Build a Medieval Capsule Wardrobe (Men's Edition)
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2024
- Medieval fashion and clothes can seem overwhelming if you're new to it. So many manuscripts with so many garments and so many colours! And don't even start me on hats, hoods, chaperons, coifs, and other headgear! Where do you start if you're new to re-enactment, living history, or even historical LARP?
Well, you start by grabbing the essentials, and this video will hopefully give you a brief look at what the essential pieces of Medieval fashion are! From the end of the Roman Empire through the Viking Age, the Norman expansion, right up to the Renaissance, these few items will be very useful if you're new to reenactment and want to be able to fit in at just about any event based on Medieval Europe!
So, get on your tunic, pull up your hose, tighten your belt and braies, and maybe find a coif, which you'll probably want between 1200 and 1400!
And remember: if it's hot, there's literally nothing anywhere that says you can't just wear your linen!
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The tunic stain is why we scream in horror when people don't put a chemise or anything under their corsets. RIP Renaissance Festival corsets everywhere
"Mum, Jimmy is back from the shops, and brought treats for us!"
😂
This!
Just make sure you have a nice and warm woolen cloak, in case the geothermal heating pipe to your Viking village gets destroyed by a volcano.
Sounds like you're telling me that I need a vast collection of brooches before I start time-travelling? Im dying at the mental image of someone jumping through eras, stepping out of the portal or whatever and immediately swapping the brooch on their cloak.
Women|s medieval capsule wardrobe let's go! 😍
Clothes like this appeal to my autistic desire for an everyday clothing 'system'. I have a deep desire for a small, repetitive wardrobe that I can still do most things in. Most clothing makes me uncomfortable and sweaty.
So it's not just me, then. I keep working on this idea, and right now my system includes cotton t-shirt with leggings (which vary in weight with the weather) for base layer, jeans/flannel for top layer and a sweater and hooded raincoat for when I go outside, adding a hat, scarf and gloves if it's really cold (I can store them in the pockets of the raincoat with my wallet, keys and phone). I've gone through two winters with this combination, but when it gets really hot outside I'm confused as to how to dress - I fall back to t-shirt and skorts (I have two. they are both black). Thankfully that's only a couple of weeks in the summer, here.
A nice addition to the kit would be a linen coif. They're simple to make and can be worn throughout the middle and later centuries of the medieval period. They can help disguise a modern hairstyle or dye job, piercings, and large earlobe holes.
Very handy later c12th onwards!
I would like to add-especially because you have so much of it in your kit and it might give the wrong image-that diamond twills are not a very common fabric for most of the medieval era, and the ones we get today seldom look like period examples thereof. For a more representative and versatile choice, use a plain diagonal twill for hoses and either the same or a tabby weave for your tunic.
Sure, plain weave is more common. Yes we do have literal scores of diamond twill, and mine’s a replica, but plain is best as a generic weave for all periods!
I'm not a reenactor, I just wear vaguely medieval looking clothes to the fantasy fair. I was intending to upgrade my kit with a cloak. I have looked at various cloak making tutorials, but your plain rectangle actually looks really good as is. So I guess I'm gonna save myself some work and just get a big rectangle.
And a lovely brooch and you'll be the envy. 😁😁 Makes sense it mus have been simple.
Just a piece of advice, if you can, make two under-tunics! That way you can air out the one and wear the other. Helps on longer events.
☝️
i wore a cloak when i travelled to the city last month because it was cold and bitter out. got nothing but compliments. this was in the northeastern US. point is that if you want to wear a cloak just wear a cloak.
I do, I wear my dark green fleece cloak whenever it’s cold. And sure sometimes I get jerks yelling things like “Harry Potter!!” Jeeringly out of moving car windows, but sensible people give me compliments.
@@angelcollinapeople will harsh on the stupidest things lol
@Angelcollina do you zap them with your wand as they pass? 😈
@@cathyjackson7248 nah, unfortunately they caught me off guard
*A children's clothing edition would be cute too.*
That is basically cut down adult clothing once the get walking.
Not sure what age you’re looking for, but @OpusElanae has a munchkin and has shown a full capsule wardrobe for Tornado🌪️
See: adults but smaller!
We have a saying in my group: "Dare To Be Common." It's not terribly hard to put together a basic outfit/kit especially if you're dressed as a common and lower class person like 99.9% of the population.
It's kind of incredible to me that people today have forgotten just how great medieval cloaks were. Even Edmund Spenser's bigoted attempt to argue that the 16th c. Irish mantle should be banned illustrates how useful they were:
"for it is a fitt howse for an outlawe, a meet Bedd for a Rebell, and apte Cloke for a theef. First the outlawe being for his many crymes and villainies banished from the townes and howses of honest men, and wandring in wast places, far from danger of Lawe, maketh his mantle his howse, and under it covereth himself from the wrathe of heaven, from the offence of the earth, and from the sight of men. When it raineth it is his penthowse, when it bloweth it is his tente; when it freezeth it is his tabernacle. In Sommer he can weare it loose, in winter he can lappe it close; at all tymes he can use it; never heavie, never combersome. Lykewaise for a Rebell it is as serviceable; for in his warre that he maketh, if at least it deserve the name of warre, when he still flyeth from his foe, and lurketh in the thicke woods and straigt passages, wayting for advantages, it is his Bedd, yea, and almost all his houshold stuffd. For the wood is his howse against all wethers, and his mantle is his cave to sleepe in. [. . .]
