Explaining??/costumn help

[shady_lamps]

Hey-Low everyone!! I want to look like a tramp and I have a few ideas that I'd like to run past you all.

1) for the suit go and buy very baggy trousers and ruff them up a little. Say like an old pair or somthing from second hand stores.

2) for the coat get one from a second hand store ruff it up and add patchs to add to the effect of the trampness.

3) An old hat but which type???

Also could anyone tell me what a skit is? is it a performance? or routine?

Please post an comments and thank you for reading this.

[Jamz]

It sounds to me you are on the right track Second hand stores are the best place to find a tramp costume and as far as the hat goes whatever YOU think looks good with the rest of the costume

Skits Skits are short performences that have a set up (beginning) and a blow off (ending)that gets the laugh Try to find some old conedy tapes like Red Skelton to see some really clasic stuff
Hope this helps a little

[Scruffy]

Shady Lamps you are on the right track! Second hand stores are a great place to make a tramp costume. Here are a few things to remember,
First, a tramp is not a fashion plate. Look for an outdated suit, preferably a dark coloured one. My Coat is a brown Tweedish type and is a suit coat, and is too large for me. Because it is loose it gives me freedom of movement and makes me look smaller than I am.It has many rips in it. some I have sewn up with thread, some with embroidery thread, some with Buthchers twine.
others, I have left torn andsome are held with safey pins. I have many patches on my costume, various shapes and colors, some overlap and some don't. All of the patches are cut from various swatches of different fabrics. A tramp would patch his clothing with whatever was availible for him to use. and would likely not hem the edges and would certainly not have put them on with a sewing machine! Be creative, but think about it.
My pants are a dark Navy Blue and are big enough to hold two people. A good rule of thumb is ;if you don't need suspenders to hold up your pants, then they are too small 8O I hemmed them uo enough that I wouldn't catch my feet in them when I walk, and are treated like my coat.I even used an office stapler to hold a few areas together.For suspenders I use a pair of blue ones. A more authentic touch would be to use cotton rope through the belt loops.I prefer the clip on suspenders for ease of cleaning. I wear an old tattered blue cotton work shirt that is very faded looking And I use a very ratty burgundy tie, I use and old nasty looking spring clothespin for a tie clip. I have also seen a small mousetrap used.
A tramps clothing should never be dirty. There is a difference between looking like a tramp and looking derelict. Keep your costume clean and pressed. Don't put paint or grease on it. It is okay for your costume to be rags, but again. It should be clean.
Here are a couple of places that make tramp costumes. It will give you some ideas. To me a tramp should make his own costume. A real tramp would have done the same!

www.mooseburger.com
www.clowncostumes.com

I regards to a hat. The right hat will find you!

[ashes]

Shady Lamps, I agree -- you're on the right track.

I see two different "genres" of tramp - what I call the "Hobo" and what I call the "tramp"

The "Hobo" would be enjoying his time between jobs - happy-go-lucky type. He would
attempt to mend the tears and holes in his costume, much like Scruffy described above.

On the other hand, the "tramp" is down-and-out on his luck, and probably doesn't care
much any more - his clothes would tear and he wouldn't even mend them. He'd keep on
wearing them until he found something better.

Remember that your costume is a "work in progress" - you might find something today
and incorporate it into your costume. But tomorrow, something else might come
by that is even better.

Spend a lot of time in thrift stores, looking for that right piece - be it a hat, a coat
or pants. I call it shopping with my "clown eyes" on.

Here's a link to my website - there are some photo galleries on there. I'm a tramp clown
and my friend "Radio" would be more of a hobo style. Even though we're wearing fire
coats (bunker coats) the rest of our costumes are somewhat different.

http://www.laughingj.com

I wear a pair of red long-johns as the base to my costume, which I sat and picked holes
into with a razor blade to customize the look. My pants came from the army-navy store
and are black fatigues or battle-dress-uniform. They were cheap, and I didn't feel bad
about cutting holes all in them with a razor blade. I wear suspenders, but a possibility
is to wear a rope belt, or even a rope belt AND suspenders - be doubly sure.

I ratted up an old tie and use a mouse trap as my tie tac. Add a pair of fingerless gloves
and I'm pretty much set.


Radio's costume is an old pair of HUGE blue jeans (used to be mine, until I upgraded my
costume look). He has nice shoes with spats - showing that he still feels like he's "upper
crust". He'll wear a nice green-plaid shirt and a tie. We don't always wear the fire coats
- it just depends on the situation.
When he's not wearing a fire helmet, he wears an old felt fedora type hat.

I wear a variety of hats, or none at all with my fly-away long hair.

So, you see (I hope) that a tramp or hobo costume is really EASY to come up with
yourself. I really prefer the looks of those to the "store bought" looks of costumes sold
on the 'net.

Hope this helps some!

[shady_lamps]

Thank you all very much.

Jamz, I'm going to have a look for some Red Skelton tapes or DVD's. Thanks for telling me what a skit was as I wasn't sure.

Scruffy, thats a really good idea about the cotten rope. I'll be sure to have a look for some rope that would be suitable.

ashes thats what I was aiming for the whole happy hobo type clown. Thanks for the website address too as I found them very helpful.

I think I've found my clown costumn vision thanks to you all.