Fashion Friday – Gaming Attire

(I can’t wait for GWP to get back.  This is three Fashion Fridays in a row, and I’m WAY out over my skis.)

Every Monday, GWP and I have a variant on the same conversation.  It goes something like this:

GWP:  So what are you doing tonight?
Me:   It’s Monday, so it’s D&D night.
GWP:  Are you going to wear a costume?  [followed by a giggle]
Me:   [dryly] Um…no.
GWP:  Aw…

Every Monday, the same thing.  See, she has this vision of me sitting down to the table to play in some kind of wizard robes and hat.  And every Monday, I have to dash her hopes, and tell her that I’m just going to be wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and remind her that I don’t wear, and have never worn, a costume while gaming.

But that’s not strictly true…

One sunny day, I happend to be walking through my fair city and I wandered by a hat shop.  In the window, they had a sign: 

ALL BOWLERS AND DERBIES 50% OFF! 

Bowlers and derbies 50% off?  I don’t have a bowler or a derby!  I always wanted a bowler or a derby!  Every man needs a bowler or a derby!  I am so there!  I entered the store, but I did not hold out much hope, because I have a ginormus head, and I can never find hats to fit it.  And besides, I’m sure the best bowlers and derbies were all taken.  I was gladly mistaken though, because 10 minutes later I left the store with a nice $20 felt derby.

Why would a man need a derby, you may ask?  Well, easy costuming for Halloween parties for one.  Add a threadbare suit and I’m  Stan Laurel (or Oliver Hardy, if I keep having ice cream dates with GWP.)  Add a little moustache to that , and I’m Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp.  Add a nice suit and an umbrella and a British accent and I’m John Steed.  Add a white shirt, pants, suspenders, a codpiece, some eyeliner and some boots and I’m  one of the droogs from A Clockwork Orange. 

But shortly after I got my derby, I started wearing it while I was GMing games of Space:1889.  After the first session, my buddy Tommy, playing Bruce, an Australian cowboy, started wearing an Aussie slouch hat.  My wife, playing a wild west show sharpshooter, went and got an old beat-up cowboy hat and would wear that when we play.  But the topper (pun intended) was when Stuart, playing a wealthy British upper crust snob, showed up at a session wearing a top hat.  And we soon started using these hats to indicate when we were “in character.”  It was a really fun prop to add to the game.

So, there you go, GWP.  A bit of costuming in our games.  And no, I’m not going to wear a costume next Monday!