Anyone who has ever been to a fancy dress party will have seen people wearing pirates' costumes. They have always been a popular choice amongst party-goers. Just as you will always get the obligatory monsters, robots, clowns and vampires you are bound to see guests dressed up as swashbucklers. Some outfits just seem to have a timeless appeal to people.

Throughout the ages pirates' costumes have held a certain romance about them. The buried treasure, the beautiful women (albeit usually kidnapped) and the exciting sword fights. If you are planning to go to a fancy dress party using this theme for your outfit then it is good to know that pirates costumes are not only instantly recognisable but are easily obtained from a wide variety of fancy dress companies. If you have at look on the internet then it will not take very long for you to find a great selection of pirates' costumes. You can keep your attire relatively simple or you can really go to town with it. Certain elements, however, are essential when dressing-up; there is the hat or bandana (with or without a 'Jolly Roger') and the eye patch. If you use these as a starting point then you cannot go far wrong. There are, of course, other items of clothing that are synonymous with pirates' costumes such as a black and white stripey top, a wide leather belt with a large buckle and high leather boots. Waistcoats are another garment that many pirates have worn in films over the years.

When choosing which accessories to go with your outfit there are all sorts of things to choose from. There are items like swords, daggers and muskets (not real ones obviously), hooked hands, pocket watches and all sorts of suitable jewellery. With a little imagination and thought you can easily come up with some great ideas. Depending on how far you actually want to go with the authenticity of your outfit you could even sport a thick golden ring in your ear and some temporary tattoos (of which there is a huge selection available). Some pirates' costumes actually come complete with a parrot to perch on your shoulder. Have a think about films that feature pirates and the sort of things that they wear.

Since the release of the Johnny Depp films there has been a huge amount of renewed interest in pirates. The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies are very watchable and Captain Jack Sparrow has proved to be an incredibly popular character with people all around the world. The three films in the series have been an enormous hit and Johnny Depp has been heralded by many as being 'the best pirate ever'. If there is a fancy dress party that you have been invited to or if you are organising one yourself then pirates costumes are always a great choice and whilst people are so enamoured with Jack Sparrow and his adventures it is a better time than ever to get dressed up.

pirate costumes