We adults know how much fun a Colonial Williamsburg vacation can be. But let’s be honest; convincing kids of the adventure and excitement that awaits can present a bit of a challenge. How about setting the mood from the time you arrive and renting a colonial costume? We have several options available that cater to just about any budget. And we’re happy to announce an added perk for all you Annual Pass Members. You, my friends, can take advantage of an exclusive rental offer the entire month of June!
Starting Monday, Annual Pass Members will receive 50% off their costume rentals for children ages 12 and younger. That’s double the usual discount for Pass members and brings the total per costume down to around $12.50. Although let’s be honest, the full price of $24.95 is already pretty darn reasonable. The best part is the costume is yours for the entire day. That’s right. Your kiddo can stay in character all the way through dinner! The deadline to return costumes to either WILLIAMSBURG Revolutions or the Market House isn’t until 9 p.m. And for just $10 extra per day—you can keep the costume for your entire stay!
So what exactly is included in your rental? Well, that depends….
FOR THE GIRLS
As part of a standard rental, girls get a dress (either blue or white) and a colored sash of their choosing that goes over their clothing. It may seem plain but in the 18th century, younger children wore clothing very similar to these chosen styles. It was only the upper-class families who could afford dresses made of high-quality silk and linen. No worries. Girls of all ages know—with any plain outfit—you can accessorize! Mob caps and matching straw hats are also available for purchase. Mob caps are $9.95 and the straw hats range in price from $29-$45, depending on the style. When anyone rents a costume (pass member or not), you get a $2 discount on those hats!
FOR THE BOYS
The daily rental for boys includes a shirt, haversack, and wooden rifle. During our photo shoot, I can tell you the toy guns were a huge hit with these brothers. I mean, don’t they look they’re ready to hunt down some Redcoats?
If your little boy(s) doesn’t want to part with his toy gun(s), you can buy one brand new for $18.95 to take home as a souvenir. And don’t forget the signature cocked (tri-corn) hat to colonialize any look, for just $29.95!
TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL!
If you’re looking to take adorable to the next level—you can buy a fancier gown for your little girl. A dress like the one shown below costs $80 and the accompanying sash runs $12.95. But, wait. It gets better. You can also buy a matching outfit for her doll made from the same fabric! I mean, how precious is that?! While Colonial Williamsburg doesn’t sell American Girl Dolls, we do sell miniature versions of our dresses (with sashes) for $35. A decorated doll hat is $16 and an accessory kit—which includes a doll cap, apron, and pocket—sells for $19. That brings the grand total (with everything) to $147.
I should mention every item of clothing we sell is hand-crafted exclusively by our Sewing Room team using reproduction cotton fabrics. The straw hats are made right here in Virginia and are given their finishing touches/styling once they arrive in the Revolutionary City!
Now, we realize it isn’t just the younger girls who like to dress up. That’s why we’ve also started offering costumes for young ladies who may be either too old or too big for our current children’s dresses. These gowns are available for rent at the Mary Dickinson Shop as well as WILLIAMSBURG Revolutions. The cost is $35. Just remember, when it comes to those returns, the Dickinson Shop closes at 6 p.m. Also keep in mind these dresses are not a part of the June Annual Pass promotion.
DON’T FORGET YOUR CAMERA!
Once you have your costumes and you’re off to explore—don’t forget to take pictures! We know you’ll want them as personal keepsakes, but we’d love to see them too! Just upload your images to our Colonial Williamsburg Facebook page or Instagram and Twitter using #colonialwilliamsburg.
Instead of saying “cheese,” encourage your kids to shout HUZZAH! It’s the 18th-century version of “hurrah” and you’re likely to hear other families throughout the Historic Area shouting the same exclamation of FUN.
A special thanks to our adorable little models: Terra, Henry, and William. Way to rock those 18th-century styles!
Do you have any questions about the costumes we didn’t answer? Please leave them below in the comments or take a minute to share some of your personal stories. We’d love to read them!
My daughter is doing a project on Colonial Virginia and needs a costume - we live in Illinois. Are your costumes available for online purchase? I found the Cream Trailing Blossoms Girls Gown and Sash dress on Williamsburg marketplace but couldn’t tell if the sizes were for children or adults. Any help would be most appreciated! We can’t wait to get down to Williamsburg someday!
This is all very good I want you to keep track of information . Thanks for the useful info.
My wife and I would love it if CW also offered rentals for adults. I had the outfit when I was a kid and now with a baby of our own we’d love to all be able to dress up. I’ve heard from other groups (I think via some of the CW FB groups) that there was concern with visitors in costume looking too much like the interpretive staff, but maybe if the visitor costumes have a different color/style or something to differentiate that would be less of an issue and more immersive experience for some.
Do you offer patterns for sale so that we could sew our own costumes?
What a sweet post - and a great way to get our small children to enjoy learning history!!
I’m sorry, but it was NOT “only the upper-class families who could afford dresses made of silk and linen.” Linen was generally more utilitarian than cotton in first place and cotton, silk, and linen were all available in different grades available to all classes.
Emma, thank you for bringing that to our attention! I will clarify in the blog. I reached out to our curator of textiles and costumes and she says “linen was available to all classes, with coarse unbleached linens serving as the cheap utilitarian textiles and gossamer bleached linen lace used for finer clothing.” As you mentioned, silk too had many varieties and levels of quality. “The elaborately woven brocaded silks were expensive and more often worn by upper sorts, while plain, thin silks were much less expensive.” Again, thank you for your feedback and we appreciate you reading our blog!