Max Replica
Well-Known Member
I recently attended the 2011 Edwardian Ball in Los Angeles.
For my costume, I decided to go as an Edwardian opium smoker, complete with a (fake) opium pipe.
Here's what I did for my costume:
THE CLOTHES
I managed to find a very nice vintage Edwardian overcoat on eBay for less than $100.
View attachment 47857View attachment 47858View attachment 47859
From there, I bought a paper collar from Amazon dry goods.
Perry Collar
I created a paper-collar-ready shirt using the tutorial here:
35-Men's Detachable Collar Tutorial
I paired those the shirt and coat with a pair of striped wool pants I already owned, a black tie and some black boots.
SMOKING CAP
Victorian smoking caps were all the rage for a while in the 1800s (men would wear them while smoking to keep their hair from smelling like smoke) but by 1885 they were out of fashion and I was trying to keep my costume circa early 1900s. However, since my character was going to be an opium smoker, the cap would still work. Opium dens in the early 20th century (especially those that a "gentleman" would frequent) still involved donning robes and/or caps before smoking. So I figured the cap would still be accurate to my costume.
It also gave me the look of an Englishman who had recently been to the Orient (and had returned with a nasty opium habit).
Here is the cap as it looked when I found it on eBay:
View attachment 47860
The price was right, but the look wasn't exactly what I wanted.
I removed all of the colorful beads, and then I sprayed it with Meltonian brand black spray paint (meant for leather and vinyl, but useful on fabric too). The paint gave it a nice aged look, as if it's been wallowing in the dark corner of an opium den for decades.
Some smoking caps have tassels, so I added one. (I cannibalized it from some cheap decorations I found in Chinatown. More on those below).
View attachment 47876View attachment 47871
MAKEUP
Fortunately, my companion for the evening was very talented with makeup and took care of that for me.
She gave me a pale face, sunken cheeks, and dark circles around my eyes.
I got my Edwardian mustache locally at Hollywood Toys & Costumes on Hollywood Blvd. They have a great selection of mustaches and actually had this one in a variety of colors.
They also have a website:
Halloween Costumes and Masks for Adults, Kids, & Pets - HollywoodToysAndCostumes.com
MAKING THE PIPES
I decided to make two pipes. I usually make new props in pairs. Since half the trouble is in planning out how to make it and gathering the materials, making two is not much harder than making one. It gives me a chance to try some different things and then pick the best one, or sell one later.
I did some research on opium paraphernalia and gathered some photos of old opium pipes. They were usually made of bamboo, but sometimes made of more expensive materials, like porcelain.
I decided to go with something that looked like a fancier pipe, in keeping with my costume.
I bought some 3/4" PVC pipe at Home Depot, along with some caps for the pipe ends.:
View attachment 47867
In my back yard, I happened to find this piece, sitting on top of what used to be an old lamp or something:
View attachment 47861
It kind of looks like a small doorknob and is EXACTLY like the part of the pipe that opium is put into (the pipe bowl).
Opium pipe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For more decorative bits, I went to Chinatown and spent a few dollars on these cheap little hanging decorations.
View attachment 47879
From these I got a bunch of chinese coins I could glue on, as well as a bell that I inverted to use as a pipe bowl on the second pipe, and a nice deep red tassel that I used for my hat above.
The second pipe just has an open bowl, technically what's called a "saddle" that the pipe bowl is attached to. But I thought it still looked fine and to the uninitiated would actually look more like a pipe than the accurate one with the mushroom shaped bowl.
Opium pipes vary in length quite a bit. For mine, I cut one pipe to 21" and the other to 19". I used a pipe cutter to cut some grooves around the pipes in various places, just to give them a bit of character (and perhaps make them look like they were bamboo underneath).
I used a dremel tool to sand the caps a bit, taking the raised lettering off of them and making them look less hexagonal. I sprayed both pipes with primer and then used JB Kwik adhesive to add the chinese coins and other decorations. The coins were not real coins, just cheap metal, so they were pretty easy to bend around the pipes (but I also broke a few of them in the process).
View attachment 47868
I taped off the pipe bowls and then sprayed everything with a Rustoleum color called antique bronze metallic. Here they are after a coat of bronze, waiting for some detail work:
View attachment 47870View attachment 47869
After that, I used an acrylic black paint with just a bit of water added to go over the pipe detailing, giving it a worn and weathered look. I would use a brush to put a bit of the watered paint in an area, then wipe it off a little with a rag. I experimented with this until I got just the right dark residue I wanted.
I even added a little bit of dark resin at the top of my mushroom-shaped bowl to indicate the buildup of opium resin that would be there.
Photos of the finished opium pipes:
View attachment 47872View attachment 47874View attachment 47875View attachment 47873View attachment 47877View attachment 47878
(P.S. The ends of these pipes are all closed off and in no way could these actually be used to smoke opium. If for some reason you stumbled onto this post because you did a google search for "how to make an opium pipe" you will be sorely disappointed. On the other hand, if you use a bunch of JB Kwik Weld in an inclosed space, you may get lightheaded and dizzy).
And here is my finished costume at the ball:
View attachment 47863View attachment 47864
I insisted my companion take one of me in an appropriate reclined position:
View attachment 47862
I have named this costume Colonel Laudanum.
