‍Tenors and Basses, you have two options regarding the traditional caroling costume:

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‍1) You provide a complete costume, subject to my approval.

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‍2) You provide your own black dress shoes, white collared dress shirt, black suit pants (other dark colors MAY be acceptable) and a black suit coat (tails are great but not strictly required) and I will provide your top hot, vest, and neckpiece for a rental fee of $100 for the season. The fee includes shipping both ways, and you do not need to clean anything before it’s returned. You will have up to $200 withheld from your final paycheck until your costume pieces are received back from you, though. 

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‍Costumes Guidelines for Tenors and Basses

‍You can look at TOR’s instagram page for examples of what costumes look like on the carolers

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‍Basic costume pieces for Tenors and Basses: (listed in the order of typical difficulty in acquiring):

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• High-quality wool or wool felt top hat
• Period neckpiece: Ascot or cravat, or a big fluffy bow. (No modern bow-ties)
• Holiday colored or patterned vest or waistcoat (sometimes spelled weskit, as that’s how it’s pronounced)
• Suit coat, tails optional (usually black)
• Suit pants (usually black)
• Black dress shoes (comfortable ones for long gigs)
• White, collared dress shirt

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‍You should be able to put together a complete costume for about $100-$120 in addition to what you already have in your closet. Most of that will go towards the top hat. (This is about 2/3 of what sopranos and altos need to spend, on average, just FYI.)

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‍TOP HATS:

‍There’s also a certain ideal silhouette we are going for. Your hat brim should curl up a little, and there should be a jaunty little flare to the top of the hat. Here is a screenshot from Amazon to demonstrate:

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‍Plastic or cheap-looking top hats are not acceptable, and if you show up to a gig in one, I will not be happy and it may affect your remaining gig offers. You want a high-quality wool felt top hat. Good brand names to look for: Willheoy, Gemvie, Belfry (these are high-quality and usually reasonably priced, around $55-65) if they are sold out, Dorfman Pacific, Jaxon, Dobell, Shahin are high-quality but usually more expensive ($65-$200+). 

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‍And since a picture speaks a thousand words, here are what cheap top hats look like:

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‍Measure your head circumference where the hat sits and check a size guide for the hat you are buying before ordering. It can be very uncomfortable to wear a hat that doesn’t fit properly. Larger head sizes (24 inches & larger) may have a more difficult time finding hats that fit, so if that is you, send me a link of what you want to order ASAP. 

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‍NECKPIECES:

‍The piece of fabric around your neck which men traditionally wear in formal settings. This evolved into a tie, but ties and bow-ties are too modern and don’t have the look we want. You want a cravat, or ascot or even a sleek scarf tied in a big floppy bow. Holiday jewel tone colors are ideal: red, burgundy, royal blue, hunter green, purple, gold, silver. Please avoid brown, yellow, khaki, and pastels. Black and white are okay if they are accent colors, but they should not be the primary color in your vest or neckpiece.

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‍VESTS:

‍Vests are worn under your coat, so most likely only the top part will be visible when your coat is on. I am open to a false dickey-style vest front, although I literally just thought of that. Anyway, the vest will be close to your neckpiece and should either match or complement it; the same color guidelines apply as for neckpieces. 

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‍QUALITY:

‍How good your costume looks affects the number and quality of gigs you will be offered, so try to avoid the cheap-but-just-barely-meets-the-guidelines costumes. That means you should start looking for your costume early, ideally by the end of August, since all the good costume pieces are usually no longer available at reasonable prices by October.

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‍WHERE TO PURCHASE: 

‍I will send an email in August with up-to-date options for purchase, with links. It makes more sense to send it later because I need to research and revise this email quite a bit each year, and I would rather new singers focus on music first; there’s no point in having a gorgeous costume if you don’t learn the music. 

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‍PLEASE share links or pictures with me before you order costume pieces - if something is not appropriate, I can let you know before you order it. I make answering questions about costume pieces a priority, so unless I am asleep or on a gig, you should get an answer very quickly. You can text me pictures if you are in a store, but if it is something you will buy online, the link is better.