My Current Project
May. 4th, 2010 11:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
melannen posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
sca_attireI'm going to be in an SCA wedding this summer (in about a month, so I really need to get moving!)
It's Tudor-ish, and since I'm a groomsman, I'm doing male garb, and since I'm not male, that means crossdressing. Which is yay, because crossdresing is fun. It also means the first time I've really worked with male period clothing beyond the very basics. I was given patterns from the book "The Tudor Tailor" (on which I now have Opinions), and I started with basic shirt and basic hosen. Since I decided to do them entirely hand-sewn, they're all I have so far - I'll be adding a green velvet and gold slashed jerkin, panes and a hat, and if I have time, a doublet and a bonnet.
Here's what I've got so far (ignore the low-quality pictures, I haven't played with a self-timer for ages):
The shirt is *hilariously* too large; I know it's meant to be large, but after trying it on, I put pleats in both the shoulders to bring up the shoulder seams by about four inches each, because I couldn't see how sleeves that started below my elbows were going to fit into a jerkin. And now the shoulders are weirdly heavy and I have to keep pulling them to sit right, though I think the extra bulk will at least help with the crossdressing thing. Also, I currently have hook-and-eyes on the collar and cuffs, but they are really annoying and not staying on properly, so any suggestions for better fasteners would be welcome. (All previous period shirts have had either drawstrings or nothing, neither of which will work on this one.)
The hosen were fun! I've never sewn anything that fitted to the legs before (the picture doesn't go down to far, but they have fitted feet), and the probably are a bit too baggy still (especially at the ankles) but I like them! Also, the codpiece is fun, though I have to remember that, no matter how well-suited it is for the purpose, I shouldn't use it as a pincushion when there are boys around. (I have also made a leopard-print one I can swap out. And am trying to resist the temptation to embroider a Green Man on the green one.) My main issue with the hosen is how to keep them up; the pattern assumes you will be tying them to a doublet, but unless I have a lot more extra time than I expect, I won't have a doublet, just shirt and jerkin.
And now, a question I would like to put to the community: does anyone know of any SCA or period in general resources for crossplay/crossdressing, and specifically, for period-or-close-enough breast binders?
As the photos show, I don't need much, and if I fit the jerkin right I may not need anything, but I would like to be able to take the jerkin off and still more-or-less pass, and currently, that only works from a distance.
I found a muslin/linen binder pattern for Civil War re-enactors (by going on an adventure through the wayback machine, or I would link) but that's all I've found. If I don't find anything better I might try making a modified version of that one, but I was honestly quite surprised that I couldn't find anything SCA-ish on the topic when I looked online.
...I am also thinking of getting my hair cut in a period men's style (I've been thinking of getting it short anyway for the summer, so why not?) but another thing I was surprised to not find was resources for period men's hairstyles. Any advice or resources, or should I just start looking for hatless portraits?
It's Tudor-ish, and since I'm a groomsman, I'm doing male garb, and since I'm not male, that means crossdressing. Which is yay, because crossdresing is fun. It also means the first time I've really worked with male period clothing beyond the very basics. I was given patterns from the book "The Tudor Tailor" (on which I now have Opinions), and I started with basic shirt and basic hosen. Since I decided to do them entirely hand-sewn, they're all I have so far - I'll be adding a green velvet and gold slashed jerkin, panes and a hat, and if I have time, a doublet and a bonnet.
Here's what I've got so far (ignore the low-quality pictures, I haven't played with a self-timer for ages):
The shirt is *hilariously* too large; I know it's meant to be large, but after trying it on, I put pleats in both the shoulders to bring up the shoulder seams by about four inches each, because I couldn't see how sleeves that started below my elbows were going to fit into a jerkin. And now the shoulders are weirdly heavy and I have to keep pulling them to sit right, though I think the extra bulk will at least help with the crossdressing thing. Also, I currently have hook-and-eyes on the collar and cuffs, but they are really annoying and not staying on properly, so any suggestions for better fasteners would be welcome. (All previous period shirts have had either drawstrings or nothing, neither of which will work on this one.)
