A Piano playing Blacksmith

Every time we start to write a new murder mystery game the first order of business is to come up with an idea that the game and characters can revolve around. Back in 2005, we wrote my favorite murder mystery game, Boomtown. I had so much fun writing this game because it revolves around an old western town. We created Boomtown as the backdrop for some of the most sinister and conniving characters around. We researched all the old western folklore that is so prevalent in the southwest and decided to take bits and pieces of our research and combine it with our fictitious characters.

One such character is Hans von Dietrich, a piano playing blacksmith that runs a smithy in Boomtown and plays piano at the saloon every night while tossing back whiskey shots. A great way to start planing a costume for Hans is to look at pictures of notorious figures of the old west. I enjoy putting my costumes together taking details from any pictures I find and using what I might already have at home or thrifting for items at local thrift stores.

Here is a great example of what was found online.

Taking that information, here is what can be put together with thrifted items and clothes that might already be hanging in your closet.

You can see that by throwing on a pair of worn jeans with a white button down shirt and topping it off with a red vest, garter and bow tie he has the perfect look for a piano playing blacksmith that fits right in with the Boomtown theme.