ursangnome

I recommend ebay, the yard sale of the world. I'm sure that you can find something cheap there. You could get a whole costume or just pieces to supplement what you put together yourself. You might already have a foofy shirt. Wear unobtrusive dark pants. If you don't have tall boots then you can sew (or buy) boot covers that are like big spats that have the shape of a boot shaft and wear them over matching shoes. (These often come with pre-packaged costumes). Foofy hat with a feather, ebay has cheap ones for as little as $8.25 with "buy it now" (so you don't have to sit out an auction). The tabard isn't all that big a deal. If you want to make one that is passable (you don't need the zillion buttons and all) then you make a standard sca type tabard (rectangular front and back, neck opening in the middle) and attach long rectangular pieces to each shoulder, so you have basically a cross shape. That's it. All straight lines, except whatever you do for the neckline. Get some iron-on patch material and make a cross on it, no sewing. Tabard should be blue. If your shirt isn't foofy enough, you can whip up a separate lace collar. Also, consider a visit to The Garment District. This is their time of year.