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