Now I needed a plan for my pirate costume, something that would make him identifiably buccaneer but set him apart from all the other costumes. It occurred to me that the easiest (and most piratical) thing to do would be to appropriate another costume design, making a crossover captain. I settled on Tom Baker's portrayal of Doctor Who, as it is iconic, a character I liked, and had many appropriate clothing items such as a hat, trousers, scarf, coat, and vest (though the styles of these items would need to change). His costume is detailed here http://dw-cosplay.livejournal.com/138698.html and his famous scarf here http://www.doctorwhoscarf.com/s12.html
Some doodling generated a rough plan of attack. And a post-halloween trip to Jo-Ann's turned up a discounted pattern (Simplicity 4923). Of course, this is not an entirely accurate portrayal of a pirate captain. There is little evidence of pirates wearing long coats and much debate about three-corner hats and pant styles. However, I chose to try and balance historical accuracy with popular depictions. I gave my pirate buckle shoes as opposed to boots, for instance.
I named my character "Captain John Baker" after Tom Baker (obviously) and my brother John Thomas. As it turns out, Tom Baker's father was named John and was a sailors so the name seemed even more appropriate. I even considered trying to adopt a Liverpool accent to reflect Tom Baker's home town. Then I realized that the Liverpool accent developed after the Irish potato famine and, so, wasn't around during the golden age of piracy.
What remains is the real work, making the actual costume, and developing a personality and history for Captain Baker. Are a personality and history really necessary to to get free doughnuts? Of course not. But why not have fun with it?
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