Want to dress up as a fierce, dashing Roman gladiator this Halloween? This is a great look for men or even boys. Gladiators are handsome and dashing, and known to make the ladies swoon. Read on to learn how to make a gladiator costume.
A gladiator costume is easy and cheap to construct. Most of the materials may already be laying around your house. Any items that you don't have at home can usually be found at discount stores such as Target, or even large drug stores. In a pinch, you can also go to a craft store. There is no sewing required for this one, and the entire ensemble can be created in about an hour.
Gladiator Video
Here is a music video of scenes from the 2000 Ridley Scott film Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe. Use this for inspiration, and to get yourself into the world of Ancient Rome (as depicted by modern filmmakers). Your costume may not look quite as good as the ones shown here, but you may get some great ideas from the footage!
Step 1: What You Need to Create a Gladiator Costume
- 3 large pieces of thick cardboard
- A long t-shirt
- A belt
- Gold or silver spray paint
- Strips of brown fabric
- 2 brown shoelaces
- Brown thong sandals
- A pencil
- Strong glue
- Scissors or an exacto knife
Step 2: Making the Costume
- Cut the sleeves off of the t-shirt to form a long tunic
- Cut one piece of cardboard into the front piece of the armor
- Cut another piece of cardboard to make the front of your armor
- Spray paint the cardboard pieces
- Glue a strip of fabric to the right and left sides of the cardboard armor to connect them (these strips will rest on your shoulders)
- Glue all but 2 strips of fabric to the belt to form a sort of skirt
- Put on your tunic, belt, armor and then sandals
- Wrap a strip of fabric, criss-cross style, around each ankle and up the calf to look like sandal strapshttp://www.ehow.com/how_4612119_gladiator-costume.html
Step 3: Making the Sword
To make your gladiator sword, pencil a sword design onto your remaining piece of cardboard. Then, cut it out with your scissors or exacto. Spray paint the sword silver or gold so that it doesn't look like cardboard anymore.
- If you want something sturdier and of higher-quality, check out this guide on how to make a wooden sword. It takes more time and effort than the cardboard, but it will add a lot more to the authenticity of your costume. Plus, you will get to reuse it next year!
