Your Garb

[Captain Midnight]

Good job, Michael! That looks awesome!

[michaelsbagley]

Thanks for the compliments Cheeky and Midnight! I appreciate that!

[LadyBarbossa]

I've brought a few recruits to our Rev War unit but they back down cause of the critisizm received for "not period correct attire". Despite it's borrowed from various members of the association. It just frustrates me.

I say if a person is interested and at least attempting to make an effort (and you know if they are making an effort) then why growl at them?

Example... I saw at theater on opening night for AWE several people (mostly teens) who came in utterly bad and cheesy loosely "pirate attire". No effort made.

But there were about 4 whom impressed me terribly and did my best to recruit them. They showed effort and was interested in the history. They had the look, even if it was 10% it was FAR better than that loose pirate look that was apparent the get up was from Hot Topics or WalMart.

I don't discourage from snatching at those who haven't the coinage to purchase $40 a yard fabric to make a fantastic authentic outfit or the coinage to buy a functional blunderbuss (as we know is not easy to obtain cause of gun laws, and I do explain this to folks). It's where the heart is that matters. Not the pure look.

Patrick... I'm a pirate.. I have already been seduced by the Dark Side! Mwahahahaha :::evil grinz:::

Very well done, Michael. Very impressive.

Don't worry really about all that sewing stuff. You have a fantastic looking outfit there. My compliments to ya.

Cute shirt, Saltypots. :)

Nice images of your attire, Blackbonie.

~Lady B

[kass]

I agree, Lady B. Especially if the newbies have borrowed their clothing from members of the group! It should be correct if the current members are wearing it. And you really have to go easy on newbies and encourage them. I loan out a lot of clothes so people can go to their first events. I don't think any of my apprentices actually have full outfits of their own. They're always borrowing something of mine!

I really think that the people who criticise other people's historical accuracy have some kind of inadequacy problem. It's one thing to say to a guy who's been around for 5 years and isn't trying to replace his cowboy boots with period shoes yet that he needs to upgrade. It's another thing to tell someone at their first event that they're wrong.

All the groups I've ever been in were "self-policing". That doesn't mean there was someone in the group who told you if your kit was right or wrong. That means that everyone monitors themselves and we've all agreed to be as historically accurate as we're comfortable with. But we might ask you to take off your glasses when the public arrive...

[Salty]

Nae offense meant, and i understand being as close to historical as ye can be if that be the path you or yer group has chosen...........but as brought up in another thread eyeglasses can be a difficulty to get around. Less ye dinae mind being beat about the ankles with a well used sapling, and in some cases ye will get that anyway.

Less o course there is a historically accurate cane to be used

Cherrs,

Salty

[kass]

And these are the choices we make. I wear glasses. And my contact lens prescription is out of date. So at the event this weekend, I will take my glasses off before the public arrives and put them back on when they leave, and deal with it in between.

Actually, I'm not this much of a 'nazi'. I just think I look really dumb in glasses!

[CrazyCholeBlack]

Kass, that's sort of along the lines of what I've been thinking recently. Every group has standards, every individual has standards. So long as the individuals standards match or exceed the groups there won't be a problem. After all, it's always better to be over dressed than under dressed.

I also think there is a certain amount of responsibility in a historic group for the "old timers" to help the "new comers" get up to speed, sharing with them the ways to be historically correct and the ways to cheat that no one will notice.

For example, the #1 suggestion with kids clothes are plain black, lace up shoes and black stockings, since they grow so fast & period children's shoes are expensive. Yet the black & black set up is invisible to the general public.

At the same time, for adults; buy the shoes (& for women the stays) first since those are the two pieces that must fit well to be comfortable and are the least likely for someone in a group to have in your exact size for you to borrow. For some reason though, no one ever tells others that!

[kass]

Precisely, Chole!

I was once in a medieval group with very lax standards. You could really wear anything you wanted. But I told people, "Don't wear your neon orange and white Nikes with the flashy thing in the heel! Wear black shoes. Everyone has a pair of black shoes, right?" They're nondescript and people won't notice them.

This is not appropriate for reenactment, of course, but for kids? Sure!

When my apprentices started reenacting, the first thing they did was make stays. They could borrow everything else from me (except shoes). Neither one is my size in either height or weight. But period women's clothing is so adjustable (see thread on pregnancy...) that little skinny Alli and little shorty Liz can both wear my kit.

For shoes, at first they bought shoes at Payless with "the right jib". For girls, it's easy. I can walk into Payless and identify shoes that look right for 16th century Germany, 18th century America, and 17th century France right now. The styles just keep coming back...

I have found that people are incredible intimidated by stays. They think they're difficult to make (yes, they are very time-consuming and it's hard for a beginning to get a perfect fit) or they are expensive to buy (see above -- we have to charge what it costs to make them). And then there are the people who have worn cheaply-made stays or bad Ren Faire bodice and assume stays are horrible and uncomfortable and tight and you can't breathe in them... (...and all that shit you learn in the movies...). But they aren't. And they are essential to the fit of women's clothing. And NOT just the upper classes. ALL women wore stays. Even the poor. Even prostitutes.

And now I've gone completely off topic in Plunder where I don't belong.

Forgive me folks...

Later -- when they decided they were going to do events a lot -- they ordered period shoes.

