Dec 28 2008
Historical Garb and Accessories
Over the years, I’ve observed and purchased a lot of historical pieces for specific outfits and events. Researching the historical accuracy of clothing is actually a very large undertaking, and enthusiasts often run into a few problems, including
- Research time - as in there’s a large amount of it involved
- The historical fact/truth doesn’t match what they wanted. This rang true for my amazing Irish heroine outfit, which belongs in a fantasy novel more than in history!
- The construction of the attire is very costly and time consuming.
The best way to avoid these problems is to go right to a person and/or business who knows the facts. Here are a few tried and true resouces to help you out.
Reconstructing History. Kass, this company’s proprietor, is truly a researcher. If she doesn’t know the answer to your question, she’ll find it. Kass is particularly resourceful regarding historical Irish clothing, a favorite area of mine and a topic which would otherwise have a void in the historical garb community. RH sells historically accurate garments and offers information on how to make your clothes using genuine materials and dyes.
The Society for Creative Anacrhonism (SCA). If you have the time and energy to research historical garb, these folks can help you. Your local SCA chapter will help you make a basic tunic to participate in events until you are ready to make something more reflective of your historical persona. Be forewarned–the SCA is particularly notorious for having a lot of sticklers, so don’t go to them unless you are seriously committed to being historically accurate and to the letter.
Premier Designs Historic Clothing. If you’re interested in owning an Edwardian or Victorian gown, check out PDHC. Please also consider researching undergarments in particular if you have an interest in this subject.
Here is an example of a well-researched piece from this era, including undergarments. I’m amazed that she dressed herself in this–for costumes this complex, I usually call in another person!
This afternoon I’m helping my son research historical clothing for a school assignment. It’s really hard to find photos or drawings of vintage clothing for specific examples. All the links I google are for vendors or thick books. Anyway, I stumbled upon your site and really enjoyed your video. You are an awesome seamstress (if that’s the correct term)! What a wonderful and educational demonstration! I knew that women of this era usually needed help to get dressed, but not much detail about this process. This was so fun and interesting to learn about each piece and all the research, skill, and labor went into the project.
It made me want to dress up, too, like a when I was a little girl (I’m 45 now!)
When you did the twirls in your skirt, it looked like so much fun! Thanks for putting some enjoyment to this tedious task :)