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Kapcon
XII
Kapcon
XII
Not all role-players are rich. Not all role-players want to spend lots of money on a costume they may only wear once. For such people, we are providing some suggestions on creating an appropriate look for little to no expenditure. It's easier than it may look!
A note to the purists, this is _not_ intended to describe ways of making authentic costumes, merely a guide to assist people in making something that looks good enough for the purposes of a three-hour game. However, we welcome additional advice on simple construction techniques or other items of apparel we haven't covered yet.
Yep, that's about the size of it. As you can see from the examples male dress, at least for those in the circles where the LARP is set, most men wore some form of hose, often topped off by a gaudy and frilly tunic or shirt
In general remember that patterned fabric is uncommon, and only limted colours were known, so go for mainly for primary colours, avoid modern colours such as steel blues ot pastels if possible. Men of rank in 14th C. Italy tended to dress more gaudily than their womenfolk.
Simulating hose depends primarily on how much of them you are going to show. If you are going to wear trews that go below the knees, coloured long socks pulled up and held with a garter of elastic may do. The elastic may also be used to make otherwise normal trousers bulge and look more 14thC.
But don't get embarrassed guys, while multicoloured hose are mandatory, they don't have to go all the way to your crotch. It's perfectly acceptable to have trews that go below the knees.
A pair of long shorts ( "skatey" shorts as they are sometimes called ) gathered just above or just beow the knee with elastic or a draw string sewn into the bottom hem will do as trews.
Alternatively a pair of cheap but baggy cotton or flannellete trousers (such as track pants) can be cut off to the desired lengths, and can also be made to bulge by tying them slightly higher on the leg than their lengh.
If possible get very plain shorts or trousers, without obvious seams, logos or pockets.
A very simple way of simulating a period tunic is to get an old business shirt, as brightly coloured as you like (but not patterned). One that would normally be far too big for you is better than one that fits. Take this shirt and, if it has a sewn on collar, cut it off. Take care with this cutting, so that you don't take off too much materiel.
Depending on what style and sleeve length you want, you may wish to cut off any buttoned or starched cuffs as well.
Trim (i.e add a trimmming materiel) the cut off colllar with something, and possibly shape it a bit.
Look at the sleeves. if you cut of the cuffs, add a draw string and gather the sleacve materiel, tyng the drawstring around the
But maybe even a tunic is too much for your limted sewing capability? Don't worry, try a tabard! Tabard's even have the benefit of hiding your crotch when you are wearing tights, without the need for a cod-piece.
To make a tabard, take a rectangular piece of material of your chosen colour. As tabard's are supposed to be plain so that they can display a coat of arms, an old white sheet is suitable material. The rectangle should be as long as twice the measurment from your shoulders to somewhee between your knees and your crotch, and should be as wide as your shoulders.
Then fold it in half and cut a semicircular hole along the folded edge, as small as possible, but large enough to let your head fit through the resulting hole. Wear the tabard by putting your head through the hole and putting a belt round the waist.
Take the resulting tabard and add your coat of arms on the front and/or the back, using a transfer, cut ou materiel or paint/felts on the materiel itself. When placing the design, make sure the design will not be obscured by the belt.
If you're feeling fancy, edge the outer edge and the neck with some form of edging materiel, and tack the sides together from the bottom of the arms to the waist. If you tack a tabard all the way down the outside edge (remembering to leave holes for the arms) you have a seviceable large tunic of a very bsic design, suitable perhaps for a religious man, peasant or servant.
Shoes are one of the hardest parts to do cheaply, and it's hard to come up with simple suggestions. What you want to do is try and come up with something that doesn't look out of place. This means you want avoid seeing laces or lots of that tacky toolwork and stitching you get on a lot of modern male shoes.
One posibility is to get hold of a pair of black ballet shoes, if you know any dancers with the same size feet as you.
For some characters, especially those of lower class, or religious men, bare feet or roman sandals will do nicely, though avoid too many buckles if at all possible.
For a little bit more expenditure one can sew thick felt or imitation leather to a thick pair of socks.
Belts are useful to tie around tabards or loose tunics and to hold pouches or swords. Hats are also good, especially loose floppy hats. The pictured hat was made from a couple of pieces of scrap materiel, with a piece of costume jewellery added to decorate.
Sorry ladies but a dress is almost mandatory. Unless, of course, you are dressing up like a man, and renmember, you could be burned at the stake as a heretic for doing so!
In general, the dress should have a laced bodice of some form. Alternatively, one can wear a laced top with a seperate dress.
Dresses should be as bulky as possible. This can be simulated by wearing several petticoats, though one has to watch out for the heat.
As with men, belts are to hold pouches, crucifixes, rosary beads, and other accessories.
Head pieces are also good. A simple period-style headpiece can be made in the following manner. Take two piecs of contrasting coloured cloth, roll each piece into a tube and wrap them together as if pleating one's hair. Use some thinner materiel (the example uses imitation gold emboidery thread) to hold the piece together. Decorate the front with some costume jewellery.
To make a wimple, merely roll a piece of card into a trumpet-shape, and tape it together If the card is already coloured, that might be all you need, but covering the card with some opaque coloured materiel will make it look fancier. Once done, attach a snmall piece of muslin or gauze to the peak and let it trail down the trumpet, perhaps attaching it at the base. Decorate the base of the wimple with rich materiel or fake fur, and use this to it firt compfortably on your head. Use a small tie of cloth or leather attached around the thickened base to hold the wimple down in string winds.
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