Instant Period Costumes: How To Make Classic Costumes From Cast-off Clothing

This excerpt from "Instant Period Costumes: How To Make Classic Costumes From Cast-off Clothing" by Lisa Mason Ziegler provides tips on how to create period costumes from clothing that is not typically worn for that time period. The author suggests that the most important tool for creating period costumes is imagination, and provides a variety of costume ideas for different time periods.

Why spend a small fortune to rent expensive period costumes when you can create them yourself for less than a day's rental price? Make them the easy way from cast-off clothing... without sewing! This valuable resource presents the concept of "conversion costuming." The first rule of thumb is that you must put aside your preconceived ideas about how to make a costume. The world of conversion costuming is miles away from fabrics, measuring, pinning, cutting, and sewing. The most important tool you need is your imagination. To help you, this book includes over 65 ingenious costumes designs with photos and diagrams for many periods from Egyptian, Greek, and Roman all the way to Punk. These conversion costuming ideas will save you time, money, and deadline disasters and give you precisely the costume you want. From '20s to '80s to Old West to Renaissance, put aside the boring and mundane part of costuming and go right to the exciting and creative part!