I suppose, when I really get down to it, Captain Jack Sparrow was the first cosplay I created. Sure, I did up Marvel X-Men's Rogue a few times for Halloween, but not with intent to duplicate her clothing authentically.
Really, my sojurn into cosplay can be blamed, so to speak, on my friend Em. Several friends, her included, were planning a trip to New Orleans for Halloween, and, highlighting her obsession with all things Johnny Depp, she teased our mutual friend Jim into going as Capt. Jack and she would go as Elizabeth Swann. Em's plans fell through, and she neither wore an Elizabeth costume nor went to New Orleans, but by that time, it was too late: I had already created Capt. Jack, v1.0. At this point, I had made only breeches and the coat; Jim filled in the shirt and vest with renfaire garb. We had chosen a cranberry colored moleskin or suedecloth (from Joann's) for the coat, so Jim was frequently hailed as "Captain Morgan" during his trip to New Orleans.
"I don't know what I was thinking, picking that color," he said later. This, combined with the number of poorly-done Sparrows we saw at many a renfaire and online cosplay site, prompted the quest for authenticity. I began work on Jack v2.0.
The new coat, based on the Simplicity pirate coat pattern with several alterations, is made from a fine weave slate-grey wool which we found - after visiting 6 fabric stores in one day - at Sew-Low Discount Fabrics on Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA. The trim came from there as well. It is fully lined in a lighter grey cotton, and on the neckline facing I hand-embroidered my company name, "Queen Mab Designs." After much discussion, debate, and scouring of the movie and replicas, Jim ordered 36 brass French mariner buttons and tarnished them with ammonia and shoe polish before giving them to me. There are 6 buttons on each cuff, 5 at each pocket, 1 at each godet, 2 each side of the riding tail split, and 8 down the front.
The pants are an olive green-grey cotton canvas also from Sew-Low, with buttons from Joann's, pattern by Simplicity and nearly exactly as written. I would really like to rip parts of this out and redo them, as I found the pattern had some sizing issues. Jim has a baggy butt as a result :( But this was one of the first parts of the costume I made, and I've polished my skills a little since then. I didn't have the confidence at the time, either, to alter the pattern substantially.
The shirt is very nearly straight from the Simplicity pattern as well. I had made one of these already, so this I whipped up in unbleached cotton pretty quickly.
The waistcoat is from the same Simplicity pattern, but altered - I wish I had altered it more, however, as it is still too short in the back in spite of lengthening it an inch or more, and that is noticable when Jim is not wearing the greatcoat. I removed the tie included in the pattern and changed it to the tabs and lacing shown on Jack's vest in the movies. It's made from a dark blue linen front, a cream-colored cotten back, and lined in a light cadet grey-blue cotton. As I did not wash the materials ahead of time, the blue of the front has bled and stained the cream cotton. This didn't bother me, but lent, I felt, a sort of authenticity and wear-and-tear to it. The front is backed with fusible interfacing, and this was a mistake to use over sew-in interfacing: ironing causes the linen fibers to expand or stretch a little while melting the glue of the interfacing, and can cause wrinkles to be stuck in place.
Jim himself ordered replica boots made from the same pattern as used for the stunt doubles, as well as styled the wig (this one is much better than the initial cheap one he bought), and found other accessories online: the hat, compass, leather belts and buckles, headscarf, hair baubles, and waist sash. Some may be recycled or ransacked from his other renfaire garb; I've lost track at this point.
The coat and waistcoat were both artificially distressed using sandpaper, baking powder, and a small file or rasp. Distressed, indeed. I now see why the crew in charge of aging props and clothing are an entirely different group than those who make them. Picking at the threads around the buttonholes of the waistcoat, I very nearly started bawling at the thought I was meticulously and selectively destroying something I had put endless hours into making as near perfect as possible. After shelling out over $200 for his boots, Jim said he felt rather the same way about having to scuff up the beautiful leather of those as well.
Jim has also become adept at blacking his eyes and darkening the hollows of his cheeks, gluing fake beard-tails to his face, and drawing "P" brands in fake scar makeup and sparrow tattoos in sharpie marker onto his right arm with his off-hand. Further, he has made it a point to study and emulate Depp's Jack-mannerisms closely, and pantomimes them uncannily.
An amusing side effect of this is that for a while, Jim owned more makeup than I did. I've had to borrow AquaNet from him to style a wig of my own, too.
The costume has made appearances at: King Richard's Faire, Carver, MA, 2005 & 2006; Connecticut Ren Faire, Woodstock, CT 2005 (?); Vermont Renaissance Faire, Guilford, VT, 2005 (?), FNX Pirate Cruise, Portsmouth, NH, 2006; New York Renaissance Faire, Tuxedo Park (near West Point), NY, 2006; Salem Pirate Faire, Salem, MA, 2006; leading the Haunted Happenings Kickoff Parade (and on TV because of it), Salem, MA, 2006; and Anime Boston 2007, Boston, MA. He has also been in the newspaper at least twice from this persona: once as the result of our leading the Salem Halloween Parade, and once after being invited to speak at a NH children's library and read to the kids.