The hosen were fun! I've never sewn anything that fitted to the legs before (the picture doesn't go down to far, but they have fitted feet), and the probably are a bit too baggy still (especially at the ankles) but I like them! Also, the codpiece is fun, though I have to remember that, no matter how well-suited it is for the purpose, I shouldn't use it as a pincushion when there are boys around. (I have also made a leopard-print one I can swap out. And am trying to resist the temptation to embroider a Green Man on the green one.) My main issue with the hosen is how to keep them up; the pattern assumes you will be tying them to a doublet, but unless I have a lot more extra time than I expect, I won't have a doublet, just shirt and jerkin.
And now, a question I would like to put to the community: does anyone know of any SCA or period in general resources for crossplay/crossdressing, and specifically, for period-or-close-enough breast binders?
As the photos show, I don't need much, and if I fit the jerkin right I may not need anything, but I would like to be able to take the jerkin off and still more-or-less pass, and currently, that only works from a distance.
I found a muslin/linen binder pattern for Civil War re-enactors (by going on an adventure through the wayback machine, or I would link) but that's all I've found. If I don't find anything better I might try making a modified version of that one, but I was honestly quite surprised that I couldn't find anything SCA-ish on the topic when I looked online.
...I am also thinking of getting my hair cut in a period men's style (I've been thinking of getting it short anyway for the summer, so why not?) but another thing I was surprised to not find was resources for period men's hairstyles. Any advice or resources, or should I just start looking for hatless portraits?
Re: Long comment is long
Date: 2010-05-05 05:41 am (UTC)Part of the confusion is that bride specified the codpiece was to be of the linen that matches the hosen rather than the velvet specified for the panes. (despite the photos in the book showing the opposite.) I suspect the bride's instructions were just a bit hastily written, but I'm following them to the extent I can make them work.
Ooh, pictures of alternate fastenings would be great! (Lack of explanations for how the fastenings work: another source of Opinions.) Maybe as a top-level post for later reference, too.
I've got used to tying drawstrings at wrists, so I think I'd be okay with ties, but I think I would definitely want some kind of reference on how to do them unobtrusively, because my default method would not be unobtrusive.
Re: Long comment is long
Date: 2010-05-05 03:52 pm (UTC)Ooh, pictures of alternate fastenings would be great! (Lack of explanations for how the fastenings work: another source of Opinions.) Maybe as a top-level post for later reference, too.
Hmmm. I don't think I would feel good about posting them publicly, as scans from a recent book (Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 4--it's all about UNDERWEAR and amazing)? I'll see what I can come up with.
Re: Long comment is long
Date: 2010-05-06 05:01 am (UTC)A BOOK ALL ABOUT PERIOD UNDERWEAR, though. omg jealous!
Re: Long comment is long
Date: 2010-05-06 06:48 pm (UTC)It is an AMAZING book. And it has color photos!
I think what I find most fascinating about it is that for a long time, there have been two or three ways of "making period shirts" floating around, but when you look at a larger sample of extant shirts, there are actually a lot more ways to make them, and a lot more pieces that aren't strictly rectangular/triangular than simplified directions would suggest.
Patterns of Fashion 3 covers outer clothing. Janet Arnold had measurement issues, too, so like The Tudor Tailor, it takes some fiddling to scale the patterns up.
The King's Servants has patterns specifically for working men's clothing in Henry's reign, although they could be modified for upper class. It's nice because it's so focused, although the patterns probably have the same frustrating aspects as those in The Tudor Tailor. Lots of great information, though!
Re: Long comment is long
Date: 2010-05-06 01:27 pm (UTC)Yeah, I didn't look too much into how the boys' clothes are supposed to work. (Had enough trouble figuring out the ladies' clothes.) If anything in my instructions looks weird, feel free to ignore them. Use thy best judgement. :)
(Oh, and I love the pictures!)
Re: Long comment is long
Date: 2010-05-06 06:48 pm (UTC)Re: Long comment is long
Date: 2010-05-09 12:41 am (UTC)...I will come up with something. It is at least good to know that it doesn't really matter if I guess wrong. :D