And as for all other good women which love to doe but lyttle woorke, howe handsome it is to lie in and sleepe, or to louse themselves in the sunne shine, they that have bene but a whyle in."
(excerpt from: A View of the present State of Ireland by Edmund Spenser written 1596)
Having made one myself, I can confirm that they are great lying around in and doing but little work.
So nice to hear someone else support cloaks as general outerwear. They really are lovely. Like wearing a blanket.
If you haven't tried already, try washing your shirt with some dish soap and hot water. Then line dry it. Itll break down those pesky oils that regular laundry detergent won't touch. And as Bernadette has said, add some bluing to counteract the yellowing.
Would love to see a women's version of this set up, maybe an interview with a lady or feminine reenactor. I'm also a little curious about gender neutral garb but I'm of the impression a tunic, a cloak and shoes can be very neutral already
When my friends took me to a Viking reenactment in Finland, the outfit they helped me make was basically this but with a longer tunic, so I think you’re right. I ran out of time because the card woven belt took so long, so it was good the tunic was longer so I could get away with non-traditional underwear.
It’s on the cards! Generally I think my reenactors who aren’t gendering go for the generic tunic and hose look. Gender in the past is a complex and highly culture specific subject, but tbh most groups will be fine with you wearing whatever you feel most comfy wearkng :)
@@TheWelshViking as a person who has since come out as non-binary, I would definitely be going for a shorter tunic these days :)
Just do a 13th century impression - everybody wears long garments there. ^ ^ And then give yourself some nice long curls and nobody will be able to tell if you're a man or a woman.
At least in the manuscripts you can usually tell the people apart only by their hair length and headdress.
To get the odors out of your linen, try stripping them like you would a cloth diaper. Get really hot water, because linen can accept hot water, and then add one part vinegar to four parts water. Agitate and let it soak. Considered doing it in a stock pot on the stove if you can't get it out with just regular hot tap water. Maybe ask Bernadette?
All excellent suggestions I’ve used in the past!
Just keep in mind that organic acids (like vinegar) attack cellulose-based fibers (like linen)- It might lead to a faster degradation of the fabric over time.
I have one of those drawstring bags that I keep coins in.
I will now never be able to pull it from my pocket and not think, "scrotum". This is your fault.
Sigh.
Nalbinding socks will set you back a bit more than 15 quid Jimmy, unless you have a generous friend. Let's not underpay our craftspeople! Also, laughing at you flashing your underwear at the public!
Or unless you pay in goods and services, Lyndsay. Money ain’t the only remunerative mechanism!
@@TheWelshViking Oh absolutely, I'm a big fan of the barter system :)
"Everything you need to attend a re-enactment event..." Does it include something to deal with the hangover, and the sore throat from singing?
What great history lesson.
Hair of the dog, but with honey.
To clean the manky linen, boil it with washing powder and washing soda for about half an hour. Do it again if necessary. Works pretty well.
Can't wait for the ladies kit
“I love my baked bean shoes” 😂
I regularly lament that I can’t wear my beautiful navy wool cloak out and about. I’ve promised my family that when I get too old to care I am going to wear it all the time. They are not thrilled.
Love your channel Jimmy, and looking forward to the female styled get-medieval-dressed-with-me! X
Just start now, life is to short to wait for the fun
Wear it!
Oh noooo! I exclusively run around in cloaks. People just ask where I get them. So much fun! Also, I hate sleeves.
I’ve been wearing cloaks since my early twenties. 62 now.
Why do you care so much how your family reacts? They should love you for YOU, and if YOU are wearing a cloak, then so be it! Life's too short. Wear the cloak.
Signed, a fellow cloak-wearer.
for your linen undershirt may I recommend laundry bar soap, its quite potent and has a little bit of a bleaching effect, and heck if it was good enough for my nappies it will be good enough for that tunic
Justice for nålbinders! 20 quid for a pair? I would need to get a LOT faster. The pair I'm working on are York stitch and they are taking aaaaages! I must say though, as a spinner etc, is there much nicer than the smell of real wool?
Exactly, that's not even close to even minimum wage payment! There's a lot of work in a pair of handmade socks.
Can’t wait for the ladies’ edition! 😁 You make this topic so interesting - thank you.
Getting the linen white can be helped by leaving it out in the sun (and rain, no joke, let it sit in the weather for a few days on the line and it should bleach it white without actual bleach) :) You can also get out stains by leaving them in the sun covered in lemon juice and bleach. You may need to top it up a couple of times but it works (even on blood). This is only for white fabrics or ones you want to be white, mind :)
Wow. And it is more difficult to make into thread and weave than cotton (apparently but I'm no expert). But what a wonderful cloth.
