17th Century Scottish garb

[jason10mm]

Yeah, you are doing to die wearing 8 yards of fabric. I have a 4 yard long great kilt and it is a LOT of fabric to arrainge around you.

I'm using woodsheal's pic as a basis for my ren fair outfit as it is relatively cheap once you get the kilt and a lot of it can be hand made with only modest talent, plus at ren fairs in the south the less I can wear, the better

I do agree that I will look fairly shabby compared to other kilted fair-goers, much less the decked out hard core ones, but walk with some confidence and I have little doubt I will represent well. Just have to get that bonnet looking right....

[Ryan Ross]

For ren type of affairs, I prefer to dress in modern kilt and kit, just as I would if going anywhere else. My own reasoning is that I like to wear the kilt, but history is also very important to me (history teachere here), and I don't have a full set of late 16th, 17th, or 18th century clothing. So rather that wearing a mish-mash of clothing from different periods and contributing to the idea that the kilt is a costume or something that William Wallace would have worn, I go the route of wearing my normal, modern clothes.

All that said, I also agree that for some folks, the dress up however you want and just have fun approach is the only way to go. As has been mentioned over and over, this is not the place for true living historians to strut their stuff.

Yeah, you are doing to die wearing 8 yards of fabric. I have a 4 yard long great kilt and it is a LOT of fabric to arrainge around you.

I'm using woodsheal's pic as a basis for my ren fair outfit as it is relatively cheap once you get the kilt and a lot of it can be hand made with only modest talent, plus at ren fairs in the south the less I can wear, the better

I do agree that I will look fairly shabby compared to other kilted fair-goers, much less the decked out hard core ones, but walk with some confidence and I have little doubt I will represent well. Just have to get that bonnet looking right....

Sounds like a sound plan!

...but if you want the bonnet to look right, it has to be hand knit and felted.

[Nighthawk]

Sounds like a sound plan!

...but if you want the bonnet to look right, it has to be hand knit and felted.

This one is excellent!

http://jas-townsend.com/product_info...roducts_id=250

It's hand knit, felted, breathes well in the heat, keeps my noggin warm in the cold, and if you soak it in water and put it on, it acts like a swamp cooler! Oh, and it makes for a great Indiana McJones look:



I just about killed the guy who interrupted my nap...

[Ryan Ross]

This one is excellent!

http://jas-townsend.com/product_info...roducts_id=250

It's hand knit, felted, breathes well in the heat, keeps my noggin warm in the cold, and if you soak it in water and put it on, it acts like a swamp cooler! Oh, and it makes for a great Indiana McJones look:



I just about killed the guy who interrupted my nap...

I hate to disagree with you, good sir, but those bonnets, fine as they are, are cut and sewn, not knit and felted, and are not really authentic to the 18th century.

I prefer these:

http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org/knit_bonnets.htm

I love the tunic, man! That looks sharp!

But on this point, I couldn't agree more! Really awesome tunic, Zac.

[Nighthawk]

I hate to disagree with you, good sir, but those bonnets, fine as they are, are cut and sewn, not knit and felted, and are not really authentic to the 18th century.

I prefer these:

http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org/knit_bonnets.htm



But on this point, I couldn't agree more! Really awesome tunic, Zac.

They sure have a hand knitted feel to them! The weave is really loose. Maybe the cloth is hand woven... Mine is deffinately felted, though. I can tell by the feel... I felted a pair of Locharron hose once, and these bonnets have the same feel. So I'm wrong on the knitted part- not the first time I've been mistaken. Thanks for pointing that out. (I still like the way they look, though, and the price- so I'll stick with them. Nah nah! Especially given the fact that the ones at STM are over $100 after shipping! They preserve the illusion of being accurate, which is the thing I like best about them. They look good. They are, to be fair, fur trapper era bonnets.)

[Ryan Ross]

They sure have a hand knitted feel to them! The weave is really loose. Maybe the cloth is hand woven... Mine is deffinately felted, though. I can tell by the feel... I felted a pair of Locharron hose once, and these bonnets have the same feel. So I'm wrong on the knitted part- not the first time I've been mistaken. Thanks for pointing that out. (I still like the way they look, though, and the price- so I'll stick with them. Nah nah! Especially given the fact that the ones at STM are over $100 after shipping! They preserve the illusion of being accurate, which is the thing I like best about them. They look good. They are, to be fair, fur trapper era bonnets.)

Agreed and agreed, brother. I should imagine that the fabric is machine woven and then felted- a fine way to produce a quality fabric. And the bonnets are good looking.

As for the price of the STM bonnets, in all fairness, it takes about 10 hours to make one, and at a lower price, the orders were coming in much much faster than I could physically knit them.

[The Thirsty Viking]

But on this point, I couldn't agree more! Really awesome tunic, Zac.

Thanks guys... My Lady made the tunic for me and did the embroidery by hand. You cant see in the pics, but I am also wearing a pair of awesome blue Rus style baggy trousers (4 yards of fabric!) that she gathered and sewed for me, along with the hat and undertunic. Basically, everything in this garb was made by her except the boots and necklace. She will be glad to hear the work is appreciated.

On the subject of bonnets, I think they both look great. I actually used to wear a JAS Townsend one when I was doing Golden Age of Piracy reenacting. And I cant wait for my hand made one from Ryan!

[Nighthawk]

Agreed and agreed, brother. I should imagine that the fabric is machine woven and then felted- a fine way to produce a quality fabric. And the bonnets are good looking.

As for the price of the STM bonnets, in all fairness, it takes about 10 hours to make one, and at a lower price, the orders were coming in much much faster than I could physically knit them.

I am not saying that they're not worth the price. Quite the contrary. Just that I can't afford them... My group is, after all, nonprofit. So as much as I would love one of those bonnets, it's not in the cards right now. Maybe next year!

[Nighthawk]

Yeah, you are doing to die wearing 8 yards of fabric. I have a 4 yard long great kilt and it is a LOT of fabric to arrainge around you.

I'm using woodsheal's pic as a basis for my ren fair outfit as it is relatively cheap once you get the kilt and a lot of it can be hand made with only modest talent, plus at ren fairs in the south the less I can wear, the better

I do agree that I will look fairly shabby compared to other kilted fair-goers, much less the decked out hard core ones, but walk with some confidence and I have little doubt I will represent well. Just have to get that bonnet looking right....

The more "decked out" ones would be more along the lines of clan gentlemen and lairds. You will look more like the majority of the Highland population. Or you could even simpler! A tradesman's look:



Like Thirsty Viking, Cliff doesn't feel particularly comfortable wearing his kilt around the forge... That's actually the style I'm going to start wearing this year. It would really suck to spill leather dye on a kilt...

[Mark E.]

Yeah, you are doing to die wearing 8 yards of fabric. I have a 4 yard long great kilt and it is a LOT of fabric to arrainge around you.

I'm using woodsheal's pic as a basis for my ren fair outfit as it is relatively cheap once you get the kilt and a lot of it can be hand made with only modest talent, plus at ren fairs in the south the less I can wear, the better

Aw, shucks. Must be a short feller...I'm one of those 8-yard wearers, myself. 100 degrees in the Midwest down to 5 degrees in, well, the Midwest.

Realize also that you are at an event that never really happened in America, and, well, where else would folk wear such get-up?

Couldn't agree more with an earlier comment-the proper accessory always helps to shift picky eyes from any clothing issues you may have...


She is a ren-fair-EEEEEEE