[Patrick Hand]

My Boss might be going to PiP this year, SO.... I get to make more stuff befor then......

I went through a bunch of older threads looking for pictures of Women's garb... saved a bunch of them so I have something to show her....

Right now, I'm thinking of making her...

A light weight Linen shift

A Skirt ( I have some med-light wt. blue wool that might look good, just don't know if she would wear wool in Key West....)

and a Pair of Pockets....

Those parts are easy enough...

I don't think I will be able to talk her into wearing Stays or a mantuas... But I might be able to get her to wear Jumps. (I'll send her a quote of what Kass just posted about stays... it might work...)

And of course I'll have to post pictures of everything once I finish it....

[theM.A.dDogge]

yo Patrick...welcome to the world of men seamstresses....to bring a women...you gotta make women clothes....oh yeah...done that.....

so are we called seamstresses then...or are we called seam-misters?

[Patrick Hand]

I make animal mascots for a living.... so I know how to sew....

yo Patrick...welcome to the world of men seamstresses...

I prefer Seamster......

It is kinda funny tho..... my boss use to own a costume rental store (Now it's animal mascots)..... and she has no idea what Pyrates looked like..... well other than me......

[William Brand]

It is kinda funny tho..... my boss use to own a costume rental store (Now it's animal mascots)..... and she has no idea what Pyrates looked like..... well other than me......

Well, she has a good basis of comparrison now. Most of us set our watch by your kit.

[michaelsbagley]

I prefer Seamster......

Does that mean we have to start a union?

[Mungo]

I prefer Seamster......

Does that mean we have to start a union?

And then stand around and watch other people sew ?

[Captain Jim]

It is kinda funny tho..... my boss use to own a costume rental store (Now it's animal mascots)..... and she has no idea what Pyrates looked like..... well other than me...... 

Well, she has a good basis of comparrison now. Most of us set our watch by your kit.

William, that would be "Most of us turn the glass by your kit..."

But I do agree.

[blackbonie]

It is kinda funny tho..... my boss use to own a costume rental store (Now it's animal mascots)..... and she has no idea what Pyrates looked like..... well other than me......

not wierd, unless she specialized in pirate costumes.

otherwise she probably just covered too wide variety to concentrate much on one.

[Salty]

ok since this seems to be a bit of catch as catch can, any thoughts on embriodery (sp) on said garb. i.e. like hem of petticoats or such? Thoughts, comments, anyone?

Lady B and kass thanks fer the vote of confidence, i will get more into this sewing as i can, waiting on some more fabric and patterns.

Cheers,

ye ship's potter,

Salty

[Rumba Rue]

Having done embroidery on outfits (Irish/Celtic), it looks good, but beware you can't wash the outfit in the washing machine and in fact you'll be lucky if the colors don't run from the embroidery thread onto the rest of the outfit.

I know a gal who took her beautifully embroidered Irish dress to be cleaned by some dry cleaners in her town, and the colors of the embroidery thread not only ran onto her pretty green dress, but some threads actually disenigrated from the the stuff the dry cleaners use.

I would be very careful when it comes to embroidery. I've managed to carefully handwash my Celtic needlepoint in COLD water when I'm done making something just to get any dirt off before framing, but I've had a few colors run on me and totally ruin the artwork....

[Patrick Hand]

This is going to sound kinda stupid..... but couldn't you pre-wash the floss before using it ?

The colors running isn't something I've ever had a problem with... but maybe I was just lucky.....

[Ransom]

Gee, er..gosh, problems? Really? I've embroidered on tons of stuff and never had a problem with it running or staining. I have a cotton work shirt that I embroidered all over way back in the late 70's, and there are no stains, or desintegrating threads, and I can't count the number of times I've just tossed it in the washing machine with the rest of the colored clothes. I've embroidered on T-shirts, sweatshirts, pillows, costumes, SCA saddle pads, etc. and never had a problem - even with Blackwork on white cotton.

Maybe it's the type of thread you're using?

[Patrick Hand]

I was talking to my Boss, about what she wants to wear to PiP.... I sent her a buncha pictures showing stays and what Women wore.... and she ain't going for it.... she could care less about Period clothing, and just wants something comfortable and sexy..... Waaagh... here I am just finishing hand sewing a pair of hemp slops, .... and she wants something Hollywood....... She won't wear something too tight, (jumps might work)... and she won't wear a hat..... So I guess I'll make her a short linen shift (linen is more comfortable than cotton), an "Infanate gore Skirt" so it's light weight and "flowing"and Jumps....

[Red-Handed Jill]

Patt - what size are those slops? Would they fit me? If so, I'll buy 'em from you.

[Patrick Hand]

Oops.... I wasn't too clear on that..... the slops are for myself.....

It's just having a Boss that wants to go to PiP, and wants to go Hollywood and I'll be sewing her garb (Kinda funny ...we sell animal mascots, and she can't sew at all...)...and I'm making my stuff as period as I can.....

Kinda a yin/yang thing I guess.........

I can always look on the bright side..... at least I won't have to hand sew any of her garb.......

(Jill knows that I get along with Hollywood Pyrates..... and don't hastle them too much..... )

[Red-Handed Jill]

Ah, well...

Patt - you get along with everybody.

[blackbonie]

ive been hand embroidering for years and never had colors run. maybe the type of floss? i use DMC mostly