Southern California Carolers are responsible for providing their own Victorian costumes. 90% of gigs are in Victorian costumes (also called Dickensian costumes). Some clients want singers dressed in contemporary attire, so if you have a Christmas sweater that is good, but the vast majority want carolers in Victorian/Dickensian costumes.

The deadline for costume approval is November 1st, but the sooner the better, since I usually start offering gigs to carolers around mid-October, and I am unlikely to offer gigs to people who are not costume-approved as well as musically-approved.

Basic costume guidelines for Sopranos and Altos:

(listed in the order of typical difficulty in acquiring):

• Very full floor-length skirt with a petticoat for volume (no hoop skirts, please)
• Capelette or Victorian jacket
• High-necked blouse (usually white or cream-colored)
• Bonnet or Victorian riding hat
• Black boots, booties, or “Mary-Jane” style flats (heels are not recommended)
• Optional: a reticule (small Victorian purse) or muff so you don’t have to entrust your keys to a tenor or bass on gigs. :)

For all the above items (except for the shoes and blouse) victorian-era patterns are usually acceptable: Plaid, paisley, houndstooth, etc. Poinsettia floral patterns are also good. Colors to aim for: Red, Burgundy, Maroon, Forest Green, Royal Blue, Purple, Gold, Silver. Please try to avoid orange, yellow, brown, and khaki and any pastels; these colors do not evoke December holidays. Exceptions may be granted if you have a really good reason. You can look at TOR’s instagram page for examples of costume pieces.

Basic costume guidelines for Tenors and Basses:

(listed in the order of typical difficulty in acquiring):

• High-quality wool top hat
• Period neckpiece: Ascot or cravat, or a big fluffy bow. (No modern bow-ties)
• Holiday colored or patterned vest or waistcoat (sometimes spelled weskit)
• Suit coat, tails optional (usually black)
• Suit pants (usually black)
• Black dress shoes (comfortable ones for long gigs)
• White, collared dress shirt

For the neck piece and vest, victorian-era patterns are usually acceptable: Plaid, paisley, houndstooth, etc. Poinsettia floral patterns are also good. Colors to aim for: Red, Burgundy, Maroon, Forest Green, Royal Blue, Purple, Gold, Silver. Please try to avoid orange, yellow, brown, and khaki and any pastels; these colors do not evoke December holidays. Exceptions may be granted if you have a really good reason. You can look at TOR’s instagram page for examples of costume pieces.

For everyone:

You should be able to put together a decent costume for about $150 in addition to what you already have in your closet. Thrift stores can be a great resource.

Most of these items can be ordered from Amazon or eBay, and there are MANY websites that sell specialty historical costumes pieces as well, though they might cost a little more.

PLEASE share links or pictures with me before you order costume pieces - if something is not appropriate, I can let you know before you order it.

You can also make your costume pieces, or hire someone to make it for you, but please be aware that I often - OFTEN - take into account how costumes look when I am offering gigs to people.

Your costume may look good enough to do a gig at a retirement community, but not a private party - and you generally get more tips at private parties.

Your costume may be good enough to do a mall gig, but not good enough for the union-rate tv spot.

The point is: How good your costume looks affects the number and quality of gigs you will be offered, so try to avoid the cheap-but-just-barely-meets-the-guidelines costumes. That means you should start looking for your costume early, like August or September, since all the good costume pieces are usually no longer available at reasonable prices by October.