For my costume, I decided to go as an Edwardian opium smoker, complete with a (fake) opium pipe.
Here's what I did for my costume:
THE CLOTHES
I managed to find a very nice vintage Edwardian overcoat on eBay for less than $100.
View attachment 47857View attachment 47858View attachment 47859
From there, I bought a paper collar from Amazon dry goods.
Perry Collar
I created a paper-collar-ready shirt using the tutorial here:
35-Men's Detachable Collar Tutorial
I paired those the shirt and coat with a pair of striped wool pants I already owned, a black tie and some black boots.
SMOKING CAP
Victorian smoking caps were all the rage for a while in the 1800s (men would wear them while smoking to keep their hair from smelling like smoke) but by 1885 they were out of fashion and I was trying to keep my costume circa early 1900s. However, since my character was going to be an opium smoker, the cap would still work. Opium dens in the early 20th century (especially those that a "gentleman" would frequent) still involved donning robes and/or caps before smoking. So I figured the cap would still be accurate to my costume.
It also gave me the look of an Englishman who had recently been to the Orient (and had returned with a nasty opium habit).
Here is the cap as it looked when I found it on eBay:
View attachment 47860
The price was right, but the look wasn't exactly what I wanted.
I removed all of the colorful beads, and then I sprayed it with Meltonian brand black spray paint (meant for leather and vinyl, but useful on fabric too). The paint gave it a nice aged look, as if it's been wallowing in the dark corner of an opium den for decades.
Some smoking caps have tassels, so I added one. (I cannibalized it from some cheap decorations I found in Chinatown. More on those below).
View attachment 47876View attachment 47871
MAKEUP
Fortunately, my companion for the evening was very talented with makeup and took care of that for me.
She gave me a pale face, sunken cheeks, and dark circles around my eyes.
I got my Edwardian mustache locally at Hollywood Toys & Costumes on Hollywood Blvd. They have a great selection of mustaches and actually had this one in a variety of colors.
They also have a website:
Halloween Costumes and Masks for Adults, Kids, & Pets - HollywoodToysAndCostumes.com
MAKING THE PIPES
I decided to make two pipes. I usually make new props in pairs. Since half the trouble is in planning out how to make it and gathering the materials, making two is not much harder than making one. It gives me a chance to try some different things and then pick the best one, or sell one later.
I did some research on opium paraphernalia and gathered some photos of old opium pipes. They were usually made of bamboo, but sometimes made of more expensive materials, like porcelain.
I decided to go with something that looked like a fancier pipe, in keeping with my costume.
I bought some 3/4" PVC pipe at Home Depot, along with some caps for the pipe ends.:
View attachment 47867
In my back yard, I happened to find this piece, sitting on top of what used to be an old lamp or something:
View attachment 47861
It kind of looks like a small doorknob and is EXACTLY like the part of the pipe that opium is put into (the pipe bowl).
Opium pipe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For more decorative bits, I went to Chinatown and spent a few dollars on these cheap little hanging decorations.
View attachment 47879
From these I got a bunch of chinese coins I could glue on, as well as a bell that I inverted to use as a pipe bowl on the second pipe, and a nice deep red tassel that I used for my hat above.
The second pipe just has an open bowl, technically what's called a "saddle" that the pipe bowl is attached to. But I thought it still looked fine and to the uninitiated would actually look more like a pipe than the accurate one with the mushroom shaped bowl.
Opium pipes vary in length quite a bit. For mine, I cut one pipe to 21" and the other to 19". I used a pipe cutter to cut some grooves around the pipes in various places, just to give them a bit of character (and perhaps make them look like they were bamboo underneath).
I used a dremel tool to sand the caps a bit, taking the raised lettering off of them and making them look less hexagonal. I sprayed both pipes with primer and then used JB Kwik adhesive to add the chinese coins and other decorations. The coins were not real coins, just cheap metal, so they were pretty easy to bend around the pipes (but I also broke a few of them in the process).
View attachment 47868
I taped off the pipe bowls and then sprayed everything with a Rustoleum color called antique bronze metallic. Here they are after a coat of bronze, waiting for some detail work:
View attachment 47870View attachment 47869
After that, I used an acrylic black paint with just a bit of water added to go over the pipe detailing, giving it a worn and weathered look. I would use a brush to put a bit of the watered paint in an area, then wipe it off a little with a rag. I experimented with this until I got just the right dark residue I wanted.
I even added a little bit of dark resin at the top of my mushroom-shaped bowl to indicate the buildup of opium resin that would be there.
Photos of the finished opium pipes:
View attachment 47872View attachment 47874View attachment 47875View attachment 47873View attachment 47877View attachment 47878
(P.S. The ends of these pipes are all closed off and in no way could these actually be used to smoke opium. If for some reason you stumbled onto this post because you did a google search for "how to make an opium pipe" you will be sorely disappointed. On the other hand, if you use a bunch of JB Kwik Weld in an inclosed space, you may get lightheaded and dizzy).
And here is my finished costume at the ball:
View attachment 47863View attachment 47864
I insisted my companion take one of me in an appropriate reclined position:
View attachment 47862
I have named this costume Colonel Laudanum.
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