Garb (Costumes)

So, you want to have some appropriate medieval clothing. Ok! Well, basically you have two options. One is to make your garb (with or without help). The other is to buy it / obtain it from others. Maybe someone has some items they can give to you. Or, maybe someone is willing to help you by making it all for you. If you can do a little basic sewing, you can make some things yourself that are quite simple and perfectly appropriate for any occasion. Don't let the idea of sewing scare you off, though. Your Chatelaine will be happy to help you with a tunic workshop or other such items that will help you to have a basic outfit of your own. During this time we can cut and stitch that right up. Not everyone has access to a sewing machine, or has experience with sewing! This is OK - we can help. :) Just ask, if we don't plan a workshop before you need it!

If you want to go out buy a Simplicity sewing pattern and make a medieval outfit that you find pleasing, this is quite alright. No one would question its authenticity, or such (though they have some pretty "accurate" pieces as well)! But..... if you were making an item to enter into an A&S competition, you would want to make sure it was something documented as worn within the time period, using period construction techniques, and materials used at that time, etc etc etc., which usually varies from modern. But NO ONE should ever be "grading" you on what you wear, so now you don't have to wonder or worry about THAT. :) Just make the effort to look medieval, and that is all that's asked of anyone.

You may see many folks in very fancy clothing. Don't ever feel like wearing a t-tunic while others are in fancy gowns and such is at all inappropriate! Keep in mind that some people will choose a late-period persona and all their garb might be "fancy." Or, they might just wear the nicer things they have to certain events. But simple tunics and pants are still always fine and perfectly appropriate. Keep in mind that usually those who wear the fancy stuff will go back to the basics at times, too! There are some people who may wear "simpler" garb all of the time, as is customary to an earlier time-period persona. There may also be some folks who wear things based on the event, or on the weather, or just on what they feel like wearing that day! Or, we just wear what we have. It doesn't matter -- how you costume yourself is up to you. Garb is garb (That's the term we use in the society to refer to medieval-styled clothing). So long as you're making an effort not to wear modern-looking clothing, but rather something period-looking, no one will have any problem with this, at all!

The best place I could suggest to start as far as getting some clothing together is with the basic T-tunic. They're a great staple item, and an easy start too.

A woman's basic tunic could look like this --

(Note - don't wear white, red, green, or yellow belts! These represent Orders. Only white is RESERVED, but it is courteous to the orders not to wear the others.)

Also. Wearing a short sleeved tunic alone isn't typically true to how things were worn in "period;" however we live in the South and it gets very hot sometimes. Your well-being is what's most important so don't feel like you can't wear short sleeves if you are simply going to be too hot in long sleeves. Bring a cloak and throw it on in the evening when the temperature is better, or layer other pieces of garb over the basic tunic, if you want a more period look.

A short sleeve tunic might have been worn OVER a long sleeved undertunic. In medieval Europe, it was cooler than here so they had to wear layers to keep warm. (It works! During the winter you will not be cold outdoors at a winter event in a few layers.) Workers might be stripped down to their underlayer when working in the field. So you might find some paintings depicting a short sleeve. They actually did exist. You just wouldn't be likely at all to catch an upper class person back then walking around in one alone. ;) ALSO, sometimes false sleeves could be pinned in to an outfit, making it appear to have a second, long sleeved tunic underneath. It's a handy "cheat!"

The bottom line is that these are the MODERN medieval times. We do what we can, what we want, and what we must. Just make your best effort to hide the modern, and that is the most important factor.

Particular for men, remember one thing -- a BELT is typically the difference between making a tunic look like a tunic, and not a dress. A plain black or brown leather belt works great! Contrary to how we normally wear belts with the O ring, a standard belt with a buckle was actually period. But, we do wear the "Ren faire" look all the time, too.

Here is my basic tutorial on how to make a T-Tunic. Making your first T Tunic

In summary, what you'll want to do is get some fabric for a tunic, then get out something that fits you like a loose t-shirt to use as a model for cutting out the first tunic. After you've created the first one, you can more easily cut future ones by this first tunic as the template.

The fabric is best to be something of a natural fiber that will breathe easily, like cotton or linen (linen can be pricey, though; linen blends are ok too and cost less!), and NOT something that will make you be hot and that won't wick away moisture from your body, which would be "modern" fibers like polyester.

You can make a Viking apron or a surcoat to put over your tunic if you'd like.

[Non-SCA Site Links for Garb] --

And yes, men wear tunics too! When you're not familiar with medieval clothing, you might think of ALL medieval men's wear as all being pouffy and fancy. This is simply not the case. :)

• • Look at the man and the tunic photos in this great article to see. Getting Started with Tunics - By Jane Stockton [PDF]

  • Here is one tutorial I found on the basic type of a t tunic you could work on if you'd like to give it a try yourself. http://iollan.com/archive/rencester/new/tunic.html

  • Here is a great link - T-Tunics, the period way (was published in the Tournaments Illuminated publication)

Other things you can consider wanting --

Men AND women -- Cloaks are always a welcome addition to an SCA wardrobe.

The bog coat is another great thing to have for cool weather. It's one of those things that's easy to hand stitch, if you don't have access to a sewing machine. You'll just need to find some basic stitch info to make one, or ask around and we can hold a class for it to help out. (In this photo I have on a bog coat AND a liripipe hood)

These are worn by both men and women.

The liripipe is an easy staple item to make for keeping your head warm, which can be a must when it's cold out. There's not much to sew here. It's very worthwhile to make one!

These are worn by both men and women.

Want to go viking? Get some good info here! http://thorsonandsvava.sccspirit.com/viking_resources/index.htm

You can make a tunic for Roman wear, or for Viking wear. Here's a how-to:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/7528211/Tunics-Step-by-Step

Guys Of course, there are women in medieval history who wear pants too, but I labelled this under the men's section, as that's most common.

For pants, you can wear plain pants - even scrubs pants - plain ones, in natural colors.

You can wear those plaid flannel pajama pants. No, really!

Viking leg wraps at the bottoms also really add to the effect.

go down to "Garb: where to begin" http://www.anduntheine.org/BB_0707.pdf [PDF] to see some of these in action. (Actually, there's a lot of nice info in this too)