When dressing in an Irish costume or a costume related to any nationality or heritage, it’s important to consider the different types of costumes as well as the meanings they convey. Here are some “in the closet” examples of my past:
Campy.
It’s true: I was once a leprechaun for Halloween. I was working at Starbucks Coffee at the time, and we were allowed to dress up, but had to pick something that wouldn’t interfere with our job duties or health standards. Part of me wanted to be cute, too. After all, I’m kind of hardcore about my heritage, so I’m not exactly one to dress up “as” something on St. Patrick’s Day; rather, I wear my green to celebrate my Irish American heritage.
Halloween, however, is a different story. While I do celebrate the holiday as Samhain also, I appreciate the rather fun, lovably American campiness associated with Halloween. Green and black were the colors I wore, and they rather eerily matched our Starbucks uniforms. Leprechaun costumes are cheesy and can be midly offensive, but generally I was hoping to avoid politics and wear a kid-friendly costume. Therefore, I felt that it was entirely appropriate. Sure, I got a lot of “oh it’s not St. Patrick’s Day” comments, but genearlly the costume brought smiles to customers’ faces. Making people smile( 
) is probably one reason why I enjoy wearing costumes at any given chance.
Costume Craze has a lot of campy Irish costumes.
Historical.
Because the Irish were generally suppressed for most of their history, those doing research on Irish clothing in a historical sense will encounter some difficulty. Even though my historical Irish persona was within SCA guidelines, I encountered adversity there because there simply isn’t enough material to research (in their opinion). Everyone thought I might be tempted to fill in the historical gaps with stuff like neo-paganism and fantasy, thus spurning some sort of odd belief that the English were completely unjustified in their attempt to conquer the Irish and extinguish their native culture.
Despite that, I persisted. I one day came across the lovely (and local to me) Kass of Reconstructing History. Kass gave a lecture about historical Irish clothing, describing how she was permitted to view rare extant examples of Irish clothing recovered from bogs. I learned that there were controversies in dating the material. Kass, however, persisted, backing up what research already existed with her own skills. She actually made original garments using the materials and styles of the centuries-old garments.
The most valuable pattern Kass offers is the Shinrone Gown, a pattern modeled after a dress she actually examined. The pattern comes with historical notes so that you (or your seamstress/tailor) can purchase and dye the appropriate fabrics.
When purchasing or crafting a historical Irish garment, it is important to note that much of what we know about early Irish clothing comes from a Roman perspective. Later native fashions were often banned and English culture was imposed upon the Irish.
The Fantasy.
In a more just world, the Irish would have had plenty to eat and would have had awesome, cleavage-exposing, wild pagan clothing. That’s how I see it, anyway. The Very Merry Seamstress offers package pricing for an Irish dress starter outfit. It may be true that the Irish were among the first to wear lacing in their dresses (if you can’t afford more than one dress and happen to be a good Catholic wife whose size changes due to pregnancy, this makes perfect sense). I would describe these renaissance faire and Halloween type garments as Irish-inspired and very lively.
No matter what you’re going for, have a great time and make people smile–or better yet, make them feel pride in their heritage. I most notably accomplished this when I dressed as Grace O’Malley at the faire and, upon Queen Elizabeth’s arrival amongst everyone’s “God Save the Queen!” chants, yelled “GOD SAVE IRELAND!”
Ready to see the holy grail of costuming? Do you believe that Elvis Presley truly lives?