Sun: isn't that how they bleach it originally as well? Tough stuff linen. 👍👍
By the power of the internet we can bring cloaks back to those who want them :)
Headwear? Would love to hear about that, especially across social status and centuries. Looking forward to the women’s capsule!!
Looking forward to the women's kit! Would love to see some close-ups of the fabric, too, to get a better look at the material and stitching.
That is a great point. The weave on the wool and the stitching.
I really want to get into medieval reenactment, but I keep getting stuck on one thing: how to make my service dog fit in while still being visibly a working service dog that shouldn't be pet/distracted. (it was not intentional, but my boy is mostly Norwegian Elkhound, so at least he's not a modern breed). You don't have to answer, I'm just really curious about other people's ideas
I imagine dogs accompanied their owners while working from time immemorial. Most dogs must wear a license of some sort depending where you are. So I'd use a very plain leather collar/harness to hang the minimum necessary credentials. It may be a bit hard to find a plain enough kit. Should be doable though as events need to be for everyone. Perhaps hang a plain clay tablet with Working Dog engraved in the clay from a plain leather collar?
make him a cover for his harness? I think an embroided 'service dog/do not pet' on linen would be cool… or a leather one if you work with leather. In any case, act like he belongs, whatever he's wearing, and I think everyone will swear he fits right in. Goooood boy 💕
First and foremost? That's your :service dog:. He doesn't :need: kit, so don't let that stop you. I've seen service dogs at events, and they just looked like service dogs.
Now. When you're ready, you can choose to kit out your dog in a relatively medieval way. I had done a bit of research for my boy, who just loved events and people (not a service dog). Most dogs with wealthy owners had leather collars, and some were intricately decorated. You could for sure have a simple leather harness, and get a decent sized metal nameplate with "service dog" on it, for the body part of the harness. Or even just a pocket with a clear plastic pouch in front.
As a service dog, there's no medieval equivalent, so there's no way to blend him in, so to speak. Not without compromising the fact that he's there to work. So honestly, don't even worry about it. The reenactment community is pretty forgiving for medical needs. Just get out there and have fun!
I’d make a linen or leather coat with “service dog” embroidered or painted on it.
Yeah, although not as big as a pupper, I’ll definitely have to bring in my little pouch my super authentic, viking age inhaler. 🤣
Good morning @thewelshviking, I’m a recent big fan from Seattle, US. I just want you to know how much you have inspired me to get into historical reenactment. I have contacted my local barony with the SCA and I’m in the (very slow) process of making my kit. And I wanted you to know that you have opened my eyes to the truly plasticky, artificial world we currently live in! I had a basic knowledge, I’ve done cross-stitch and other fiber crafts for a long time now, but it was searching for the material for my kit that I realized that my local craft shops were virtually useless! No wool, 100% or otherwise, no linen at all (except for some of the fabric for cross stitch), not even the thread! And I had a very overwhelming moment standing in the middle of this giant store, shelves stuffed full of stuff, nearly in tears because I couldn’t find a single natural fiber to buy. (And that was ignoring the qualification of “natural dyes.”)
So thank you! Even though it was an uncomfortable truth, it was a good lesson to learn.
Welcome to the SCA!
I agree. It's a sad state. The biggest stores around me have yarns with wool in their names and maybe 20% in their products. I've had the best luck with small Mom and Pop shops for yarns and thread. Joann Fabrics is really hit or miss for linen. Sometimes I get lucky and they have something that isn't a blend.
One surprise was wool roving at one of the local farm stands. I don't really have the time to spin, but I was so happy to see it available I almost bought some anyway 😂
I understand the feeling of standing in the store and not finding natural fibers, it’s so hard. I usually end up buying yarns/fibers online, although for yarn specifically I really recommend finding local fiber festivals so you can hopefully find not only pure wool or other fibers but also locally sourced wool! It does tend to be pricier but in my opinion is so worth it
Ah, you're from the Barony of Madrone. I'm just South of you in Blatha an Oir.
@@sugarcoatedgoggles Ahh! Good to meet you!
You can wash it with ash/soda and lay it in the Summer in the grass. It will get whiter and that is historically correct 👍
Great tip!
Yes! Evidently green grass off-gasses enough oxygen to act as a legit oxi-bleach if you leave the clothes laying about long enouth, especially when catalyzed in the fabric by sunlight.
I love how simple the early northern euro medieval period looks in terms of clothes. But I live in Texas so I’m stopping at the linen level because I don’t want to suffocate 😂
Though I do have a cloak in case it rains and my lovely turn shoes
Great vid!
I've found that linen lining to light wool helps create an a/c effect in warm weather. Obviously only up to a point, but for *mild* Texas weather it should be fine.
Go for double linen to keep the sun off properly and keep sweat from soaking through.
@@greghenrikson952nice, didn’t know that!
@@lucie4185that’s a great idea 😮!
Awesome video and very helpful indeed.
Looking very much forward to the women's kit. Can you also talk about hairstyles under a veil there? Or how to wear your hair in one of those Brigitta caps? I've been wondering about that for ages.
About your underwear. I feel like you should be able to get it fully white and clean again.
