Balancing Act: Developing a fully fleshed out wardrobe for your persona. Are you sitting around the house at this moment thinking about your garb and wondering if you have enough clothing to attend the next inter-kingdom war? Do you get overwhelmed when thinking about planning a wardrobe? Let's start with the basics... your persona. “A persona is the sum of name, background story, dress, equipment and interests in historical context. How far you take your persona development depends entirely on your own goals, preferences and comfort level” (Gibbons, 2008, para.2). Dress is only one element of persona. Before you invest a great deal of time and money into a wardrobe, decide carefully on your background story and your interests in the historical context and in the SCA. If you plan to spend most of your time shooting target archery and participating in archery events exclusively, then perhaps you may not want to spend a great deal of time and money on court clothing. One outfit for court may do as you may not be wearing it very often. If you plan to participate in equestrian activities, what is the appropriate attire for horseback riding for your persona? Ideally, your focus should be, what would my persona wear on a daily basis, for special activities, and for special occasions based on the level of historical context I plan to incorporate relating to my background story. In short, what you really need to plan is your SCA Capsule Wardrobe. A capsule wardrobe was a phrase invented by Susie faux, the owner of a London boutique called Wardrobe in the 1970s. According to Faux, a capsule wardrobe is a collection of the essential items of clothing that are the back bone of your wardrobe that are augmented with seasonal pieces. For the 1490s Italian Renaissance woman, a capsule wardrobe may have consisted of:
OUTERWEAR: 3 or 4 Vesta (dresses)-----[2 basic for daily wear, 1 semi nice occasion, 1 very nice formal occasion] 3 or 4 pairs of manici (tie in sleeves) 2 or 3 Sbernia (outer robe) or Soprabito (overcoat) FALL/WINTER ------- [Basic, nice, formal] 2 or 3 Camora (shorter outer robe) or Mantello (cape) SPRING/SUMMER UNDERWEAR: 7 Camacia/Chemise 7 Braes (underpants) 7 pairs of hosen (socks) ACCESSORIES: Shoes / Jewelry /For the Head / pockets / aprons / Hot weather: Fans Cold weather: Gloves/ Fur Remember all layers were not worn all the time. Women swam in their underwear, worked in the garden with no sleeves, and often in the kitchen with no sleeves, dress half laced, and no jewelry. Activity is your guide for dressing choices. Just as you would for your modern day wardrobe. So, once you have assembled your capsule wardrobe, you are ready for any long event or war.
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Baronessa Franca DonatoVandy Pacetti-Donelson is a milliner, costumer, illuminator and calligrapher, and researcher who is interested in all that is the Italian Renaissance. A true Florida Native originally from Saint Augustine, she now calls Daphne, Alabama her home. Vandy is known in the Society for Creative Anachronism as Baronessa Franca Donato, OL and resides in the Barony of the Osprey in the Kingdom of Merides. Archives
March 2021
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