How To Make Or Buy Captain Jack Sparrow's Wig & Beads
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You can be recognized as Jack Sparrow without looking just like him. The stores below sell a hat with attached bandana, wig and beads that will be good enough for most costumes:
If "good enough" isn't good enough for you, here's the details on how to look just like Jack, but note that his wig gets more and more complex with each film. These notes are for the first two films, Dead Man's Chest and Curse of the Black Pearl.
Jack has roughly 20 dreadlocks (10 to a side) interspersed with loose, straight hair. He has one thin braid on the right and a larger, loose braid on the left going to the back of his head. These are secured with what appears to be frayed, rust-colored ribbon, as are at least 3 of the dreads.
There's a short braid on the top of his head secured by a long white object (a reindeer bone). There are three strands of beads that appear to be attached somewhere underneath his bandana. He has a coin on the right side at chin level, attached to a dread. Its lower half has been dipped in cobalt blue paint.
On the left side, he has a coin attached to a dread at upper chest level. There's also a rarely seen eight-sided coin attached to a dread at mid-neck level. Lastly, attached to another dread just below this one is what appears to be two coins, the top one round and the bottom one octagonal. Whew! It's a wonder he can hold his head up at all.
Details for each component are below. If putting together something this complex will take more time than you have, consider the all-in-one handmade Jack wig from Yordreem Creations.
Those with the deepest pockets can hire a wigmaker to give them exactly what they want, both in wigs and facial hair:
For those whose pockets aren't quite so deep, we recommend that you start with a long, dark wig (unless you already have long hair), and then add dreadlocks and braids as you see fit. If you need to keep costs down, remember that most of Jack's dreads are hidden during casual movement. In other words, you could easily get away with less.
As for your wig, a low-cost one is fine. Not much of it will be showing, and you'll be abusing it anyway:
Ace Wigs
http://www.acewigs.com/shop/wigs/Lacey_Wigs/3997.php
http://www.acewigs.com/shop/wigs/Lacey_Wigs/1159.php
Most of these replicas are accurate, but if you're a purist, you'll want to compare the items against the reference photos.
You can get more accurate results and usually at a lower price if you buy replica accessories. However, if you want the components to make your own Sparrow dangles, try these merchants:
Coin pendants, dangles, buttons & more
Black skunk beads/eye beads (polka dots)
Small round nickel beads (Jack wears at least 3)
Metal saucer bead (Australia)
Tube beads (UK)
Donut beads for bandana dangle
If you're confused about the order of the beads, don't worry. Apparently, so was somebody on the set. ;)
If there's anything you can't find, or you want a hands-on experience, check out our bead-making tutorials.
You've no doubt noticed a long, whitish object hanging off the right side of Jack's head. It's roughly a foot long and has a hole on the upper end, through which Jack has threaded a bit of cord. He uses this to tie off the braid on the top of his head. It looks different from different angles, so also look at the reference photos listed at the top of this page.
In the production notes for Dead Man's Chest, Johnny Depp says, "So it felt to me like Jack, on his travels and adventures, would see something and go 'Oh yeah, I'll keep that,' tie it in his hair or have someone else do it. Each little trinket would have a story. For example, the bone that hangs just above the bandana is a shinbone from a reindeer. Then Jack has the dangly bits, beads, a chicken foot, a fertility symbol, weird animal tails. There's no telling where he got those, and it might have been lunch!"
No telling, eh? Of course, that wasn't good enough for us. The bone has definitely been worked into some sort of tool. As it turns out, there were a number of bone tools in use during Jack's time (the 1700s) that looked similar to his hair decoration. Let's see how close they come:
Nalbinding needles: Nalbinding is an ancient form of knitting that requires just one needle. In appearance, they come very close. However, they average 3.5 inches in length, so these needles are far too short to be our mystery tool.
Leatherwork needles: Large bone needles have been used to sew animal skins together since the dawn of man. They tend to be too pointed and short. With that said, some look very similar.
Fids: These are used by sailors to untie knots, to braid and splice rope, and to repair sails. They come in a variety of lengths. Generally, they're too rounded and wide, although some examples are narrow.
(Note: We originally identified the reindeer bone as a marlinspike. These are usually metal, since they're used to work with braided wire rope. However, there's an English translation of a Haida story that talks about a bone marlinspike. This may be a mistranslation. We've hit a deadend trying to find examples.)
Awls: These are used to poke holes in things, so they're usually too pointy. However, worn bone versions look very similar.
Bone fountain pens: Bone was a natural for early pens. They tend to be too pointed and round, but some come awfully close.
Kohl sticks: Cap'n Jack wears kohl around his eyes. Ancient Egyptians and Romans often used bone sticks to apply their kohl. The sticks only ranged from a half inch to 3 inches long, but the end of Jack's reindeer bone could still do the trick!
So... which tool is it? It could be all of them! Think of Jack's reindeer bone as an 18th century pirate's multi-tool. Of course, that's just our theory. ;)
Theories aside, here's how to buy or make a hair decoration similar to Jack Sparrow's:
Stock tends to be very limited for this niche item.
Sweetness & Light
Aunt Cat's Closet
Swagarts
Also search EbayYou can make a quick, non-working bone decoration using the quill of a thick feather (from a vulture, hawk, etc). If your reindeer bone has to look exactly like Jack's, it's time to learn a little boneworking. This page will provide guidance:
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