As mentioned before washing it at 90°C and using Soda (washing soda, so Sodium carbonate works best) and maybe bleaching the linen wet flat on the ground in the sun, as it was done historically? Just in case you want to get it clean again. Or using one of the "laundry stripping" recepies all over the internet ;)
Okay, I'm not in the hobby but who is selling nalbind socks for 20 quid?? That sounds like vastly underselling their labor unless they're making super chunky socks in oslo stitch. Last time I checked, I think I can make a pair of mittens in very bulky yarn in about 6-8 hours; granted, I don't do this for a living so I probably haven't hit a good making-to-sell production speed, but sheesh. In the UK, you'd need to make each sock in just under an hour and not charge cost of materials in order to pay yourself minimum wage and charge that price.
Yeah, he clearly has someone who gifted them to him, or at least gifted him a very low price. 20 quid is absolutely NOTHING for a pair of nalbinded anything.
Just been on Etsy and found five sellers doing them for €25. Also, people who are charging for materials as it’s being done for fun/who are getting a service or other item in return. Purely financial reward isn’t the be all and end all. These were meant to be free until I insisted. They were made as hobby practise during public displays. It’s doable. Not common, but doable.
If no one is marketing their leather goods as "beer scrotum" pouches already, then people are just leaving money on the table. 😆
For the record, evidence suggests Victorians didn't have any significant hangups about ankles-- we have etiquette books advising you to gather your skirts to walk up and down stairs and such, fashion guides warning you not to buy skirts that are too long or they'll drag in the muck.
We even have their pornography, and it's not really a focus (unless you count legs in general, but that's not unique to them). Not to mention the fact that children wore short skirts and working class women wore above-ankle dresses, so at most longer skirts are a sign of adulthood and upper-class leisure and ~refinement~, not so much modesty at the sin of ankle-having.
They are full of shit about medieval history, though, so they deserve plenty of shade for that.
And the Victorians were deft at creating 'ghosts' in their photographs as well as porn. Nothing new then! 🤣🤣
Thank you.
Alrighty, so, I've been told that pouches big enough to fit my phone in are Absolutely Not Allowed because there are no finds of pouches that large and that I need to have a shoulder bag. I am fine with the concept of a bag when I wander off, but I'm not going to have a bag over my shoulder all day while I'm crafting in camp because either it's in the way, constantly falling off or forcing me to contort my shoulders to keep it on, so I'm probably going to end up making a secret under-skirt phone holder. Because I am fine with having it *switched off* but no way in hell am I leaving the thing that runs my life in a vehicle on the other side of the site where it might be stolen hours before I know anything about it.
A pocket slit in a seam with an 18th century style tie on pocket might not be correct for the Medieval period, but is convenient for things like phones. At need, if you don't want slits in your seams, you can simply hike the hem of whatever overgown/tunic you're wearing up to reach the pocket if you really need to get to it, as long as the pocket is over your undertunic. If I'm going that route, I'll put things that need to stay on my person, but I don't necessarily need during my day in a pocket under my gown, and then have a small belt pouch on my belt for things like cash and ID that I will need to get to. Shoulder bags or baskets are for things like lunch, eating utensils, etc.
@@ericajones3817 exactly. Am thinking I can probably make some sort of thigh holster for the -ing thing which doesn't show.
I mean, we absolutely have finds of pouches that large in Ireland but ok. If they’re insisting then you could maybe make a big leather book bag à la the Irish or Pictish finds? That way you can plop it down but have it nearby in case of emergency? Just a thoughty think.
@@TheWelshViking Ah but who am I to argue with the authenticity police? I think when I raised it before I was told the finds are out of period or the wrong area for who I'm meant to be or... I dunno. Anyway its the putting it down that's the problem. Put it down by feet for ease of craft, turn around to stop some MOP kid sticking their hands in the fire, turn back, bag gone, don't notice for an hour because ADHD and anything I can't see right then might as well not exist... also not keen on leaving stuff in the chest if we're wandering off, because it's not like those locks are hard to open... I'm pretty sure I can make something that'll strap to my knee and remain fairly well hidden.
@@RandomAFP Any chance of a hat style big enough to secret a phone pocket into?
The mentioning of the scrote reminded me of when me and my bro went to a medieval market, and my brother was gleeful over keeping his purchased bag of roasted nuts in his new leather scrote ("pung" in Swedish which also support the wordplay).
Okay, I've been thinking about your stinky shift for three days now and THAT'S NOT WEIRD OKAY. Fine, it's a little weird. But! Wouldn't it be cool to try launder it with period methods, to see how those work on something heavily stained? Lye it, boil it, beat it, rinse it, wring it out, dry it in the sun? Usually when we see that (on YT or in recreations) it's on lightly soiled clothes or clothes that are relatively new.
I’d be particularly interested in seeing lyeing (with all safety precautions!) because lye plus grease (fat) makes soap which should make it easier to rinse out at least
@@Wombletron right? I make cold processed soap at home, but I don't make the lye out of wood ash. I wonder if that would change something?
Love this idea as a way to learn more about the period. While I make naturals dyes and wood stains and have done a lot of hand dyeing of wool, linen and silk in laundry tubs, I've never tried recreating natural laundry techniques. I think you just gave me new hobby.
