Top Ten Medieval Clothing Must Haves

hello and welcome to a special episode where yield for the red and i will work together to tackle the topic of the 10 must-have bits of medieval clothing [Music] when making a medieval impression the clothes are a vital part and lay the foundation of a good portrayal it is important to be knowledgeable and acquire many of the philosophies which pass for normal in medieval culture having a strong expertise in medieval soft and hard skills is another contribution to an amazing impression and vital to teaching or interpreting for the public or in the educational environment but all that's just history in academia it's not living history it's not reenactment for that you need to do some hardcore adult dress up and to help me out with showing you what the top 10 must-haves for medieval clothing r i am joined by elva the red yova let's kick it off with number 10. hey thanks for having me on the turnip of tarot channel number 10 we're starting off with cold weather gear this is a bit of a catch-all which might sound like we're cheating but it's for a reason the reenactment season varies from place to place and likewise what you'll need for those events will also vary where i'm from most of our events happen in the colder months so we need a lot of gear hoods hats cloaks mittens the works where you're from you may only need a hat and submittance to get by it's worth considering what cold weather you may encounter to be able to prepare for it because nothing ruins an event like hypothermia if you're not sure what sort of weather your event may hold it's worth checking with the experienced reenactors in your group because i can pretty confidently bet they know exactly which events get culled and what equipment you need to survive it number nine a pouch the pouch is likely the most well-known medieval accessory as it's how you carry it around things when you didn't have clothes built in with pockets so you see that modern complaint about dresses without pockets that was everyone's complaint about all clothes in the middle ages the nobility in gentry would use something like this to carry around physical money and small personal items anything larger they needed to carry would likely be carried by someone else or kept in their salad bags when traveling higher status women would carry alms purses or small piety purses common soldiers would also wear them on campaign but the average peasant in the village going about their daily lives they didn't have a need for it they would carry anything they needed while traveling or in the field and something they could set down while they worked such as a bag which i'll talk about a little later number eight head coverings head coverings can be quite easily forgotten about but they can be really fun as well as practical they can be fun because throughout the medieval period there is such an array of different styles to choose from and they all come in such widely varying colors that you'll probably have difficulty choosing which one to wear for entry-level head coverings you really can't beat a good straw hat it keeps the sun off your skin to prevent sunburn the glare out of your eyes and it helps keep you overall much cooler which is great for staving off heat stroke most cultures and time periods also have some form of hood which is your winter basic staple and if you're a medievalist you probably already know that there are a plethora of ways of wearing your lyric pipe hood so you'll never look the same as the person next to you number seven a bad i know i told you i'd come back to it and i know i already talked about a pouch but since the majority of people starting out in living history are and really should be starting with a simple and accessible commenter impression a bag is much more appropriate than a belt pouch if you're down to the wire and you have to choose the choice for any commoner impression should always be a bag such as a script the medieval era person didn't walk around with a need for things the same way we do today we carry our wallet and our id card and a picture of our cats with us at all times but the commoners spent most of their time in their village with access to their home or the ability to borrow what they needed if they were away in the fields or out in the commons the peasantry bartered more than they used coins and so they didn't have a need to carry around things except when they were traveling number six water nothing sour is the experience of a big medieval event quite like dehydration and the follow-up headache even at winter events we are all at risk of dehydration and at summer events this becomes even more dangerous with the risk of heat stroke all the more likely given how important hydration is to all people at events a vessel to carry your water is crucial to your health and happiness your vessel might be a jug and cup appropriate to the time period and region you're portraying or it might be something like a leather costume a leather costume is a good one to have because if you need to leave your base camp for any reason you can carry it with you and have it sung by your side if you're unsure as to what sort of water vessel you should have talk to the veteran members of your group i'm sure they'll have some suggestions number five leg wear you wouldn't go out and about today without pants on or at least you shouldn't and it's impossible to be completely dressed at any point in the thousand years which is considered medieval without something covering your legs while the details of what your leg games would look like