Pirate Costumes

Often we think of swashbucklers as men, but a few brave women walked among the male pirates. One of them was Mary Read – a legend among pirate enthusiasts, but someone not widely known by the general public. Her extraordinary story has captivated men and women alike hundreds of years after her pirating exploits began.

Read’s mother disguised her daughter as a boy to continue receiving financial support from her paternal grandmother. Young Mary began to find work as a boy, and eventually enlisted in the British military. She married a Flemish soldier, but his early death forced Mary back into her male disguise. After a short stint with the military in Holland, she boarded a ship heading to the West Indies. Fatefully, her ship was captured by pirates and she ultimately met with “Calico Jack” Rackham and the other famous female pirate, Anne Bonny. At first, no one knew that either Bonny or Read were women (including each other), but eventually they confessed to each other and to Rackham – who broke with seafaring tradition and allowed the women to continue pirating.

Read’s exploits have inspired many young women to dream of their own swashbuckling adventures. Now you can dress as the infamous lady pirate with our Mary Read pirate costumes. Choose from our shirt, vest, coat, belt, and other pirate accessories that would make Read proud. Don’t let the boys have all the fun – get your Mary Read costume from PearsonsRenaissanceShoppe.com today!

Pirates are among our favorite historical figures with their take-no-prisoners attitude and their love of sailing on the open seas. But how did iconic pirate symbols like the hook and the skull and crossbones emblem become associated with pirates? How historically accurate are the items with which we associate pirates and their plunder today?

The pirate hook is the classic pirate accessory. Eye patches and trifold hats have been used by other recognizable groups throughout history, but the hook prosthesis is uniquely associated with pirates. Was the practice of replacing a severed hand with a hook common among pirates?

Pirates often were injured in their battles on the high seas. The use of peg legs (another stereotypical pirate accessory) and hooks has been known throughout history, but onboard a pirate ship, no doctor was able to properly fit the prosthetic appendages into place. Therefore, the duty fell to the ship’s cook to perform the operation of attaching hooks, pegs, or any other suitable item on the ship into the wound. Although the practice seems to have roots in real-life events, it could not have been very common.

The skull and crossbones, the pirate’s “corporate branding,” as seen on our skull and crossbones cap, is another symbol of pirate life. The skull and crossbones decorated gravestones throughout the 1700s and 1800s, and became synonymous with death. Some pirate captains did fly this imposing design, but others used simple black and red flags. The French rendering for the words ‘pretty red,’ is ‘jolie rouge’, which is likely the origin of the term Jolly Roger.

So the pirate hook and skull and crossbones really do have a place in history, though their meanings have been embellished and exaggerated as time goes on. Whatever their true stories, if you’re preparing a pirate costume, ye shouldn’t be caught without either!

The holiday season isn’t far off, and a Renaissance costume is a fantastic choice of gifts for a loved one who enjoys Medieval themes and events. Whether that person already owns some Medieval garb or whether you are thinking about gifting that first outfit, the surprise will be fantastic. You can consider a variety of costume possibilities, and it’s also fun to include accessories.

You might want to think about a noblewoman’s gown for a daughter who is majoring in literature. Perhaps you will want to find a pirate’s costume for your own buccaneer. You can find a huge selection of crowns and hats to accompany a Renaissance costume when you search a site like PearsonsRenaissanceShoppe.com. You’ll find necklaces and tiaras for women. You’ll find dashing boots for men. You’ll even find costume choices in sizes that are appropriate for kids. Combine a costume gift for a spouse with travel brochures for popular Renaissance festivals and SCA events in the coming year. Outfit the kids with costumes, and provide them with books and movies reflecting the period. Encourage creativity, putting on a Renaissance party as a Christmas Eve season. Though the faire season has ended, the holidays are perfect for indulging a Medieval passion.

The Renaissance Faire is nearing, and your thoughts are turning to choice of garb. Why not break with tradition and decorum, opting to attend as a pirate queen? After all, a little excitement is in order when it comes to being a part of one of the big events of the season. As a pirate queen, you have license to be flirty and fun. A pirate fancy dress costume will allow you to get into character for the event, giving you a unique platform for promoting pirate speech.

It’s fun to have some cohorts in your venture, and your family and friends may easily cooperate as scaliwags. Finding your pirate fancy dress costume while helping them to find the right gear to be your band of buccaneers will be an adventure in its own right. If you are involved in the planning of your local Renaissance Faire, though, it will be even more exciting to plan some surprises for those in attendance. Whether you stage a pirate raid or set up a walking the plank booth, you will have an amazing time as you bring the sense of the Seven Seas to your community and to your friends.

