Costumes to Wear to the Renaissance Faire this Year

Renaissance Season is upon us! As Fall continues it’s sneaky approach, it’s time for us nerds to play dress up. The Renaissance Faire gives us a chance to celebrate our favorite characters, express ourselves and our medieval passions, and drink mead all day. It’s a win, win, win for everyone involved. The Renn Faire is also a great opportunity for small businesses and vendors to impress us commoners with their skills—I always leave the faire with many a trinket in my pocket!

The hardest part about going to the renn faire is choosing what to dress up as. You should remember though, that there is no dress requirement for the renaissance faire! Dressing up as a character is not necessary to go in and have some fun! Personally, I have attended a renn faire in costume and without a costume, and in both instances, have had a great time. There are really pros to both options, so dress as you feel comfortable! If you do want to dress up, however, picking out your costume sometimes takes the longest.

Lucky for you, this year I am curating a list of potential ideas that might inspire your next outfit. We’ve had lots of new shows and movies to inspire us this year costume-wise, so it’s an ideal time to don a new outfit that matches the trends. Not only did we get some very good medieval looks this year, but there are also lots of new sci-fi looks that would make good cosplays too! My local renn faire has it all—from Dungeons and Dragon weekends to time traveling superheroes! Don’t be too surprised to see all kinds of ideas on my list today. The Renaissance Faire invites all kinds of out-of-the-box ideas! Huzzah!

THE TRADITIONAL ALE LOVERS AGENDA

When you think of the renn faire, you typically first think of knights, maidens, heavy armor, corsets, and of course, pints of ale. The traditional costumes from the renaissance faire are usually medieval looking with swords, bows and arrows, and all things Lord of the Rings looking. Many people lean towards these kinds of costumes because they’re so fun! There are also so many options to choose from! And this year brought many more ideas to the table.

Between A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, House of the Dragon, The Witcher, and Critical Role’s The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein animated series, there are so many options and characters to gain inspiration from! There’s also some noise about a new live-action Legend of Zelda movie coming out, so this would be a good year to play a stoic Link, or a passionate Zelda.

If I had to choose, my favorites are . . .

1. Ser Duncan, or ‘Dunk’ the Tall, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Honestly, this show was one of my absolute favorites from this whole year. I highly enjoyed watching it, and really can’t wait to see what other fans of the show choose to dress as! As Ser Duncan, all you would need to do is get yourself some grey garb, a simple vest, and perhaps a small companion to travel with you, and you’d have the perfect look and squire.
2. Taryon Darrington, The Legend of Vox Machina. Gold, gold, and more gold. To pull of Taryon’s look, that’s all one really needs. As the newest member of Vox Machina, I think it would be so fun to cosplay as the shining and lustrous Taryon. If you happened to have a metal, note-taking robot, well, that wouldn’t hurt the look either. Could be a duo costume!
3. Jester Lavorre, The Mighty Nein. Who wouldn’t want to spend all day making innuendos, eating candy, and causing chaos? If we’re really aiming to go method at the renn faire, Jester is your favorite tiefling! This costume is go big or go home, because you might need to spend some time washing off a lot of blue paint afterwards. It would be so worth it though! With her magical lollipops and and iconic horns, I would be thrilled to be in the presence of a Jester cosplay.

TIME TRAVELING MYTHS

Alongside your traditional renn faire costume, there are so many other options to choose from that go a different direction from the ‘renn faire’ time period. A Renaissance Faire really has no restrictions on fandoms! Some costumes may seem out of the ordinary, but sometimes those are the best ones. Personally, I highly enjoy walking past Shrek, or a minion, or even Doctor Who at the renn faire.

For you cosplayers who are looking for something different, here are my top ideas for a unique costume!

1. Ryland Grace, Project Hail Mary. My favorite movie of the year! If you’re a sci-fi fan whose looking for something more out of the ordinary, Ryland Grace is the perfect character to emulate. Teacher, scientist, astronaut, and savior of the universe, Ryland may have a lot of weight to his name, but his costumes can be relatively easy. Throw on a cardigan and some converse, a lab coat, or go big and find yourself a yellow jumpsuit! Better yet, walk around the faire with a little Rocky puppet by your side or on your shoulder, and you’ll end up the savior of the renn faire too.
2. Agamemnon, The Odyssey. Did anybody else watch The Odyssey this year and think about what great costumes those could be? I am so serious, if I saw someone walking around the renn faire in that tough Agamemnon costume, I think I would have to ask for a picture—the aura of that costume was too good for such an evil character. I think any character from The Odyssey could be a really interesting cosplay! Let’s combine some greek myths with medieval fantasy.
3. Teela, Masters of the Universe. It’s time to add some more superheroes to the renn faire! The newest He-Man adaption, Masters of the Universe, was released this summer. With that came some great costuming material that is a little different from something from the Marvel or the DC Universe. Don’t get me wrong, I highly enjoy watching a medieval Deadpool walk around the renn faire, but let’s get some new characters involved! Teela, Captain of the Royal Guard, is the perfect warrior goddess to emulate this year.

Whoever you choose to dress up this year at the Renaissance Faire, just remember to have fun! Sometimes we put so much pressure on what costume we’re wearing that we forget to enjoy the event itself. Have a great time, and let your passions shine!

Fare thee well, fellow nerds.