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(this is what I tell eeeeeeeveryone on the big Viking email/fb lists, so if it looks familiar, it is!)
So, the "top of the mountain" is to appear as a medieval person, 100%, from the skin OUT, everything perfect :)
IN the SCA, there are two places people start. FIRST, let's talk about "I haven't picked a mountain yet" (if you already KNOW what time period and location you want to re-enact, skip down to the first horizontal line)
If you haven't picked a mountain yet, then you are in a place that consists of "wow! lookit all these cool time periods! I wonder which one I want to concentrate on? I have no idea! I want to **TRY A BUNCH OF THEM AND SEE WHICH ONE I WILL CONCENTRATE ON IN THE FUTURE**".
Here we have people who are trying out different clothing (for comfort, fit, etc), and different cultures (both past-cultures and within the SCA). That's GREAT!
IF you do not know if you will continue in this time period, then here is my "recipe for success" for "trying out" being a Viking Age Scandinavian
For MEN:
1 linen tunic, about knee length, in a pale color
1 pair of cotton (not flannel) pajama pants from the thrift store
1 small blanket
1 wool hood
1 pair modern wool socks
1 medium size penanular brooch (should cost you about $10) in plain brass/bronze
For WOMEN:
1 linen tunic, unbleached or white, ankle length (keyhole neck)
1 wool shawl (otherwise known as a small wool blanket)
1 wool hood
1 pair modern wool socks
1 medium size penanular brooch (should cost you about $10) in plain brass/bronze
1 apron dress (get a hand-me-down or borrow one for a while is best!). If you live in a hot place, sew one out of an old cotton sheet. If you live in a cold place, find some wool yardage and make a wool one. Safety pin your straps in place on the inside of your dress
That's right, NO pins, NO BEADS. We'll get to why later :)
The above list should cost you about...$50 total? AND almost all of it can be used in dressing for DIFFERENT time periods/cultures. Here's an illustration. Early in my SCA career, I was on retinue a LOT. I once needed to have a Mongolian persona for an investiture ceremony. I reused my Persian pants, a short undertunic from an experiment on Saxon clothes, and sewed myself a del from weird orange linen I had lying around. When I needed to be German Ren, I sewed a servant dress out of brown wool that I can change around for about a...300 year time period by changing out the accessories (sleeves, underdresses, aprons, and head-coverings). I can dress as a mid-period woman by using my apron from that german ren dress with a tunic and a wimple.
MAKE STUFF YOU CAN USE FOR LOTS OF THINGS.
Then GO CAMPING! See if you HATE this dress :) See if you LOVE this dress! Are you too hot? Too cold?
ADD things that can be re-used, borrow things, EXPERIMENT until you are happy :)
ONLY once you have camped in your clothing for AT LEAST one season (two is better) do you start looking at making/getting some nicer stuff. And don't worry about accessories for a WHILE. Get REAL CLOTHES that make you comfortable, and able to do all the activities you love! That's the PLAN, right? Be able to do fun things?
Okay, let's talk about the other path.
THIS is the one for reenactors AND/OR people who 100% know what time period/culture they want to do. I have a not-my-apprentice who started in the SCA BECAUSE he wants to do Roman stuff. So he doesn't own any medieval stuff...because, like...why?
If you KNOW that you want to have a Viking Age Scandinavian persona, then START HERE!
The plan HERE is to start with high quality items you will be able to use for the rest of your life. No getting an entire wardrobe of cotton and then having to replace it, that's a waste of time and money.
Here is my BIG HUGE POINT :)
IF YOU ARE POOR, THEN BE POOR.
The stuff on the first page of the museum...those people were "casually buy an extra Learjet" rich. If YOU have that type of income, then go for it. I have been an utterly broke student my entire SCA career, and you know what, my wardrobe reflects THAT. I have been a PEER for...almost 15 years. It was within the last five that I was able to close all the layers of my clothing AT THE SAME TIME, and I only got that many pins through the great generosity of a friend.
