Costuming on a Budget?

The economics of the future may be somewhat different but for those of living pre WW3, when going to a Star Trek event we have to watch our income. 
We’ll cover more details in regards to accommodation and travel for Destination Star Trek London in a later post but for those of you wanting to dabble in dressing up, as well as our previous posts, this may help.

Choosing to dress up is a big step. But it can be pricey. I (Sam) made my first costume when I was about 14. I got a red T-Shirt and Black felt-tipped pen and coloured in the TNG costume. Then I covered my head with a pink swimming hat and went to school dressed as Captain Picard! I even gelled my brothers hair back, pasted his face in talcum powder and called him Data. It is a mystery I how survived the day! 
samjaneWAY
When I got older, I got fussier but without the means to pay for my newly acquired expensive taste. So my stepdad destroyed his favourite red T-Shirt to make me this:

I’ve searched my house up and down but I can’t find this. I suspect it now resides with my Mum and Stepdad on a remote Scottish island.

But this is how I recall it being done:

I already owned a blue ribbed turtle neck. They shouldn’t be too hard to find. Something in a bluey grey will do nicely.

Then we got a black jersey top from M&S fairly cheaply. You’ll want something with a bit of weight and structure to it though.
A good website to search for clothes from a range of retailers is www.shopstyle.co.uk – you can search by style, colour and price range.

I’ve found these which are a pretty good match:


 This is from a company called People Tree and made of Organic Fair Trade Cotton, £17. 
But it might be a bit flimsy. It’s better if you can get a feel for the product first.
We then took a red shirt and cut the top off, from shoulder to shoulder. 

I can’t recall exactly how we stitched it onto the jersey (because I would have left that for my stepdad to do!) But I would think you’d need to layer the shoulder piece over the jersey and secure in place before you cut the front slit. To make sure they line up.

For the T-Shirt, it may be best to use a mans tee because the neckline is generally higher. I found this red shirt on John Lewis. *please be careful when purchasing a Red Shirt.*
It comes in Yellow too which is also a good match. 

Make sure they are very close to the same size so they fit neatly on top of each other. You may need to move the shoulder/arm joint to match.

For the communicator, I adapted one of the stands from an action figure. 
Here’s one I found in my cupboard. Just remove the name tag and selotape a safety pin to the back.

I didn’t bother with rank pips. One good blow-dry, brick red lipstick and power stance = Captain Janeway!

If costuming seems a bit too much but you still want to show off your geek credentials, there is a world of options in funny T-Shirts. Rock, Paper, Lizard Spock T-Shirts are very con-chic right now and a good conversation starter.

Check out our favs!

Classic! $19.99 – $21.99
Think Geek


For The Big Bang Theory fans
Via Amazon