A more in-depth guide to planning garb

In other posts, I have covered the basics of planning garb. From basing it on a time and place, to getting ideas from art. But I've not yet explained how to research, find the right search terms, and understand what it is that you are looking at.

If you've already been thinking about a persona, then you may already be well on your way to researching an awesome outfit. Maybe you've decided that you want to be the daughter of one of the chaps who went over with William in 1066. A Norman damsel. Already this tells you a lot about what you would wear: The fashions of the 11th century, from France, specifically, Normandy.

Or, perhaps you've decided that you're the bastard son of some noble in the court of one of the Burgundian Dukes in the 1400's. Again, this will tell a lot about what you would wear, 15th century Burgundian fashion is pretty specific.

Or maybe you're a merchant from the Ottoman empire visiting Spain in 1300 and-something or other.

Or a clans-woman of the highlands of Scotland in the 12th century.

Or a 16th century Cossack.

By having an idea of who you want to portray, it gives you a place to start in choosing an outfit.

Time and place is a good starting point. It will give you the first search terms you will need. Typing, "Norman, 11th century" will give links to pages about Norman history. To get pages about what was worn, "Norman clothing, 11th century" is more useful.

Reading through a few pages, you will run across the term "bliaut" or "bliaud"several times. This is a useful search term for 11th century Norman clothing. Each time and place will have its own reoccurring terms. They're very useful, not just for information, but also for images of particular garments.

Other ways to find clothing from a specific time and place, is to look for art from it. And in some cases you can even find real garments, using the term "extant clothing." Try it, go to google, and type in "extant viking clothing." Do it as an image search, and you will find a lot of pictures of real (though slightly ragged looking) garments, worn by real vikings hundreds of years ago. You can do searches of other times and places, try "extant Elizabethan clothing" or "extant ottoman clothing." Some time/places will have more extant examples than others, but it is usually a good way to find articles about the actual garments that were worn.

When it comes to looking at art, be careful not to be fooled by Victorian era art. The Victorians were a little obsessed with history, and liked to make their own versions of the art.

Art is really useful for the 1400's onwards, because you can usually get the name of an artist, and look at more of their work. For example, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Pieter Bruegel the Younger, Dutch/Flemish artists, who painted a lot of art of the common folk, some including such detail, that you can see the seam lines of the garments, giving insight into how they were cut and constructed.

Once you have an idea of the sort of garments you want to make, you'll need to know how to make them. Patterns are what you will need. Most of the time, you can type the name of the garment into a google image search, and you will find multiple ways of making your chosen garment. And from there, you can start to calculate how much fabric you will need for your garment.

- by Laetitia de Harfleur

Planning for the long haul

Or, how to have enough garb to last for a multi day event, such as Rowany Festival, without needing your own, personal baggage train to get it there.

- by Laetitia de Harfleur

If you plan on attending multi-day events, such as Rowany Festival, ICW, wars, or even a 2 day event, you will find that you need more than one outfit. You can't really wear just the one tunic for 4 days straight. What if it rains? What if it gets hot? What if it gets cold? Not to mention that you will probably start to smell a bit.

Sure, you could have one complete outfit, per day, you could even have one each from a different time and place, but they will take up a lot of space.

The best way to prepare for events like this, is to think like a medieval person. Think of your garb as clothing, not a costume. The average person in the middle ages would have had more than one outfit, but far less than you would have today. They would have several undergarments (under tunic, shirt or chemise), probably 3-4, and they would have at least 2 of the next layer of clothing, one for 'best' and one for work, and maybe even one in between, for 'better'. Then they would have at least one outer garment, a cloak, coat or over-gown. In addition to this, they would also have a coif (or veil), and a hat or hood, and various other accessories (shoes, boots, belt, pouch, pins, jewellery).

One of the best visual examples of this can be found in the Tudor Tailor book, The King's Servants. The illustration depicts a boy of the leash, and his summer and winter liveries, including all layers.

Including what the boy is wearing, his entire wardrobe consists of: 5 shirts, 5 pairs of hose, 2 doublets, 2 coats, 4 hats and 2 pair of shoes. That is quite a lot more clothing that most people would expect a medieval servant to have. But the reality of most royal 'servants' is that they were a part of the noble class, most were lesser lords and ladies, or their children. There are two main reasons for this, the first being that they created a buffer zone around the royals and the higher nobles, but also for their own gain, in an attempt at social climbing. Which is where most of us enter the SCA, we are those social climbing, lesser nobles, we serve those who rank above us, in the hope of one day joining those ranks. This is why looking at the clothing of those who serve the royal household, is useful to gain insight as to what was worn.

