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One of my wife’s favorite costumes as a little girl was a gypsy, or fortune teller. Not only did she dress up as a gypsy for Halloween, but just as dress up playtime too. She says that she liked this kind of costume because it was mysterious and a little ‘bad’. Hmmm… maybe I should see if she’s still got that costume! I’ll get my pirate costume out too!

From all outward appearances, a gypsy costume looks like a lot of work to create. But it’s really pretty easy. I’ll outline a couple ways to easily put together this costume below.

Back when we were kids, there just weren’t a lot of costumes that they sold at the stores. Our parents had to make them, or we had to come up with them ourselves. There’s a big part of me that misses this - it makes kids become a little more creative, and the times I spent with my Mom putting together a goofy costume stick in my memory as pretty great times. So putting together a gypsy costume should be a time that Mom spends with her daughtet. Even those really busy families can find all the necessary parts to put together a great gypsy costume.

So where do gypsy costumes and dress originate?

Gypsies came originally from the people who lived in Romania. They were called Roma or Romani and were comprised of nomadic tribes that wandered much of the European countries during the Middle Ages and often lived in caravans. Incredibly, there are still gypsies in the world today.

Originally, gypsies dressed very differently than the rest of the population. In the 1400’s and 1500’s, women dressed in a robe gathered at the neck. It was worn over a chemise gown. Generally, the women also wore a long cloth that fell down the back, then wrapped around the waist back up the front and tied at the shoulder. They often also wore a turban on their head.

Later, as the culture experienced and intermixed with other cultures and other peoples, they began to dress differently. The gypsies began dressing much like the peasants of the lands they traveled to. They began wearing laced vests and full flounced skirts. These were the fashions that the peasants wore during the Renaissance period.

Easy ways to make Gypsy costumes

So here is where it gets fun for Mom and daughter. To put together a gypsy or fortune teller costume you have to do a little bit of shopping around at the used clothing stores, and you’ll have to dust off that sewing machine. The following suggestions can be tailored for either girls or boys, and can be made easily once you’ve gathered all the right parts.

First outfit - Women/Girl’s Fortune Teller/Gypsy Costume

What you’ll need:

A Long tired skirt in a vibrant color - preferrably one color, not a pattern.

The Seinfeld “Pirate Shirt” if you remember that famous episode - puffy sleeves gathered at the wrist

Bright front-laced vest

Black leotard stockings

Black shoes - not dress shoes, comfortable shoes

Colored sash for the waist - bright solid color or pattern

Matching bandana for hair

Large gold hoop earrings, colorful beaded necklaces and bangles for arms

Second outfit - Women/Girl’s Fortune Teller/Gypsy Outfit

Long wide-flowing black skirt

White shirt like above

Black front-laced vest

Black leotard stockings

Black shoes

Bright apron or a shorter overskirt

Black wig with long, ringlets or curls

Colored wide headband

Large gold hoop earrings, colorful beaded necklaces and bangles for arms

Men or Boys Gypsy or Pirate Costume

Black or brown pants

Black boots

White pirate shirt (remember the 70’s? You should have saved that shirt!)

Long black or brown vest. Trim this with gold-colored braiding using the sewing machine of a hot-glue gun.

Colorful scarf to use as a sash at the waist. I like red, but bright purple (royal color) or gold works well too.

Colorful bandana

One gold hoop earring. Unless you or your child has a pierced ear, shoot for a clip-on here.

Here’s the important part here. Just let your imagination run wild. Mix and Match bright colors. Dress in plain whites and blacks for the shirts, pants and occasionally the skirts. Remember that gypsies were very poor and that bright fabrics were very expensive - certainly not like today. So most of what they wore were plain splashed with bright colors. Large bangles and earrings will fill out the outfit. Again, use your imagination.