Guides
Guides
What to Wear to a Renaissance Faire: The Complete Outfit Guide
A simple five-layer formula for your Renaissance faire outfit, with ideas for women and men, comfort tips for a long day outdoors, and what to leave at home.
Read more
What Is LARP? A Beginner's Guide to Live Action Role-Play
What LARP is, the main kinds of games, how combat and safety work, the words you'll hear, and what to wear and pack for your first event.
Linen, Cotton or Velvet? A Plain Guide to Costume Fabrics
How linen, cotton, ramie, velvet, polyester and faux leather look, feel and wear at a faire or LARP, and which are closest to period.
SCA Garb for Beginners: What to Wear to Your First Event
New to the SCA? What garb means, the one rule for your first event, where to borrow loaner garb, and easy first outfits for men and women.
How to Measure Yourself for Medieval Clothing (and Read a Size Chart)
How to take your measurements, why size charts give the garment's size and not yours, and how much room to leave for tunics, dresses, armour and boots.
How to Wash and Care for Your Garb, Armour and Leather
How to wash linen, cotton and velvet, clean faux leather and real leather, dry your kit after a muddy event, air out campfire smoke and store it all until next season.
Medieval vs Renaissance Clothing: How to Tell Them Apart
Medieval or Renaissance? How clothes changed from loose, belted tunics to fitted bodices and doublets, the quick visual clues, and how to build each look.
Corset vs Bodice: What's the Difference?
Corset or bodice? What each one is, how they differ in shape, boning and comfort, and which works best for a Renaissance faire or LARP outfit.
What Is a Gambeson? The Padded Coat Behind Every Knight
A gambeson is a quilted, padded coat worn as armour or under armour in the Middle Ages. What it was for, gambeson vs aketon vs arming doublet, and how to wear one today.
LARP Leather Armour: A Simple Guide to Pieces, Fit and Safety
A plain-English guide to LARP leather armour: the main pieces, faux leather vs real leather, and how to fit armour over your clothes.
Belt Pouches and Coin Purses: Which One Do You Need?
Which belt pouch fits a phone, which is just for coins, leather or faux leather, drawstring or flap: a simple guide to medieval belt pouches and coin purses.
How to Tie a Medieval Belt (and What to Hang on It)
How to tie a medieval belt the simple way, how to wear a ring belt or knot belt, where the belt should sit, and how to hang a pouch, key ring or horn from it.
Bracers vs Vambraces: What They Are and How to Wear Them
Bracers or vambraces? What each word means, how long a bracer should be, laced vs buckled, how to wear them, and which design suits your character.
