Every history or social studies teacher (or professor) needs a closet of historical costumes. Dressing up as characters from the past or literature will make your lessons memorable and classes fun. Don’t limit your creativity to Halloween.
Challenge your students to dress as their favorite historical or literary characters for bonus points. I don’t recommend requiring students to create costumes as some may not have the financial means or interest in dressing up. But you can collect historical costume items for your students to use during “act-it-out” activities.
Where do I find historical costumes? The pieces in my collection are a combination of thrift store and yard sale treasures both old and new, items I sewed using historical patterns, or re-adapted pieces from my regular closet. However, an Internet search can reveal factory and custom-made historical costume pieces if sewing isn’t your thing.
Below are a few of my more recent creations.
No animals died in the making of Ragnar the Dane’s costume. The fake fur was recycled from a thrift store coat. Since I can’t grow a beard, I ordered that and the plastic battle-ax from the internet. By the way, my helmet is NOT historically accurate. Viking helmets did NOT have horns; but that makes for a good lesson in historical accuracy. However, the drinking horn at my belt is the real thing!
I wear my authentic Scottish kilt and thrift store jacket and hat to recruit for my study abroad to Scotland class. Instead of paying a lot for a real sporran (Scottish pouch or purse), I made one from a thrift store purse and fake fur. Now if I could just find those standing stones and go back to the 18th century like in “Outlander.”
I created this Renaissance queen costume using a historical sewing pattern and drapes purchased at a thrift store. Just like Scarlet O’Hara and the wonderful green velvet dress she created from her mother’s curtains in “Gone with the Wind.”
Museums often have costumes in the kid’s activity room. Here I am at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh dressed as King James I of England & Scotland (King James VI of Scotland). Wish I had this in my costume closet!
Students love the 1960s and I love collecting and wearing vintage clothing. Here is my interpretation of the early 1970s for a recent “Fabulous Fun Day”
I love flappers! This costume is as historically accurate as I could get with modern clothing items from thrift stores.
This is my newest and BEST creation so far using a historically accurate pattern and recycled thrift store drapes.
Cynthia Resor time-travels to early 19th century England. Here she is the Duke of Devonshire’s Chiswick House (green-screen technology is almost as good as a time-machine). She disguised herself as a dandy or fop, a foolish man who was too concerned with his clothes. Note the hair mourning brooches on the label. Clearly, she has spent too much time reading English novels and living in the past. Every history teacher should wear historical costumes to class at least once a semester.
