How to Dress Up as Puss in Boots

"Puss in Boots" is a children's fairytale written by Charles Perrault and dating back to the late 17th century. It is the story of a clever talking cat who helps his master, a poor miller’s son, attain great wealth and status through trickery. Puss in Boots is a fun character to dress up as for Halloween, a masquerade party or in celebration of Children’s Book Week.

Start with a fleece sweat suit. Use a color that resembles a cat’s fur, such as light or dark gray, black or orange. Add stripes to your Puss in Boots costume, if desired, with a fabric marker. The stripes should be horizontal and random. Use dark orange or brown on a lighter-colored orange sweat suit or black stripes on a gray sweat suit to look like a tabby or tiger-striped cat.

Add a wide-brimmed black hat. A cavalier-style hat will work nicely. Puss in Boots is always depicted with a large feather in his hat, so add this element to your costume. Choose a brightly colored feather such as red or purple. Turn up one side of the brim and wear the hat rakishly tilted to one side to capture the sly personality of Puss in Boots.

Purchase a long sword with a scabbard from a costume shop. Wear the sword on a wide, leather belt fastened around your waist. The belt can be brown or black.

Make a small cloth drawstring bag from a piece of fabric. Sew the two ends of the fabric together to make a cylinder using needle and thread, and then sew the bottom shut. Wrap a ribbon around the top part of the bag that's open and fold the lip over the ribbon to create a drawstring channel. Sew the channel closed all the way around. Hang the bag from the belt for added authenticity. This bag serves as Puss in Boots’ game bag and is an important element in the story.

Wear a pair of tall boots. Almost any type of boots will work, such as cowboy boots, riding boots or even waders. The boots should be black, but dark brown is almost as good, and the taller, the better.

Add a flowing cape. Puss in Boots’ cape need not be elaborate. You can make a cape by cutting a large piece of fabric into a roughly rectangular shape, with the top of the rectangle narrower than the bottom. Attach binding or ribbon to the narrow side to tie the cape around your shoulders. Choose a color for the cape that will coordinate with the rest of your costume.

Use black eyeliner to draw some whiskers on your cheeks and color your nose black. Line your eyes with a large, exaggerated line to make them look like a cat’s eyes, if desired.