When I was in uni I knew a medievalist who wore a blanket as a cloak in the winter (and it was typically a cold, snowy winter there). She liked it much better than a modern-style coat. The funny thing is, she didn't especially stick out with it.
I wore a cloak and cape in university, too. Still do, 30 years later. Same cloak and same cape. I've had to replace the lining on the cape, but other than that, it's the most versatile and sturdy of my winter garments. They don't even look worn.
@@elfieblue3175 Oh, I never considered that, but it makes a lot of sense! No seams to strain.
I've seen any number of people who are visiting Maine from warm climates, particularly Africa, just wearing blankets.
Your video came at the perfect time for me, I just recently started dancing in a medieval dance troupe and was looking for garments I could potentially make myself as well :D
I wonder when people invented the curly (fully round) needle so you could knit a tube without a seam?
13:15 i for one am single-handedly bringing back cloaks, thank you very much. Woolen wearable tents are very practical in my damp Seattle climate!
Cloaks billow and flow. You can't ignore anyone sporting such a great statement piece.
Plus you can hide your face, so fab for introverts. 😊
It makes a lot of sense that commoner dress changed very little over time while the aristocracy had ever changing fashion, because they had money to waste on buying or modifying their clothes into the latest fashion. But ironically today at least in the west; this has weirdly been turned on the head; common people buys fast fashion crappy clothes that are designed to wear out soon so you have to buy the next crappy fashion in a couple of years making at least every decade easily dateable; while the everyday fashion of the conservative rich (or those who want to appear "posh" or "preppy") is high quality clothes that lasts much longer (or cheaper imitations of the same style for those who want to fake it) and have barely changed in style at all the last 100 years beyond very minor changes. The hemline of skirts go up and down a bit, and the lapel size and how tightly or loosely fitted the clothes should be has changed back and forth a bit; but I'm sure if you dressed up in period accurate preppy clothes from 20 or 40 or 60 years ago, as long as you chose a size that matches the current preference in looseness you'd have to look very close to notice that it isn't preppy clothes from today.
Admittedly the rich also has the "haute couture" fashion which started out as very fancy "aristocratic looking" clothes but rapidly changed into some sort of mad competition about making the least practical and most insane unusable costumes; those have changed all the time the last 100 years, but most rich people don't really wear them most of the time anyway and since they are so random you probably would not be able to tell if to completely different crazy costumes were from the same year or 40 years apart.
The rich today are not dressing like the rich from 1920, or 1950, or even 1970.
@@verybarebones Yes, of course, not all the rich fashion...
Maybe it's regional or maybe it's just that I can't tell the subtle differences because I'm not deeply into their fashion; but I'm thinking of the style that is often called maritime or nautical, with white or light colored pants or skirt and navy blue, pastel blue, pastel pink or striped tops/shirts/blazers. For the men: often a light colored knitted sweater mostly worn as a cape with the arms knotted in front rather than actually worn normally. Medium length hair combed straight back; and maybe even a captain's hat or similar if actually out sailing (or at least close enough to the coast to smell it). Clothes that are accented with knotwork, etc. In the colder periods: dark blue down jackets on top of blazers, very plain but expensive cashmere scarves that most of the time is worn trown in a very deliberate loop around the neck that doesn't actually keep the neck warm; or if it's _really_ cold fastened by making a loop and feeding both ends through it in a way that doesn't look comfortable or elegant in my view. Deerskin gloves. For young men rarely a hat or cap despite their ears being frozen deep red (mustn't mess up the slick back hair), for older men that value comfort often a rather odd looking knit cap that doesn't actually match the rest of the outfit; either some way too thin sporty variant or a big fluffy one with a huge pompom. The more flamboyant men will sometimes also wear a silk neckerchief which is the only part of their outfit that has any vibrant color.
(Btw. this is the everyday/leisure wear of the "old money rich"; or those that pretend to be. The first or second generation rich dress way more flamboyantly and experimentally.)
There's also the fashion that seems like a younger relative of this fashion (but this only dates back to maybe the 70s or so?), clothes that are similarly plain and boring in palette, but less refined cuts. Lot's of college sweaters, t-shirts, jeans with often very visible brand names and logos (and the more they are pretending to have money the less discreet are the logos; the extreme end of this is what's called "chav" in Britain); clothes that seems vaguely inspired by both maritime fashion (in color palette) but also old college sportswear. And while the brand markings themselves of course date the clothes if you know them; it's still the same idea as in the 80s with huge lettering, logos repeated in patterns, or if it's actually high end, only one small logo faintly visible near chest pocket area.
At least to me that style of fashion, seems largely completely unchanged at least dating back to 1980-ish; and the more conservative maritime style, looks almost identical with what "Arthur Hastings" in Poirot would wear in summer back in what is supposed to be 1930's or so. Unless you carefully study the exact cuts and materials (and ignore the meter wide lapels of the 70s and the for some reason too large but also too short sleeves blazers of the 80s), it's rather hard to definitely say which decade these clothes are from.