vary a lot by century and by culture generally in the context of medieval europe they're not what we would consider pants especially not baggy ones leggings started out and are generally kind of long socks which you would then tie to the belt or to a pair of braids which were like medieval boxers and the medieval community collectively calls these types of garments chauces regardless of what variety or local name they might have been used in their time and place now in some cultures such as eastern europe an early anglo-saxon or viking there were forms of trousers worn but they're the exception and in a generic medieval european dress they should only be worn in those appropriate circumstances they are not a substitute for chaucer's hosen split hosen joint hose etcetera number four outer garments because duh of course you need outer garments otherwise you'd be running around town in just your underwear and that's not okay while there are some depictions of people working in fields and other activities in just their linens this is not really a good enough justification for most people to be wearing just their underwear at a public facing event or at any rate claiming a well thought out impression even if you were doing field work you would still need warmer outer layers for when you're retired for the evening and to be considered decent in polite company many skills on displays do risk dirtying our clothes it's true but given we've got ample evidence for aprons you should consider wearing an apron over top of your clothes if you are worried about them getting dirty consider this if you wouldn't wear just your underwear in that situation today you probably wouldn't have worn just your underwear in that situation then either number three a belt belts were an integral part of the medieval wardrobe for both men and women throughout the medieval period though certain centuries women can get away without wearing a belt there's evidence from artistic representations to accident garments to inventory receipts that show belts were ubiquitously used they gather in and held down longer flowing clothes like robes and coats and gowns they were also used to suspend weapons and personal containers such as a pouch and they were ornamentations for the rich well no one needs a heavily ornamented solid gold plaque belt when they're just starting out in living history based on the level of your impression something as simple as a woolen tablet woven or leather belt with something like a hammered iron or cast bronze buckle maybe a shape that will suffice but the silhouette of the outfit and the functionality of your accessories required as part of the medieval portrayal will not function without a good belt number two shoes shoes are an item that can be easily overlooked by newcomers to the hobby and yet will end up being one of your most crucial items in your queue we spend a lot of time focused on shiny fabrics pretty broaches ostentatious hats that sometimes shoes kind of get pushed down the bottom of the priority list like modern shoes there's likely to be a fair bit of variety as to what's appropriate for your impression regardless of time period are you a worker or are you someone with some style to show off also just like modern shoes you don't have to go for what's complicated or expensive number one underwear there's no way to get around it the single single most important item of medieval clothing is your underwear medieval fashion did not put primary garments like this one directly against the bare body regardless of how coarse or fine the material it was it was made from even a garment such as the coat or d i'm wearing right now come with a shirt of some sort underneath it a base layer now this base layer would be made out of linen and these garments they go by different names depending on who you're talking to or who they're supposed to go on shirts or shifts or chemises however they keep this expensive and hard to launder garment protected from the sweaty hot spots on my body they increase comfort and they fill out the fit and form of garments worn over it in fact for most of the middle ages the chauces and hozen were tied to the boxers or brays or an under vest and it's impossible to get dressed without them hey thank you for your help giova this has been really fun thanks for having me on your channel now that you know about the 10 must-haves for medieval clothing go over to her channel and check out where we discuss instead of must-haves the top 10 misconceptions about medieval clothing this is of course not an exhaustive list of the things you need to put together a medieval outfit but it's what i have seen in the reenactment world and what seems to work the best for a newcomer as a basic 10. it's a great baseline to start out a new medieval impression regardless of time period and experience level did i miss anything if you have any suggestions or discussions put them down in the comments thank you for watching oh go away truck

Channel: The Turnip Of Terror

Views: 23,977

Keywords: 14th century, 15th century, medieval, history, living history, medieval living history, reenactment, medieval reenactment, middle ages, myfavoritething, hat, bycocket, medieval hat, medieval hats, 14th century clothing, 15th century clothing, 14th century mens clothing, 15th century mens clothing, clothing, must haves, historical, educational, textiles, historical accuracy, fashion history, historical dress, costume, medieval dress, medieval clothing

Id: TUCyMPE4raQ

Length: 11min 38sec (698 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 19 2020