If you plan to go to Roawany Festival (or any several day event), you need to plan ahead. It's likely that between now and then, you'll attend other, single day events. This means that rather than becoming your own personal shirt factory, you should think about making one complete outfit, and then slowly expand your wardrobe. That first outfit will eventually become your 'work' outfit, its what you'll use if you want to engage in something messy, sweaty, or smoky (such as chopping wood, cooking over a camp-fire, or digging a latrine).

If you start with a shirt, in linen (or cotton), then add a doublet in wool, lined with linen (or linen/cotton blend, lined with the same), and hose of wool, lined with linen. This is a good start to a basic outfit, then you can add a hat, and a coat, and some shoes, and a belt, and a pouch.

Now, return to the start, and add another shirt to your wardrobe, maybe even two, and another doublet, perhaps of a slightly different style, or different fabric, maybe one with laced in sleeves, and another pair of hose, in a different colour, maybe with some slashing on the knees to make them fancier. You might want to add a leather jerkin, rather than another coat, and another hat, of a different style. And before you know it, you have two complete outfits, that are interchangeable. Add another shirt or two, another pair of hose, and some spare shoes, and you're ready to go to festival!

But wait!

What if you're not a Tudor man?

The process itself doesn't change, only the specific garments do. You plan one complete outfit, and then expand the wardrobe, in a practical manner.

What if you're from an earlier time? Its still the same!
Start with your under tunic, in white or unbleached linen (or cotton), add an over-tunic, and braise and hose (or trews, or whatever pants are worn in the time and place you have chosen). This is a basic outfit. Then you can add a coif or some other hat, a coat or cloak, some shoes (or boots), a belt and a pouch.

Now you add to your wardrobe. Add another under tunic, another over-tunic, a hood, and some more pants. All you need now is another under tunic or two, and some spare pants and shoes, and you're ready for festival!

But what about a lady?

Its still the same process. For a Tudor era woman:
A chemise, a kirtle, and a cap/coif/head-wrap. That's a basic outfit. Add shoes, hose, belt and pouch, an over-gown, and a fancier hat.

Then its back to the start, with another chemise (or two), another kirtle, another head-covering, another gown. And more chemises, until you have enough to last, with one for each day of festival.

An earlier era lady would be similar to the men’s, but with longer tunics.

It doesn't matter what era you look at, you will still need to plan in the same way.

You will need multiples of the garments that are closest to your skin, its great if you can have a clean one for each day. Generally, its best if this garment is in linen, typically, in most times and places, this garment would be made from white or unbleached linen. Linen is very effective at wicking away moisture, and does a fantastic job of protecting your outer garments. And it is, by far, easier to launder than your middle and outer garments.

Points on garb for longer events:

• Many of these longer events are warmer during the day, but they can get very cold at night.
• Head-wear is very important. By day, it protects you from the sun, and by night, it helps to keep you warm.
• Having woollen garments, that can be layered, will do a lot to help to keep you warm at night. And due to its nature, even if your outer layer of wool gets damp, it will still retain your body’s warmth.

The romance of cloaks.

Please, kill it now.

Cloaks are fine, if you're standing around, and don't have to do anything, but the moment you move, or try to use your hands, they become useless, and get in the way more than they will keep you warm. A coat will serve you better.

Though, that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a cloak at all. You can throw one over your coat, when you're sitting around the camp-fire, and don't have to do anything. A cloak is useful as a spare blanket, and will be handy if you have to use the privy in the middle of the night.

One important thing to remember with cloaks, and coats (and women’s garments), is that if they reach the ground, and the ground is wet/muddy, then so too will be your garment. Cloaks and coats are better if they reach mid calf, and women’s garments, no longer than to the top of your foot (unless you wear your gown tucked up like a German Trossfrau).

When to buy fabric, to make planning garb easier.

If linen is on sale, buy it, buy it all! (or several meters), calculate how much you will need for 4-6 sets of undergarments and other items you will need made from it, and then allow a meter or two extra, because you may end up using it for linings.

Middle garments can also be made from linen, even coloured linen. Again, if it's on sale, it's worth buying extra.

Silks and wools are usually something that is planned for. Unless you plan to have all your outer garments in one colour, only get enough for what you need.

Linen typically is on sale at the end of summer, and wool is usually on sale during the warmer weather. When you plan ahead, you can take advantage of these seasonal sales.

The main points.

