Pictures either directly from, or edited from "Medieval Costume and Fashion" by Herbert Norris, information paraphrased from the same source.
Background courtesy of
Lords and Ladies! We have prepared pictures and descriptions to enable you brave souls (or role players, to whom this kind of thing comes naturally, not to say you aren't brave either) to attend our wedding in attire suitable to the reign of William the First. He won't be attending, the bride and groom don't want to be outshone as he can afford to bedeck himself with gems, and they can't. Besides, he was a bastard.
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Any strongly coloured, unpatterned fabric may be chosen, with the exception of black, as that is the colour for widows, no pale colours, as they didn't make them, and fluro colours which obviously haven't been invented yet. Neither has polyester for that matter. It is not necessary to choose fabrics that are "in period" though you can if you like, nor is it necessary to wear medieval undergarments. No one is going to see them, because our wedding will not the time or the place for showing off in that manner. If you really get into the swing of things and decide to make yourself a set of medieval underwear, good luck to you, we'll all be impressed. There are plenty of websites with patterns and descriptions. -Overgarment shall be floor length, slightly tailored to the figure. Green was a popular colour. If you choose to make an underdress, it was usually off-white and can be made from the same pattern as the overdress, but a little tighter fitting so it will sit properly. -Cloaks may be worn, these shall be floor length and consist of a piece of semi-circular fabric, attached across the shoulders with cords. -Head coverings were worn by all gentlewomen, as to forgo this item was to gain a reputation one didn't deserve. It is made from a rectangular piece of fabric, wound around the head and shoulders. -Widows dressed much the same way though they wore black, a colour avoided by other women, and wore a white wimple instead of the headcovering described above. -Young girls dress the same way as their elders, but may wear their hair loose, with a wreath of flowers or in a snood. If you like the snood idea you can have a look at Lady Mac Snood's. I'm not saying you should buy one off her, but you'll get a good idea of what style you like, then you can do a search for a pattern. You can try here. It's a .pdf file so be patient while it loads. |
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Colour and fabric choices are the same as for the ladies. Any strongly coloured, unpatterned fabric may be chosen, with the exception of black and fluro colours. They didn't go in for pale shades. Favoured colours appear to have been red, green and blue. Of course, it is not necessary to choose fabrics that are "in period" though you can if you like. Medieval undergarments are entirely optional, no one is going to see them, because you are all to gentlemantly for that sort of inappropriate display. -Tunics shall have tapered sleeves and shall reach just above the knees, made by using the pattern from Cynthia's website. -A leather belt shall be worn. -Cloaks made from a square, circular or semi circular piece of fabric may be worn at knee length and fastened with a brooch. -Hose shall be worn on the legs, instructions found here. Hose was usually made from wool, more or less like tights. You probably don't want to wear tights, so you can wear trousers, not trackies or jeans, with chausses. These are modelled by the Saxon guy at the bottom of this page. They are the things wrapped over his legs, made from cord or leather strips. -Boys shall wear the same as their elders. |
Babies were commonly wrapped in swaddling bandages, though you can dress them as described for adults if you so choose.
Shoes for everyone follow the same pattern. If you want to make your own, go right ahead, there are pattens to be found elsewhere on the internet. I assume you don't want to, in which case leather shoes should be worn.