For a pair of nalbinded socks I would ask for at LEAST 30 quid, and that's if I were completely desperate. Nobody seems to understand or care about how much work actually goes into historically female work.
Preach!
I mean these were originally free until I insisted, from a fellow member of the hobby community who wanted to do them as practise on a living history display. It isn’t always a job, and I, as a former textile professional, definitely do care about remunerating crafters fairly.
@@TheWelshViking I get that there’s a lot of trade, gifting, and discounts within the crafting community, and that’s certainly not what I take issue with. The problem is that it comes across like you’re suggesting to your audience that 15-20 pounds is a fair full price to pay for nalbinded socks. Most people aren’t going to understand the work that goes into something like that and just take your word for it. For those of us who DO sell them, this only exacerbates the issue of people angrily DMing us about our “unfairly high” prices.
Braies before hose, gentlemen 😉
Excellent 😆
👏
I'm in love with the cloak. Obviously a very balanced weave, as I can't tell what's warp and what's weft, but the way the light plays on the green and brown is outstanding. It's gorgeous.
Cloaks *are* awesome! 😊 I have a very historically inaccurate velvet cloak I made ages ago. I made one for my husband out of flannel which he commonly wears around the house when he's chilly or wants to do a Palpatine/generic dark lord impression. I also have an earasaid, but of course that's from a later era. Still warm, though.
I'd say at 10 - 15 years old with heavy staining, maybe some gear needs to be replaced, but honestly, clothing was expensive back when, so it's probably pretty accurate for someone from the lower echelons of society to be running around with tons of patches and some staining. If they couldn't launder the stains out, would they have just gotten some appropriate plants & redyed the clothes to make them last longer?
I use a later period hooded cloak with a canvas or other tightly woven fabric and lined with polar fleece as I’m allergic to wool even if it’s washed.
Ooh that’s rough! Yes definitely make concessions for material used to avoid getting a rash because your skin hates the thing. That’s completely understandable and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was the occasional person back then who had to do the same for the same reason. But yeah, breaking from perfect accuracy for the sake of your health is the right thing to do
@@TheiaofMeridor I had one ages ago that I made with a lovely fake sheepskin lining and denim shell. I could toss that puppy in the laundry as well as use it for a blanket as opened up it covered a queen bed.
We are all allergic to wool too as a family. How we survived to the modern day I don't know, I guess lots of linen under garments. And all woolen stuff well lined. I can't even do fur. I would never survive in ice age Europe...
Love that I was just thinking that I would pop a comment about how to make this video use full fore women and he had allready thought about it. 😂👏
Having clothed my husband and 3 boys for our medieval reenactment fun. Oh yeah, i totally agree with this.
We do that 2 week long event in the eastern United States each summer. This is basically how i kept the boys in clothes when they were younger. Linen tunic, linen undertunic, and pants. And i was able to do hand-me-downs with them untill they hit the teenage years. Though I didn't go for naalbind socks because they grew too much and i did plain pajama style pants in linen since they weren't going to do hose. And the best part about linen was I could throw it into the washing machine it. Yes I did have to finish the same somehow but it was tough and stood ip to the boys.
I'm so excited you're in that secret undisclosed Italian location!! I hope it's for a fun reason (and perhaps we will get a video??) :D
I hope we hear about your adventures in the not named city. Thanks for the tips for a general medieval kit! What about headgear? Looking forward to the ladies version.
If you don’t want to wait for Jimmy’s take on it, Opus Elenae has a nice video for that
Headgear is usually very dateable, so I don’t bother with it for generic stuff. Also usually in earlier images men go bareheaded so 🤷♂️
Thank you. When a person devotes most of their attention to survival (or any passion) wardrobe can be very, very basic.
You may have already tried this (or you may not care since it's an undergarment, and an old one at that), but I recently got sweat/skin oil stains nearly that bad out of my linen shift by putting it through the wash with hot water and a half cup of baking soda. It looks practically new now, aside from 12 years worth of patching.
This works if people have pre-shrunk the fabric before making it into clothes. I wash my linen fabric five times in hot water before working with it, so if it has to go in the wash later it won't shrink.
I would probably add a simple belt knife, both because they were super common for basically 1000 years and because they are really useful tools at an event (probably why they were so common in actual history). I reenact both early medieval and American Revolution, and my medieval belt knife and 1770's pocket knife are my most used bits of kit for both periods.
That sounds good, and it would be fitting :) But we have very strict knife laws in the UK that would mean that this isn't really possible in a lot of situations.
@@Nyctophora Good point. Maybe a (sigh) plastic one?
I look forward to the women’s kit video. ❤
"Get yourself a key scrotum!"
Excellent. Really excellent. I will be remembering that one!
Dont forget leg wraps. Linen in the summer and wool in the winter. They are shown in much early and late medieval art. They are shown on the Bayeaux Tapestry.
They are! But they aren’t as versatile as just hose and fall out of fashion with a bump in the 12th century, which is why I don’t mention them
here :)
Looking forward to the female version 😊
That opening killed me! 😂 *sigh* ... grin, "Hi!" 🤣❤
Great video as always. I can imagine your vids are doing a great job getting people comfortable with attending their first reenactment.