• Plan your entire wardrobe, well before you need it. Stick to one era.
• Be prepared to make a lot of undergarments. Get a large quantity of the fabric required by watching for fabric sales.
• Start with a basic outfit. Get the fit right, learn how much fabric is required for each piece. Keep it plain, keep it simple and you will complete it sooner.
• Work from the skin, out. Undergarments before outer garments.
• Don't forget to include hats, belts, shoes, pouches and any other accessories your persona would carry with them.
• Repeat the process for your second outfit, this one can be a little fancier than the first one.
• Make more undergarments, so that you have enough to be clean each day of the event.
• If more middle garments are required, they can be added once you have enough undergarments.
• Coats are more practical than cloaks, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have one of each.
• The aim for your middle layers is: Work. Better. Best. Each year you can shuffle them all down the line, scrap your old work outfit, and make a new best.
• Linen is ok for middle layers

A well planned wardrobe for an event such as festival is likely to include:

4-6 undergarments (shirts, chemises, under-tunics)

3-4 leg-coverings (for men, hosen, trews, or whatever is appropriate for your chosen era)

2-3 middle layers (doublet, kirtle, over-tunic)

1-2 outer layers (coat, gown, robe) + a cloak, if it is appropriate for your era.

You should also include at least 2 linen head-coverings (coif, cap, veil)

And at least one warm head-covering (hood, chaperon, cap... whatever is appropriate for your era)

A minimum of 2 pair of foot-wear, just in case one pair becomes waterlogged.

With the right garb, you will remain cool when the sun is hot, warm when the night is cold, and dry when the site is muddy. Comfortable garb will go a long way to making an event more enjoyable, and having enough clean changes, will keep you feeling more like a lord or lady. A full wardrobe can be quite an expense, but it is an investment, if you plan on attending many events.

Why do I need garb?

And what garb will I need?

In the SCA, to attend an official event, you are required to wear an attempt at medieval attire. For most people, this means an outfit from some place in Europe, from some time between 600 and 1600. A lot of people see this as an important part of "playing the game."

What is the game? No, it's not the game of thrones, but it perhaps has some similarities.

It looks a lot like an SCA Feast.

The SCA began in the mid 1960's, by a group of people who loved the romanticised image of the middle ages, and really, really enjoyed having medieval themed parties.

While the SCA is not a historical reenactment group, for some, it's more of an on-going work of performance art, it's about the persona they create, and how they portray them. It's about playing the medieval version of you, and the best way to get into character, is to be dressed appropriately. In many ways, it's like Narnia, you need to go through the wardrobe to get to the magical land.

An on-going piece of performance art, a bit like Galavant, but with less singing and dancing.

These days, typical SCA events include feasts, revels, balls, tournaments on foot, archery shoots, wars, camping, and the biggest one in Australia: Rowany Festival, which includes everything.

The garb you need will depend upon what you want to attend.

 Do you want to be like Danielle de Barbarac at the ball?

For most people, their first outfit needs to be versatile. It needs to look good enough for attending a feast, but also be suitable for attending a tournament on a chilly day.

An outfit needs to be in layers, the under layer, the layer that gets washed the most often. The middle layer, the one that needs to look good. If you decorate it with trims and beading, you won't want to be washing it every time you wear it, it's why you need the under layer. The outer layer, generally a cloak or coat or over-gown, something to keep you warm if it gets chilly, but can be removed if it is too warm.

Do you want to be like "Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein," and wear a tunic made from a tent?

I'm sure it's weather proof.

Once you have attended a few events, you will probably be inspired to make a few more outfits. Perhaps something really nice, for when SCA Royalty visit. Maybe you want to take up arms, which will mean you will need garb to fight in. Maybe you'll hear all about Festival, and will really want to go, and for that, you will need more than a couple of outfits.

 

Nice outfit Robin, but you didn't need to bring the boar, an SCA Feast will have plenty of food

 Things to watch: Game of Thrones; Galavant; Ever After; A Knights Tale; Robbin Hood: Men in Tights

 By Laetitia de Harfleur

Garb on a students budget

If you've read my What not to wear guide, you'll have an idea of the sorts of things you will need to make your first garb. 

Students, and other people on low incomes, don't have a lot of money to throw around when it comes to making garb, but that doesn't mean they are limited to drab, unattractive styles. 

Laetitia’s Italian Renaissance Outfit.

Cost: Under $20

How?
Chemise: A sheet

Under-gown: $5 Curtain

Over-gown: Unwanted Bedspread from her nana’s blanket box 
Metal grommets, ribbon, and the front clasp made up the rest of the cost.

As you can see, fancy garb can be made on a pretty tight budget.

Fabric shopping

Check bargain tables and remnant bins. You never know what you'll find. A scrap of something expensive, to use as trim? A roll of linen, heavily discounted due to stains (that will probably wash out)?

If it’s under $3per meter, buy 10m or even the whole roll!