SO. How do you go about being, erm...lower middle class? Because I am VERY comfortable at events! I have layers for cold, for hot, I have shoes and socks, I have a pretty dress to wear to court...
Now, we do LAUNDRY at events, because we don't have endless clothing!
So, you need two shirts/underdresses. Linen, natural/unbleached. I'll post some places to buy that below.
(sidebar, GET A SKILL. If you don't have money, you can TRADE the things you make for things other people make, grin)
Okay, so a nice linen underlayer plus the following:
For MEN:
1 pair of linen (or wool if it is cold where you live) pants
1 small blanket/cloak
1 wool hood (for rain/sun/etc)
1 pair naalbound socks
1 pair VA shoes
A narrow leather belt with a plain buckle
For WOMEN:
1 overtunic. Wool or linen depending on where you live. Plain weave wool in a pale or sheep color (light blue is your friend!, as is light green, any shade of brown, grey, black, white, or anything pastel).
1 small blanket/shawl
1 wool hood (for rain/snow/etc)
1 pair naalbound socks
1 pair VA shoes
That penanular, unless you are good at woodcarving.
A wooden bowl, a spoon, and you are READY TO GO!
Okay, so, now where do you GO FROM HERE?
Add things IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER:
For MEN:
Second linen shirt/undertunic
Second pair of pants
Wool tunic
Heavy/weatherproof wool coat (close with belt)
A shoulder bag
A small, plain knife (no pins in handle)
Another pair of socks
Wool pants
Leg bindings
A nice belt buckle
A NICE drinking vessel (glass, ceramic, etc)
Add silk trim to one of your wool upper body garments
A nice hat
For WOMEN:
Second linen undertunic
WOOL tunic (ankle length)
Headcovering (scarf or dublin cap)
Heavy, weatherproof wool coat (close with safety pin on inside)
Small coat (wool or linen, knee length)
A small brooch (trefoil, round, equal armed) to fasten coats
A shoulder bag
2-3 NICE beads
A small, plain knife (no pins in handle)
Another pair of socks
START SAVING UP DOLLARS THIS WILL TAKE A WHILE
....
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(still saving)
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...
...
BUY APRON BROOCHES
An apron dress (either wool or linen depending on your local climate)
A second small coat
Snips to hang on your brooches
A third underdress, this one bleached for FANCY times
A second apron dress
3-5 NICE BEADS
Another coat brooch
Throat brooch
Third apron dress
More headcoverings
Front panel
3-5 NICE beads
Add silk strips to one of your existing wool garments
The POINT here is that you keep playing, you keep camping, you keep HAVING FUN this entire time you build this wardrobe. And you do all that in clothes that you can keep wearing, that you will still love in ten years, and that don't cost that much money.
"pppft!" you say "clothing is EXPENSIVE!"
I say "hie thee to the thrift store!"
If you live in the PNW, go directly to the Washougal Pendleton Outlet, do not pass go. If you live in a large city, see if you have a Goodwill Bins (everything that doesn't sell in their retail stores, by the pound!). Start haunting your local thrift stores. LEARN TO DO A BURN TEST. Carry matches or a lighter in your car. I would say...75-80% of my wardrobe is made of fabric from a second hand store. And by fabric, I mean yardage OR blankets OR curtains OR garments I took apart ETC.
SHOP ONLINE.
Look for sales. combine forces with a buddy or 12 and buy a bolt, clip coupons, keep each other appraised of good deals. BE WARY. A great deal of things labeled as "linen" online ARE NOT. Learn to do a burn test.
Fabric.com
Decent stuff, expensive unless on sale. Keep an eye out for sales :)
https://www.fabric.com/apparel-fashion-fabric
Grey Line Linen
Nice stuff, decent prices
http://www.mcssl.com/store/gray-lines-linen-inc
FS
Good prices, but linen tends to be a little lesser in quality
https://fabrics-store.com/?r=products/FabricSelector&article=3
Ebad fabrics
http://ebadfab.com/ebad-fabrics-1/
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