I through a Mal costume together for a local con, and I'm hopping to upgrade it before my next event. Unfortunately only on person took a picture of it, and they haven't contacted me yet.
Here's what I did.
For the paints I used a pare of modifide dockers, with a stip of cordaroy down each leg. When I loose weight, I'll get the correct paints, and a guy at the con, said he got his (very accurate looking) stripes for his pants at an army navy story (or something like that). He said that there for a cop uniform, from one of the southern states. (he couldn't recall witch state, but I'll be looking into it soon. )
For the suspenders, I used one of those Israly battle harnesses, and then I got a pare of button on suspenders from the threft store, and that gave me everything I needed to do them. I just took a carpet knife between the layers of fabric in the back of the harness, to carefully cut the stitching at the bottom, and remove the two straps y9ou don't need, and then cut the suspenders to the correct length, tucked them up in the opening left by the removal of those straps, and sowed them down. I took one of the little leather thingys from the suspenders that hold the button dealies, and sowed it to the "leather leaf", and that's about it. (Ok that was about as clear as mud.
)
I made my holster out of vinyl. It was ment to be just a mock up, but I ran out of time, so I just went with is.
I just used a pare of sip up, brown, vinyl, "jedi boots" from ebay.
A maroon ish shirt I got at the thrift store.
For the belt I used a lugar belt, I got on ebay.
I (sith some stiching help) did the coat. I'll what to say more on that when I have pics, but it was a steel.
Altogether, it didn't cost me more then $100. (and that's on the high side, I think it was actually a lot less then that.)
I know a lot of people will say it's not accurate, and make a funs, but you know what, I got complements all day, and if I had more time, there were people that kept wanting to get pics with me.
One guy who paid a ton for his coat, asked me were I go9t mine, and said it look a lot better then his. (mine cost me less then $10. :lol) There was a guy there with a dead on, high end Mal costume, with all the whole 9 yards, and one lady walk past him, walk up to me, and said "I've been to a lot of these things, and yours, is the best Mal costume I've seen" . I felt kind of bad, since mine was so cheep, and I knew all the problems with it, evne if those folks didn't.