Shiver me timbers!

Here at Pearson’s, we know that a lot of our customers and fans love to put on the appropriate Renaissance costume when they go to a Renaissance faire or Medieval event. We love how enthusiastic that patrons can be when they sport their costumes and don their personas at these types of festivals.

However, we also know that sometimes people prefer to take on the characteristics of certain types of characters that may be present at a faire. If you aren’t quite feeling like being a very proper noble or a hard at work craftsman, what are you to do?

What if you decided to go a little rogue and play a swashbuckler? That’s right, why not put on a pirate costume? These cunning scalawags were around back in the days of Kings and Queens. They may not have been the kind we’re used to seeing in movies today, but they certainly existed and they are certainly fun to play at a Renaissance faire.

If you are interested, make sure to visit our Pirate costumes page to see what kind of fun ensemble you can put together as you take to the pirate code.

Aye, these be stranger tides...

Avast ye matey! On Friday, May 20^th, the world got the first glimpse of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. It has been a while since we’ve seen everyone’s lovable scoundrel Captain Jack Sparrow, and his cronies on their wild escapades around the world.

In case you are also a scurvy sea dog, or a fiesty pirate wench, Pearson’s has the Renaissance Pirate costuming for you. Also, for a limited time only if you go to the link in this paragraph, you’ll discover a way to save 10% off of all the pirate gear we have available.

We have Captain Jack’s Tricorn Hat, Captain Barbossa’s Boots, just to get ye started walking the plank. For the lasses out there, we also have this pirate princess set, these ladies pirate boots, and this Mary Read pirate vest. We even have some costumes for the young buccaneers, like this children’s Captain Hook outfit.

So whatever pirate garb ye be needin’ ye can rest assured ye be findin’ it here in the Davy Jones’ Locker.  Er, we mean, Pearson’s Renaissance Shoppe.

You'll look like a regular Jack Sparrow!

Avast ye mateys!  In a little over a month, the forth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean will hit movie theaters.  This beloved franchise has been providing us with swashbuckling and high-sea adventures for almost a decade now and we can’t wait to see how this next chapter unfolds.

Due to the magnitude of this event, it is very likely to have a midnight release at many theaters.  Midnight releases usually also include diehard fans coming to the theater in costume.

If you are the type of person who would like to don pirate garb, then look no further than Pearson’s Renaissance Shoppe.  At Pearson’s, we have a number of different Renaissance pirate costumes to help you achieve any type of pirate look.

But don’t forget that release date is May 20^th, so don’t wait too long to order your pirate costumes.  Maybe we’ll see you at the theater!

Greetings Traveler!

35 nights from now we will have entered into the tenth month of the year:  October.  It is during this month that there is a constant breeze through the night sky, spirits roam freely upon this plane, and a mischievous veil falls over all the land.

Legend tells that at the culmination of the tenth month, on the 31st night, the barrier between the spirit realm and ours is at its weakest.  This is the night of All Hallow’s Eve!

This night, above all others, is the night when you want to conceal your true identify to prevent wandering spirits from targeting you with their tricks.

If you’ve come to my shoppe, chances are that you are looking for a Medieval costume to wear on All Hallow’s Eve.  If you are still looking through my selection, I advise you to make your decision with haste, as it will take me time to gather the components I need to make your Renaissance costume magically appear at your own dwelling.

Happy Haunting!

When most people think about the Renaissance era, they think about knights and maidens.  They think about flowery dresses and extravagant outfits.  It is perceived as a time of lords and ladies.

But avast ye mateys!  It would be unwise to forget that treacherous pirates still roamed the seven seas.  When merchant ships sailed from nation to nation, the dreaded skull and crossbones could appear at any time to loot and plunder.

Therefore, PearsonsRenaissanceShoppe.com has many different articles of pirate clothing so that you can represent this important demographic of the Renaissance time period.

Adoring the clothing of the scoundrels of the sea can really add a sense of diversity to a Renaissance faire or activity.  Most people are expecting prim and proper nobles.  If you are a swashbuckling rogue who is anything but prim and proper, you can really show faire-goers the complete picture of how things were way back then.

So if you want to shiver your timbers, make sure to visit PearsonsRenaissanceShoppe.com for all of your costuming needs.