Personally I would always prioritize having a very simple little period knife as well. They're so ubiquitous and just add that little something that takes your garb from generic to personal.
the ankles....it also was not a thing in the victorian era. it seems to have been a story that originated from one source, a text written by a conservative and not have been a regular cultural practice.
brb, doing shinies research... ya know, in case reenacting ever happens... ✨️
Remember if you go alone and don't tell anybody your name they're all strangers to you
I'd be very interested to see you cover the uses of tablet woven bands or straps... or garment decorations in general. Thanks for providing the best content- always informative, entertaining, and endearing! Cheers from across the pond!
Such a comfortable and practical wardrobe. I like the stain on the hose because it’s sort of living archeology - and we know or can suspect everyone’s hose was stained the same way.
Since having my hip replaced, I have to wear supportive shoes -plain dessert boots do well as an alternative starter shoe (and old lady post op shoe). Love the cloak!
I heard that braies may also have been breech cloth. Also, after you do the women's clothing video, can you do a video on how best to combine the two for non-binary people?
Absolutely agree with you on the cloak! I can't believe they aren't still used. I now use my cloak in my day-to-day life and have even made another cloak out of modern patterned fleece. I haven't worn an actual coat in 3 years 😄
looking even cuter than usual today! and thank you for the men's kit rundown
You were in Venice?!? If I'd known I'd have bought you a drink, I live half an hour away!
Very useful video for someone who wants to start putting together an authentic but versatile kit, personally I really appreciate the simplicity of it but that's just my taste, I don't like flashy clothes.
Ah! Next time we’ll grab un’ombra! :D
@TheWelshViking Aha I see you know the jargon! Of course!
It's making me giggle that apparently "naalbind" is a term instead of just saying needle binding. It feels like a small bit of revenge for all the times I can't remember the Swedish word for something, only the English.
It's kinda funny trying to figure out how to use English to refer to this type of textile! Older translations tend to use "knotless netting" or variants while newer stuff is fine just using a loanword, but the problem comes when you need to conjugate things. (I keep wanting to say nalbinded but don't yet speak one of the languages we're borrowing the term from and pull back from using it in case I'm making a linguistic travesty).
@@stellaluna6421 to be fair, it's so rare here too, that I'm not sure how I'd conjugate it in Swedish. I would probably just say "I'm making/I made X with nålbindning." The word isn't even in the Swedish dictionary, so at least in Swedish the conjugation is up for grabs. But I mean, naal/nål is the same word as needle and bind is (obviously) the same word as bind, so feel free to just conjugate in English. :) "I naalbound yesterday".
The original basic kit video was still one of your best, anyone who hasn’t seen this, go find it 😂
For my linen gambeson I use sun bleaching in the summer and deep freeze in the winter to keep it from getting funky.
🤔 interesting
I bought a cashmere sweater with holes in it to wear around the house. I lanolize it when I wash it so it's pretty much waterproof. But in between I'll throw it in the freezer or over a heater
Aaaand today we discover that Jimmy is ok with flashing people 🤣 BTW, is interesting to see the male side of clothing! Enjoy Italy… basically eat whatever you can of the local cuisine 😋
when you were talking about "tight fitting hose".......reminded me of the pictures you see of King Louis IV....guess he loved showing off his legs......😉😉......so this type of tight hose lasted for awhile in fashion, etc.........thanks...
A well formed leg on a man in that time period is basically the equivalent of cleavage on a woman nowadays. He was basically showing off.
agreed..........thanks for the info@@TheiaofMeridor
The colouring on the hose is relatable, even though I don't do Middle Ages. 😂 I wore my Moravian Wallachian socks in my Moravian Wallachian shoes ONCE and they already got brown on the sole. 😅 (Have since worn them more times.)
Excited to see the women's version!
best distraction to take a break from my phd thesis x.x
Back to work you! ;)
You could try to bleach your under tunic on a meadow on a sunny day while spraying water all over every 30 minutes or so. Wash it with filtered plant ash before bleaching, rub the fabric over a smooth flat stone (maybe not for frail fabric)and beat the whatever out of it, using a wooden paddle. For very awful spots you can use bile to soak. That is the historic way. Maybe the sorry state will change a bit from oh no to tolerable. I have visited a medieval laundry station called Cefalu wash house in Sicily. The stones had very smooth surfaces after centuries of rubbing the laundry on them 😊
The start of the video was quite mysterious! And to add to the fun, we get to see Jimmy-sewn Viking kit. (Did I use that word correctly? I learned it from you!)
I get the question as well and now I can just point to this video.. (I direct them to your channel anyway😊)
Takes me back to my SCA days now-decades ago. Early medieval ftw!
15 £ for a pair of hand made socks!?! That poor crafter is starving in their little hovel shared with 12 people. For regular knit socks it takes 20 hours to make them on knitting needles . Nailbinding is much slower. This is why i don't sell my socks. They are an expensive gift to family and friends. My multi coloured socks are the equivalent of $300.
