Interesting developments

So I'm thinking of taking a huge step.

I want to make and sell some garb. On Etsy.





Not a lot. Just a few pieces. Test the waters, if you like.

I find there's a dearth of reproduction/recreation/accurate-in-any-sense-of-the-word clothing for the SCA or even for LARPers and Rennies. I want to develop a few basic cotes, kirtles, hoods, and body linens with the basic Nockert types found at this site. I'm trying to get my hands on the Nockert articles and books, but they are proving illusive to my ILL.

Carlson's site is definitely one of my favorite sites as far as collected information on basic medieval clothing that most medieval hobbyists wear. Very organized, very professional. I'm trying to find a way to do this without stepping on Marc Carlson's copyright.


I made a version of this gown last year for Val Day. I added sleeves to the undergown and left the original as a surcote. It's based on the gown of St. Clare of Assisi. There's not much information the Carlson's page about this particular gown, but the extant examples of some of the Herjolfnes kirtles and cotes are more in-depth and worth a look.

Obviously, making my own personal version of the gown is fine because I'm not selling it (plus I added an extra gore accidentally, thus changing the gore count of the gown). Making it up as-is and selling it may be on the sueable side of wrong. Even if it's not, I still feel uncomfortable selling something I haven't personally researched and thought through.

At the very least, I can use the Nockert types as proto-patterns to create a few gowns for myself and refine my own style (as I'm convinced most everyday medieval people did) to fit my body or the body of my customers.

This is assuming I will have any. Anyways, I need my gowns to use for pictures on the site so I can provide examples for buyers so they can order their own custom garment. I don't want to hold any stock and I'd like to be able to personalize each garment. I think it's important to have nice garb even if you can't sew.

I'm also using Etsy because they unofficially encourage barter as a form of payment, but also offer PayPal as a payment mode. For example, I really need someone who can do tablet weaving for me. My patience with it is very limited. I want more historical trims for these garments, or at least someone who I can send my customers to if they are interested in historical trims.

I can't tell you how tired I am of seeing crappy, unhistorical garments labeled as "SCA", "medieval", "renaissance", or any combination of the three on eBay and Etsy. It's a damn shame that so few options are required. Metallic and polyester trims make my eyes bleed. I want to give people a choice. Right now all they have is a choice between junk and more junk. I really hope I can influence the SCA community (at least, if not a wider audience) to go more authentic.


More work is going into this and you'll hear more from me to this end. Oh, and I was planning on offering versions done with a machine and versions done by hand, just so people would a have a choice. Also offering very simple embroidery around the interesting edges or the seams...or anywhere I guess...for extra, of course. And offering them in wool, linen or silk. I think that covers a lot of bases.

YiS,
Gillian


Picture from:
Carlson, I. Marc. Some Clothing of the Middle Ages Historical Clothing from Archaeological Finds. Last date edited. 1996-. Text html and digital images. Marc Carlson. Available: http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/cloth/bockhome.html. 24 January 2009