Best Dressed Maidens

What To Wear To Your Next SCA Meet

My lens for anyone seeking Renaissance garb to wear to the next fair. So wither you want garb to wear every day, or garb to wear just long enough to pass of as Renaissance so you can accompany someone to the fair, or just want to be a Medieval princess for Halloween, I have done the searching for you and listed the items here on this lens.

Created: February 17, 2008
Last Updated: May 23, 2008

Medieval Tailor's Assistant: Making Common Garments 1200-1500

by: Sarah Thursfield

Amazon Price: $39.95 (as of 11/21/2008)
List Price: $39.95
Used Price: $31.90

Release Date: 12/31/1969

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Dressing For Ren Faires

Renaissance Fairs have been around, in one form or another, since the 1920's. They did not become very common until the 1970's, though they were still few and far between. In recent years however, they have been showing up in more and more places, and it is no longer hard to find a local group, or at least a group that meets near you.

While a few groups allow spectators to come in and look around while wearing "street cloths", most groups have a very strict policy of: No Garb, No Admittance.

Garb, is what they called their cloths at a Ren Fair. They do not call them costumes, because simply put, they are not costumes. The garb worn to Ren Fairs, more often than not, gets worn several times throughout the year, often on a monthly or weekly basis. For a few of the most devoted members, their garb is their street cloths and are worn every single day.

While the average Ren going usually makes their own garb, often using historical fabrics and techniques in order to maintain complete historical accuracy, not every one knows how to sew and not every fair going is devoted to historical reenactment, enough to bother. Many goers are spectators who only came because a family member is going, or they just want to buy some things from a merchant, that they could not buy outside of a Ren fair. Some are new to Ren Fairs and haven't had time to sew their own garb yet.

Whatever the case may be, it is not always possible to make your own garb, or you will not be waering it enough to warrant the time and money it takes to make your own, and for those of you fitting this category, you will want to consider buying your garb already made. This however, can poise a problem for many, as you can't exactly go to WalMart and tell them you need a red tunic, a black corset, a muffin hat, and a padded bumroll. The average person will not even know what a muffin hat or a bumroll is, and when you start asking around for such items, they'll think you are nuts.

Searching on Google will not be much help to you either. You'll get thousands of sites, most of them irrelevant, and you will end up closing Google in frustration, because there is too much irrelevance to mush through to find what you are looking for.

And that is why I have made this lens. I have found two places to be a reliable source of garb: Amazon and eBay. So wither you want garb to wear every day, or garb to wear just long enough to pass of as Renaissance so you can accompany someone to the fair, or just want to be a Medieval princess for Halloween, I have done the searching for you and listed the items here on this lens.

Already Made Costume Sets:

Medieval Maiden Renaissance Costume Dress Party Outfit

Amazon Price: (as of 11/21/2008)
List Price: $74.99
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Release Date: 12/31/1969

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Blue Velvet Maiden Princess Adult Small/medium Costume

Amazon Price: $49.95 (as of 11/21/2008)
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Release Date: 12/31/1969

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Womens Costume Renaissance Beer Maiden Bustier Style Tavern Wench Party Outfit

Amazon Price: (as of 11/21/2008)
List Price: $65.24
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Release Date: 12/31/1969

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Womens Renaissance Maiden Dress Halloween Costume

Amazon Price: $194.99 (as of 11/21/2008)
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Release Date: 12/31/1969

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4Pc Renaissance Maiden Lady Includes Headband Dress Apron & Bodice by Leg avenue

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Release Date: 12/31/1969

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Renaissance Gowns on eBay

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Tudor Tailor: reconstructing sixteenth- century dress

by: Ninya Mikhaila

Amazon Price: $34.30 (as of 11/21/2008)
List Price: $35.00
Used Price: $24.50

Release Date: 12/31/1969

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Boots

Leather Renaissance "Hunter" Boots

Amazon Price: (as of 11/21/2008)
List Price: $194.95
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Release Date: 12/31/1969

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Renaissance Boots on eBay

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Costume Design: Techniques of Modern Masters

by: Lynn Pecktal

Amazon Price: $21.86 (as of 11/21/2008)
List Price: $29.95
Used Price: $17.50

Release Date: 12/31/1969

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Costume Design 101: The Business and Art of Creating Costumes for Film and Television

by: Richard La Motte

Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 11/21/2008)
List Price: $19.95
Used Price: $11.27

This book provides a real life, in depth look at big league studio costume departments with an eye toward explaining what's involved, including costume design theories, department operations and management, from supervision to set labor, fittings, locations and more.

Release Date: 12/31/1969

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Hats

Muffin Hat Medieval Garb

Amazon Price: $33.95 (as of 11/21/2008)
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Release Date: 12/31/1969

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Renaissance Velvet Hats

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Release Date: 12/31/1969

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Costume Designer's Handbook

Costume Designer's Handbook: A Complete Guide for Amateur and Professional Costume Designers

by: Liz Covey, Rosemary Ingham

Amazon Price: $26.55 (as of 11/21/2008)
List Price: $29.50
Used Price: $12.22

Newly revised and updated, The Costume Designer's Handbook is now more comprehensive than ever and is the backbone of any costume designer's library since its original publication in 1983. Features of this new edition include:

* a foreword by Arvin Brown, Artistic Director of the Long Wharf Theatre
* guidance on how to read and analyze a play
* plans for establishing a costume plot
* insights into working with directors and other designers
* resources for doing historical research
* a discussion of the properties of color
* sketching, drawing, and drafting techniques
* an 8-page color insert
* 150 black-and-white photos, drawings, and charts
* a complete, up-to-date reference section

The Costumer's Handbook (1980), the bible of theatrical costumers, has been out of print for a while. It is resurrected here in a much expanded version as two essential reference/hand/text books, one for designers and one for technicians. Both are superbly illustrated and contain both an extensive annotated bibliography and a lengthy shopping guide. The Designer's Handbook follows the process from script to production, also offering contains a chapter on the profession. The Technician's Handbook begins with setting up a costume shop and goes on to such topics as safety, fabrics, pattern-making, con struction, fitting, dyeing, and sections on hair, hats, and accessories. Both titles are required purchases for theater collections.

Release Date: 12/31/1969

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Adult Brigadoon Renaissance Wench Costume

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Release Date: 12/31/1969

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Mel Bay Cantiga's Renaissance Festival Favorites

by: Robert Bielefeld

Amazon Price: $16.50 (as of 11/21/2008)
List Price: $25.00
Used Price: $14.79

Players of all kinds of instruments including flute, fiddle, mandolin, recorder, whistle, guitar, harp and more can use this collection of music which is popular at modern renaissance festivals. The music is presented simply, with melody lines and chord symbols, allowing for a wide range of interpretation. In addition to many period dance tunes, the book contains a selection of vocal numbers with lyrics included. Each selection is accompanied by text to suggest ideas for performance, place the music in a modern festival context and provide useful information to those interested in studying historical sources of early music. Cantiga's arrangements of some of the tunes in this book can be heard on the companion recording. They are played at a listening tempo by the ensemble: Wooden flute or recorder, fiddle, cello, harp and percussion.

Release Date: 10/17/2006

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