I am a knitter also and so was my mum. She used to knit and donate socks to her church sales and they would charge $45 for a pair and she always commented on how the cost did not reflect the time and labor. But labor didn't used to count as cost like it does now. I only knit for family and friends, although I have been asked to knit selbuvottor for people I always tell them I couldn't charge what it takes to make a pair of patterned socks or mittens.
I don’t sell anything handknit, I know for a fact I’d be too insulted and it’s better as gifts anyway 😅 (of course only for people I truly love, if I gift a knit the likelihood that I’d sacrifice myself for you is extremely high lol)
@@susanohnhaus611 I have donated lace shawls and I suggest that they raffle it off. That way they get a lot more money for it.
I did knit hats and scarfs for charity but it was to give them away to people who needed them. They went to shelters of all sorts and before covid we would simply hang them on fences and tree where poor and or homeless people were. At that point I was living where it frequently went below -30c as a high for the week so a hat and scarf made a huge difference.
Nope. They were charging for materials and also received other services for their lovely socks. Money isn’t the only reward for time ;)
@@TheWelshViking thank you for letting us know. I agree that money isn't the only reward. I have been happy to barter my art work and sewing for other goods and services. We have all been hounded however for refusing to do several days of work for $20.
It is surprising how hard sweat stains are to wash out my old Karate uniform has sweat stains that I could never get rid of
You've just explained the origin of the colored belts
@@apcolleen the belts pressing the uniform to my skin is what caused the stains really
@@kateflanagan9355 I meant the story of why you start with a white belt and end up with a black belt in martial arts is that the color belts represent how your belt will get dirtier overtime. At least that's how the story was told to me
@@apcolleen lol it is bad luck to wash your belt. That's a lot of blood to get red and brown. I don't want to know how you would get green 😬
Thank you, I find it's been difficult to find a lot on men's clothing and most of what I find on women's clothing is all about the big fancy dresses, which are fine if you're a display piece but I at least find dresses really cumbersome to actually do much of anything in, and unless you were the very richest of medieval ladies, you had Stuff To Do! I am working on a kirtle , as the prototype I made actually works pretty well but I don't think it's something I want to wear underneath my battle armour. And I'm always trying to find something period-accurate (or at least period-adequate) to cover my head during fight demonstration days with when I'm in full plate and not helmeted, I'm really sun-sensitive and noting looks right.... I'm seriously contemplating going full on anachronistic and making Mel's Pretty Floral Bonnet from Firefly... I've even bought some almost appropriate fabric.
After that b-roll of strip stacking the kit, I was half expecting a stinger of you trotting around in your braies. 😆
Don’t tell anyone, but I had a singlet on as well because it’s baltic here!
Don't know if you'll see this, but (though I'm not sure when it started being used historically) laundry bluing would help revitalize that tunic a bit. Very popular in Victorian and Edwardian laundering. And allows my very sweaty self to have a light colored wardrobe.
Bernadette banner did an episode on that
Very much a modern invention, but yes true
plsss I want a tattoo that says "Thorir carved these runes" or "These runes were carved by the man most skilled in runes in the western ocean" That could be so funny
17:33 You were discussing tight fitting _vs_ loose fitting hose, WHAT ABOUT THE DOG SNIFFING THE FOOD?!! 🤣🤣
Looks like a Lab but obviously they weren't around then. 😁😁
Before you were making videos I swear I couldn't find this information ANYWHERE. So, thanks for filling a real need!
I would love to find a crochet stitch that mimicks nalbinding. No disrespect to the craft but jesus is it inefficient as a method - I see why it died out so quickly as soon as something quicker came along. So many yarn joins. So much spit haha. You were definitely given the "friend discount" for those socks, as others have said.
I think you might have more luck with a knitting stitch there. I believe that for older goods they often have to look very closely to see if it's needlebound or knitted because with the fine texture the techniques can look similar. Crochet always has a very distinctive texture in my opinion. And I really cannot think of any stitch that would give you a needlebound impression.
I am having wool envy right now. Living in the southern US, finding wool fabric can be difficult especially nice ones like you've got. I love a basic kit like this because it makes doing events so easy. Shiny, fancy outfits are nice but sometimes a good basic wool tunic just fits the look. Thank you for this video, I know I'll definitely be sharing around.
Burnley and Trowbridge sells some decent wools.
@@wanderingspark Yes, that's where I usually order from. I just dream of a place close by I can get touchy-feely with the fabrics before I buy. 😄
Thanks Jimmy. The basics are always good to know.
The belt and pouch is pretty much a medieval fanny pack and I really dig it. I love fanny packs. I wonder if that sounds funnier in Europe than it does in America.
Heheh. Fanny.
Impressive how slow fashion changed then. It's a very nice wardrobe but it's giving me ideas. We should bring back the cloak in all it's historical goodness! I will need a hood for that cold north wind!
What about headwear? Is that a common thing to have? I know a few of the things that were common like plain caps or hoods, but were they more or less common than wearing nothing?
It’s so dependent on the dateline that I didn’t include it, doing headwear generically can be a pain, but maybe a future hat specific video!
I've been to the York Viking featival 10th century traders fair today, it was great. I was in York by chance!