Buying in bulk is the way to go. 10m of white or cream fabric will be easily used in a short time, but what do you do with 10m of red or blue fabric? Make all your garb in the one colour and become known as “Eric the red” or “Blue Bess”? You could if you want, or you could use what you need for one outfit and then let your friends know what you’ve got left and sell it to them for what you paid, or trade for some bargain fabric they found.
Even if the fabric was discounted due to stains, ones that don't wash out, they may not be too noticeable, or for the parts where they are, you can still use the fabric as lining.

The best time to buy fabrics is at the end of a season.

The end of winter is when you’ll be likely to find wools and velveteen’s at half price.

At the end of summer cottons and linens are at their cheapest.

Toy fur is also usually on sale at the end of winter. 1/2m is plenty to trim a gown or line a cloak hood.

Trims are expensive to buy, so make your own.

Couching (a type of embroidery) metallic or crochet threads is also a cheap method of decoration.

Look in remnant bins for metallic fabrics, satins and brocades. Cut into strips, join, fold the edges under (or use a bias binding maker) and stitch in place. This method is really cheap if you paid 50c or $1 for a scrap of fabric and get 15-20m of trim out of it.

Ready made braids and cords can sometimes be found very cheap at dollar shops. I’ve paid as little as 10c per meter for some.

Secondhand Fabrics

Second hand shops (eg the Salvos) often have bedding, which can be used for making garb.

Pure woollen blankets in a single colour can be used to make fantastically warm garb for camping.

One Queen sized blanket should be enough for a woman’s over-gown. A single bed blanket is plenty for a mans short tunic or a cloak. Check blankets can be used as warm lining in a velvet cloak or as padding in a doublet or gambeson.

Brocade bedspreads can be used for very fancy garb.

Curtains can also be used, some times you can get velvet or silk like curtains, or linen/cotton or brocade, all of these can be good for garb.

Sheets in cream or white are good for shirts and chemises or linings, plain coloured ones make good under gowns and under tunics.

 

You can also get accessories and feasting gear at secondhand shops. Bead necklaces can be pulled apart to bead gowns etc.

Fancy doesn't always mean expensive. Sometimes fancy just takes a little more time and effort, but costing very little in money. Plan your outfit well ahead of time, and you'll have time to go bargain hunting.

By Laetitia de Harfleur

What not to wear: a guide to garb in the SCA

Your first garb, what to avoid, and what to seek, to make garb that works.

To begin with, one must understand that the SCA is not a living history re-enactment group, and does not have a hand-book of rules and regulations of appropriate attire. Instead, all that is really required is an attempt at attire from pre 1600, from the "Known World," or the world as it was known by the Europeans. Typically this means Medieval and Renaissance Europe.

Yes, this means you can make a tunic out of poly/cotton fabric, and trim it with some sparkly braid, you can wear a blanket as a cloak, and so long as you're not wearing trainers/sneakers with it, no one will really care too much, because you've made an attempt, you're trying to fit in with the fantasy of the SCA.

But once you've attended an event or two, you may begin to feel a little shabby, when you see the "attempt" made by others. Some people will look like they stepped out of a painting or manuscript,  while many others will look like they're patrons of a medieval or renaissance festival. These attempts deepen the fantasy that is the SCA.

How to decide on what to wear.

If you've already been thinking about a persona, then you may already be well on your way to researching an awesome outfit. Maybe you've decided that you want to be the daughter of one of the chaps who went over with William in 1066. A Norman damsel. Already this tells you a lot about what you would wear: The fashions of the 11th century, from France, specifically, Normandy.

Or, perhaps you've decided that you're the bastard son of some noble in the court of one of the Burgundian Dukes in the 1400's. Again, this will tell a lot about what you would wear, 15th century Burgundian fashion is pretty specific.

Or maybe you're a merchant from the Ottoman empire visiting Spain in 1300 and-something or other.

Or a clans-woman of the highlands of Scotland in the 12th century.

Or a 16th century Cossack.

By having an idea of who you want to portray, it gives you a place to start in choosing an outfit.

But, not everyone has a back story for their persona to begin with. You may just have a picture of an outfit that you think is pretty, and use that to build your persona on.

Either way, once you have an idea of the when and where, then you can do a little research into what was worn at that time and place.

Foundations First.

Once you know what was worn, you can begin to make your outfit.

But rather than starting with the fancy outer layer, it is always best to begin with the layer that will be closest to your skin, as everything else will have to fit over this.

In practically every era, and in every place, everyone from the highest of the high, to the lowest of the low, wore some sort of under garment. In almost all cases, this was made from plain linen.

