Our Civil War Picnic and Ball in 2013
Believe it or not, History Day is not far off! Our Civil War Picnic and Ball is coming up on Friday, June 9, 2017 at Biddle Park in Arroyo Grande and it is going to be a spectacular event of feasting, dancing, and old-time fun! (Several SLOCA families have rated this as their favorite History Day event of all four years…)
Now don’t freak out, but in order to make this event really come to life we need… costumes! Yes, yes, we know that dressing up is not everyone’s favorite (I, Jenny, put myself in this camp most of the time), but we promise you that this history day will be even more engaging if everyone is dressed to fit the time. We are trying to create a living history experience, so let’s all look like it!
The good news is that our costumes for this event need not be elaborate, so all the non-sewers out there (that’s me) can heave a big sigh of relief. If you want to go all out and create a hoop skirt, go for it! But simple pioneer garb will work wonderfully as well. (Men have it even easier – if you need a quick costume, be a cowboy and wear jeans, a button up shirt, a bandana, and a cowboy hat.)
While the Civil War era is the focus of the event, you can choose any type of period dress from anything we have studied this year in American history. Either choose a historical character to be, or just come dressed in the general clothing of the time. Examples: colonist, founding father/mother, president, soldier, war nurse, prairie boy/girl, cowboy/cowgirl, Native American, explorer, inventor, suffragette, gold miner, or factory worker, to name a few.
Today we have a handful of resources and tips to share that will hopefully make the process of putting together costumes for your family easier:
1. Browse! Take a look at our SLOCA Flickr albums from this event 4 years ago to see costume ideas from our last Civil War Picnic and Ball. These are just plain fun to look through, too! (Current SLOCA families can request the login information via email from [email protected] if you don’t already have it…) Here are a few:
2. Organize! Track B parent Joy Erb shared how she put together her Renaissance costumes for her kids last year, and many of her basic ideas can be applied to any time period. She is a big fan of shopping thrift stores and repurposing materials, and maybe adding a bought accessory or two. Joy printed a picture of the character she was trying to create a costume for, and stapled it to a paper bag. As she collected items for that costume, she put them in the bag! Easy and organized. Here’s a photo and description of what she found then:
- Viking wig to be restyled – Amazon
- Red blazer – thrift store
- Ruffle shirt and ladies slip (to be used for ruffly cuffs) – thrift store
- Baseball pants – brother's hand-me-downs
- Tights and awesome shoes – Fred & Bettys!
- Red table runner to be used as flaps attached to back of jacket – Dollar Store
Thanks for sharing your process, Joy!
3. Borrow! Talk to other SLOCA families you know (especially those who were here 4 years ago) and see if they have any costumes they’ve outgrown and can pass down to you or let you borrow.
4. Read! Check out these two documents, which were created 4 years ago for our last Civil War Picnic:
5. Click! Finally, here are a few more online resources we found to aid in costuming:
American Revolution Costume Ideas- DIY Kids Colonial Costumes
- DIY Hamilton Costumes
- Pioneer Clothing Guidelines and Tips (this is from an LDS “Pioneer Trek” website, but has some helpful information!)
- Pioneer Clothing
- 15 minute Pioneer shirt (if you can sew a little…)
- 1800s Clothing and Uniforms (to see the types of things they wore)
- River Junction Trade Co. (to look at for ideas)
- How to make a barrister wig
- Straw Half-Bonnet Tutorial
- Civil War hair tutorial – You can also search YouTube for Civil War hair tutorials.
These videos might also be helpful – look for similar items at thrift stores:
There’s always the option of purchasing costumes, if you don’t mind spending a little money. Check out eBay, Etsy, online costume shops, and even Amazon. But don’t feel the need to spend a lot – the homemade costumes always look great!
This culminating event of our 4-year history cycle is going to be a fantastic time – definitely worth the effort! Look at photos, see what you already have from other costumes, and talk to fellow SLOCA parents for more ideas. We can do this!
And remember that we need loads of help, so be sure to check the sign-up sheets you’ve received in weekly updates and emails, and help where you can. Thanks!
