Page Body
What To Wear
Costume and other phys-reps (props) are an essential part of larp. Not only is dressing as your character fun in itself, but high quality phys-repping makes it much easier to suspend disbelief and stay in character for long periods. Your costume is also the way that people will recognise which character you are playing at any given moment - even though your character can change their clothing most tend to keep a signature piece of kit or style of dress which enables their friends to recognise them easily. Treasure Trap kit does not need to be expensive but it does need to fit in roughly with what everyone else is wearing.
When you first come to Treasure Trap it is not expected that you will own any kit. We recommend that you wear plain dark clothing without strong patterns or logos - dark trousers and a plain dark top will be best. If the worst comes to the worst you can turn a black T-shirt inside out to hide logos - you will look less silly in character with a few seams showing than with a brand name across your chest. You will also need to wear strong shoes with a good grip (for outdoor events walking boots are recommended). Please don't wear white trainers or blue jeans- they are the two things which stand out most of all and will make any costume look "wrong". Bear in mind that you may need to be quite active, and will possibly come into contact with potentially damaging substances such as facepaint, candlewax, and dirt from lying on the floor.
To begin with you can borrow kit and weapons but if you plan to come regularly we strongly recommend assembling your own costume to suit your charcter and free up communal stuff for other people.
Starting Off
Treasure Trap is set in a fantasy/medieval world, so think Robin Hood/Lord of the Rings and you will get an idea of the sort of costume that fits best. Technically the game is set in the late 13th century but historical accuracy is not of great importance (let's face it, the gameworld also contains elves and magic so cannot represent any historical era) and most styles of clothing from the end of the Iron Age until the Tudor period are acceptable. Obviously modern items should be avoided wherever possible (zips and watches are the two most common errors). A lot of Treasure Trap kit was originally found in charity shops and altered to some degree (some things don't even need altering) although as with any hobby if you have piles of cash there are many people happy to part you from it in exchange for high quality kit. Ebay is also a good place to look, and if you can sew then you will never want for costume.
Treasure Trap is not fussy about gender-specific costumes - if you are a woman and you want to wear chainmail and big muddy boots that is absolutely fine. However, if you want to wear a corset and a big flouncy skirt no-one is going to complain either. Similarly, you do not have to play a character who is the same gender/sexual orientation as you are in Real Life - if the players can accept that you are really a Pyrokin or a Troll then asking them to accept you as a woman/man should hopefully not be a great effort...
You may also wish to consider the sort of background your character comes from- someone from a noble family is likely to wear well-cut clothes, velvet, satin, and can wear bright colours if they wish. In contrast, a peasant, farmer or other local villager is more likely to be seen in plain browns and beiges, rougher fabrics, possibly with worn leathers.
Things which make good Treasure Trap costume:
Fur, Leather, clothing that fastens with laces, "period" clothing of almost any sort, velvet (normal velvet is better than crushed velvet), large belts, cloaks or hoods (as in Robin Hood). Tabards (a rectangular piece of cloth with a hole cut for your head- very easy to make) or surcoats work well to display an emblem or insignia. As you get more advanced you will find armour becomes useful - the simplest type is basically a thick leather coat but you can also sew studs onto it or attach metal rings to leather...or for the really dedicated larper you can attach metal rings to each other and produce ringmail or chainmail.