cowboy spoof. But Maine is hardly the place to go scavenging for chaps, cowboy hats and sixshooters— or so we thought. As we began the costume scrounge, however, we discovered that all you have to do is ask. In the end, we managed to outfit a dozen cowboys and two 19th-century women for just about $200, complete with guns, spurs, hats, chaps, ponchos and even a sombrero.

The Old West: Piece by Piece

Most period costuming can be accomplished by accessorizing modern clothing—typically by either adding or removing some detail of the costume. Here’s how we rounded up our western wardrobe:

The Cut-Rate Costume Universe

When looking for affordable costumes and props, remember to start close to home and sweep outward

1. Homemade. Often, you can create period looks with items stowed away in your attic. For cowboy kerchiefs, for example, we cut pieces of scrap fabric into squares and tied them in a knot.

2. Thrift stores. Unless you’re the spoiled, Lexusdriving spawn of some Hollywood mogul, you know that Goodwill and The Salvation Army are prime sources for costumes. Think in pieces— don’t look for complete outfits.

3. Friends and family. Chances are your friends won’t have much useful gear, but ask anyway— they might know someone who does.

4. Friends of friends. Friends love friends who stockpile guns. We got our complete Western arsenal—two Colt.45s, a Winchester rifle, fancy holsters and chaps—from a guy referred to us by a friend.

5. Community theater. Never underestimate the ingenuity of your community theater costume shop. They know how to fake historic costumes. For $200 (we set our own price), a local theater allowed us to borrow 70 percent of everything we needed for our shoot, including shirts, hairpieces, tables, chairs, hats and a couple of pairs of boots.

6, 7, and 8. Pay to play. Once you reach this point, you should really be looking only for details. Local shops typically rent full, decent looking costumes for about $40 a day. Keep in mind, however, that every moviemaker in town has access to these duds. For quality wigs, lastminute costumes for extras and hard-to-find items, you may have to roam the Internet. Here’s a short list of some good vendors who rent and/ or sell historic costumes and accessories.