(Exhibit A, c. 470 BC, rocking some utilitarian pants and long sleeves and what appears to be Greek-style linothorax body armor.)
…and we all know what I did next. I googled the hell out of that shit because Amazons in pants. And armor! If you don’t know why that got me so excited you probably haven’t read my post on sexily functional women’s armor yet. And what I found was not only more pants…
Including these, and I will explain in another post why I think they may be armor pants, but also these…
Oh, yes. If you’re going to wear pants to stay warm and prevent saddle-sores, as many a Central-Asian cavalry culture does, you might as well wear stylin’ pants. But it gets better.
Here we have a reconstruction of statue of of a Trojan archer wearing Scythian clothes. Chemical analysis of paint residue on classical statues has revealed that they were, in fact, gaudy as a ‘70s rally (this is also true of medieval churches and other buildings), although this dude is spectacularly obnoxious.
That’s right, folks. The original Wonder Women were glamazons.
This diamond or zigzag pattern is the most common one on most of the images I’ve looked at (and there are HUNDREDS, it turns out), and I have an opinion about that, but it’s not the only one, because no girl wants to show up to battle looking just like everybody else.
Here Antiope wears a striking linear pattern, with some polka-dots to break it up–but is she as into their relationship as Theseus is?
At the Amazon-Greek mixer, the boys brought no interesting fashion to the party, but the girls were on point as always! Here another polka-dot look, there zigzag pants, and what may be tattoos on the lady just left of center, while the one on the far right looks to be rocking either a zigzag tunic or scalemail body armor.
Hipster Amazons, wearing leggings and dresses before it was cool, with a fun diamond mix. Shouldn’t you look as sharp as your sword?
An axe blade is a chunky accessory–complement it with big patterns and designs to emphasize your bold look.
This boss lady is stepping out against Theseus and Rhoceus in a sort of front-closing jacket and skirt affair, adding another layer to a great look.
This girl knows her diamonds-and-dots front-closing bodysuit look goes perfectly both with both her triangle skirt and her Spear of Ass-Kicking.
Bold borders are the perfect way to make a statement as you rain down death and destruction.
A solid strip of color right down the center lengthens your lines and makes you look even taller and more menacing–not that you need the help!
Multiple weapons? Check. Multiple layers? Check. Multiple patterns and colors? Check and check!
These two trend-setters enjoy a break from the action in elegantly draped ensembles, one sporting both a belt and a crossover chest accessory.
Match a flowing minidress with over-the-hell leggings for comfortable, durable activewear–and by that we mean asskickingwear, of course!
Great both in the saddle and on foot!
There’s plenty for the girl who prefers a more form-fitting approach, too!
*grizzled war veteran voice* do you remember when real men wore skirts and the Trousers was Barbaric… when wearin’ a tunic with jeggings was visual shorthand fer pure Wildness
I am working on a larger post about pants and the SCAdian culture that says ladies have to wear dresses (spoiler alert – you don’t).
In the meantime, have some Period Glamazons with pants and leggings.
Can we PLEASE stop telling new or interested women in the SCA that they can’t wear pants? And don’t you DARE play that, “striving to be historically accurate” card on me. It is perfectly accurate for women to wear pants! And besides, it’s not about WHO is wearing the garb, it’s about the garb itself.
There is no restriction. You are welcomed and encouraged to wear whatever period and style you have an interest to wear!
If
the persona you wish to play wears pants, then by all means wear pants.
If you as a PERSON are more comfortable in pants, then wear pants! As
long as you are making an attempt to have the garb be period, then you
have met the expectations of the SCA.
Okay, so to start, these are pretty fun. They look like starfish!
A wild hennin has appeared!
Ahem.
I looked in Google Books for henins*, and the only references to the “triple-horned” variety seemed sketchy – meaning they didn’t have citations. it looks like the origin of this image and concept is from a variety of ladies journals from the 1880s. Yay Victorian myths about 15th century clothing.
But just in case, I reached out to a newly-minted Laurel who is known for her hats. She didn’t know of anything, nor could she find any solid research for this type of hat.
Sorry. 🙁
It looks like we’ll have to keep looking for ideas for 15th century Staryu cosplay.
*Google Book is a great place to start research, by the by, since it searches the full text of a book, whether you can see those scanned pages or not. It helps you refine terms and points you toward possible sources. I kind of adore it.
My hat is off to you as you continue your research into fancy headgear.
Yeah, research into East Asia is difficult because of the language barrier – and that’s just the beginning. Japan should be a little easier than China, though.
So with my initial Google searching, I found this website with a variety of publications written in both Japanese and English, which may be helpful.
My next step would be to look at museum collections.
The Tokyo National Museum has a 14th century pouch that has braided cord: [Link].
The Portland Art Museum had (at one point) an exhibit on Samurai that featured some kumihimo. They cite a book, but also feel free to reach out to the curators for more information: [Link]
Don’t limit yourself to the search term “kumihimo.” It’s translated most often as “braided cord” so don’t be afraid of using that term, especially in western museum collections.
Lastly, connect with other SCAdians who do Japanese crafts. There is a Facebook group for SCA Japanese, so someone there might be able to help.
I reached out the the SCA Garb group on Facebook for more information about the Irish Overdress and a little bit of an SCA History lesson.
First of all, the proper name for the “Irish overdress” is a Shinrone gown, which dates from the 16th century. Reconstructing History has a pattern [link].
Some of the bits of the history lesson are quoted below. I have removed names, since the group is closed.
“’Irish Overdress’ was a RenFaire misinterpretation of some of Lucas De Heere’s prints of Irish Women which was adopted and stuck because there was so little to go on and so little research into Irish clothing. The Shinrone gown has some similarities in appearance but is of a much more complicated construction.”
One such print by Lucas De Heere.
Shinrone gown
Lady Sorcha Dhocair inghean Ui Ruairc’s packed on Irish women’s garb: [link]
A note on drawstrings and pleated sleeves as relates to the leine: [link]
The Honourable Baroness Ceara Shionnach of Burbage House’s information on Irish clothing: [link]
I feel it is important to mention that the “history lesson” part of the discussion included points that one should wear what makes one comfortable, how the SCA culture has changed in regard to authenticity, and not scary new people away. If you want to throw together some garb that can do double duty at RenFaires and SCA, or if you’re trying to stock your Gold Key with something quick and easy, then the “Irish Overdress” that’s available in commercial patterns easily found at your local craft store will work. If you want to portray a 16th century Irish woman, maybe do some more research.
Most modern chest-high shirt were made with two piece of rectangular fabric, sewn together on the side, but leaving some portion on the top separate. The design was inspired by andon bakama but the vents are not visible when worn as the top of the skirt should be overlapping.
The dressing process:
Historically, some skirts did have very visible splits. Hence, the outer chest-high skirt was mere decorative, unlike today’s skirt, which is the actual layer that functions to cover up the torso properly. They were mostly from late Tang.
One of the cons of using this modern cutting for chest-high skirt is that it is possible to made the front piece longer than the back piece so that the length of the skirt is just right for the both the front and the back of the body. This is a modern concern, as seen above, those ladies doesn’t seem to care that their skirt was touching the ground.
Hope this answer your question! Do contact me if you have any more problem.
Tang stuff – one of my current research bits is the wrap vs. split skirt.