Normans, Saxons and Vikings would have worn a linen under-tunic, peoples of the renaissance, Tudor and Elizabethan eras, would have worn linen shirts or chemises to protect their outer garments from sweat, and body oils.

Linen can be expensive, but you can substitute it with cotton broadcloth, or even calico.

Your next layer is very much so dictated by the time and place you are looking at. For earlier eras it would probably be another tunic, most likely woollen, though, maybe silk. In later eras, it might be a kirtle/petticoat/under-gown for women, while men would wear a fitted cote, doublet or pourpoint. In many eras, both men and women would also wear an over-gown, the cut being dictated by period and location.

Typically, most people of the known world, of the SCA 'period', would have worn outer clothing made of linen or wool, with some also being able to afford silk.

Unfortunately, in modern times, these fibres have become expensive, but don't worry, this is the SCA, not a living history re-enactment group with tight rules and regulations about what you can and can't wear. You can substitute fabrics.

You can use:

• Cotton/linen blends
• 'Indian cotton' or 'cotton duck' (as it is called in Spotlight), it comes in nice, bright colours, and is a heavy weight fabric, and sometimes also comes in really nice brocade weaves.
• Twill or drill (twill weave is a common one used for woollen fabric)
• Cotton broadcloth can imitate light weight linen
• Calico passes nicely for light weight linen
• Poly/cotton brocades can be found in the curtaining section (unbacked! That white rubbery backing is evil, never buy fabric that has it for making clothing)

But of course, if you find a bargain, in linen, wool or silk, it would make a much nicer outfit than cotton and poly/cotton substitutes. Sometimes you can even find wool/poly blends, but be cautious, they are more likely to burn than pure wool, and should be avoided for camp-fire clothing.

If you plan to attend camping events (such as Rowany Festival, or various wars), you may want to invest in some woollen outerwear. A woollen coat, outer tunic, or over-gown, will help to keep you warm, even if it gets damp (unlike cotton), and if its pure wool, its pretty much fire proof.

Cloaks are also a popular way to keep warm when camping, they're really good if they're made from a coating fabric (typically used for making winter coats), but please heed this advice: don't make them reach the ground. You don't want wet, muddy fabric slapping against your legs when you walk, and its hell to try to clean mud out of wool. Keep cloak lengths between knee and ankle, to prevent it from getting too soggy or muddy.

A nice woollen cloak can also double as nice warm blanket for cold nights.

Things to avoid, and why.

• Modern clothes, because you're not making an attempt!
• Tie-dye and panne velvet (as found in new age hippy shops), because they look terrible!
• Tiaras or crowns, because you're not the king (or queen), nor are you the nobility entitled to wearing such things.
• Stretchy fabric, because elastane is a modern concept, and knit fabrics weren't commonly used.
• Printed fabric. Stick with plain, unless you're using a brocade, because printed fabric was not common, and didn't become so until some time out of the SCA period. Also, fake brocade prints rarely look good.
• Cheap polyester fabrics, because they look like what they are: icky.
• Fantasy costumes because, unless they resemble clothing in the known world during the SCA period, they are not suitable.
• Cosplay, steampunk and outfits from non-SCA eras: see fantasy costumes.
• Zippers, velcro, press-studs. They are all modern inventions, and why use them when you can use perfectly appropriate closures, such as buttons (wooden, shell, bone, metal), hooks or lacing?

You can get away with some modern things:

• Plain leather shoes
• Plain leather belt with a plain buckle
• 'Grandpa' style shirt, in plain fabric, because it doesn't have a modern shirt collar, and so doesn't scream "I am modern clothing"
• Peasant blouse, in plain fabric, especially if it has longer sleeves, will do as a chemise
• Chinos, especially in darker fabric, but not cargo styles.

Things you will need to make your own garb.

• Sharp scissors, for cutting fabric. You can get an ok pair for about $10, but if you plan to do much sewing, you might want to invest in a better quality pair.
• Scissors for cutting paper. Don't use your fabric scissors for this, as it will dull their cutting edge.
• Thread snips
• Tape measure
• Pins
• Hand sewing needles
• Fabric
• Thread to match your fabric
• Sewing machine (unless you want to spend weeks hand sewing your outfit, you will need access to a sewing machine, either your own, or borrow one from a friend)

and most importantly:

• Time! A novice sewer is not going to have much luck attempting to make an outfit the day before an event. Save yourself some stress, and plan ahead.

Now you are ready to start planning and making your first outfit.
To recap:

• Find a time and place, to research, and make garb from.  
• Plan your layers, from inner to outer layers
• Look at fabric, work out what you can afford

By Laetitia de Harfleur