17th century 1

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17th century 1

Making Costumes by Marion Davies

There seem to be two trains of thought amongst re-enactors about costume.
One "camp' adhere to the motto that everything they use and wear must be absolutely authentic. They go to great lengths, and, sometimes, much expense, to achieve this, and certainly look the part.

The other camp is of the opinion that, if it "passes muster " and looks authentic, then it will suffice. This second idea does not mean that anything will do. Indeed they also work as hard as the first group to ensure they use the correct materials, and that styles of dress and equipment are of the period they portray, and also look good.

The Marcher Stuarts, who portray a 17th century mercenary group of soldiers and followers fall into the second category. They make their own costumes or buy from re-enactors markets, but not all costumes are hand stitched. However, care is taken to ensure that no machine stitching or other modern "give aways' will show.

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Materials & Colour

All materials used in 17th century costume making should have a high natural fibre content, e.g. wool or cotton. Don't skimp on your material. 17th century clothing , particularly skirts and breeches, were "baggy'.

Colours should look natural . Only vegetable dyes, which faded fast, were used, and poorer people wore cloth which had not been dyed at all. Undyed cloth can be cream, different shades of brown and grey.

Bright blues, reds, yellows and purples were very expensive colours to produce and, unless you are of royal blood or very rich, these colours should be avoided. Duller shades of these colours might be acceptable for the well-to-do man in the street.

Some good advice

Don't rush into things. Before you buy your material and make one cut with your scissors, glean as much information as you can, from other re-enactors, from books, the internet etc:

Where do you start?

Your first decision should be what station in life of your period are you going to fill. Will you be a lord or lady, military personnel, or perhaps of peasant stock? This makes a difference to the materials you will need to choose. It's fairly obvious that you won't need any type of silky material if you are of lower ranks. Colour will also need to be taken into consideration. Research the costume of the period yourself or talk to other re-enactors if possible. This will save you much time and, hopefully, eliminate mistakes.

Details

When adorning richer clothing, take care to not to use cheap looking braid or other trimming.

Make sure that buckles and buttons are of the period.

Feathers which were popular in the 17th century were those of the pheasant and partridge.

Respectable women wore caps (even under their hats).All children wore them too.

If you wish to trim any outfit with modern lace, you can make it look a more acceptable colour by soaking it in strong tea for about 10 minutes. Rinse it in cold water to remove the excess colour. You might need to try this several times before arriving at the colour you want (or leave it to stand in tea for a longer period). This method can be applied to linen and cotton which looks too white for clothes of a lower class person.


17th century costume for re-enactors