Sometimes, you don’t have time to sew. Or there are certain things you just don’t care to sew for yourself. Or you realize that someone, out there, somewhere is making & selling something better than you could sew & for a price that is more reasonable than you tearing out your hair to attempt to create a similar item. There’s no shame in not making every last item of your historical kit with your own two hands — few people in history did! Then, as now, people specialized, & some artisans were master embroiderers or master cordwainers or master wigmakers or master milliners. It’s a reenactorism to assume that one person must know how to exquisitely make everything she wears from skin-out all by her lonesome.
I’m always on the lookout for good value in readymade historical clothing & accessories. This isn’t easy because inexpensive items tend to be wildly historically inaccurate, & accurate reproductions tend to be wildly expensive. I do want to support skilled artisans who are selling their work because I can appreciate what goes into it. You’re not getting mass-produced junk from foreign sweatshops, & everything from the materials to the tools used may be higher quality. Of course, you still have to suss out these sellers & make sure their goods are worthwhile.
Here are a few vendors I’ve found to be reliable, reasonable, & a good deal, in a variety of historical eras & items…
Readymade & custom-made 16th-century embroidered shirts & smocks
Thistlebees does machine-embroidery that’s a dead-ringer for handmade blackwork. Or it must be, because whenever I wear my embroidered shift from Thistlebees, I have people in the SCA who claim to know a lot about embroidery complimenting me on the work. Anyway, I love it & find it to be awfully pretty. Check out their Etsy shop for one-offs at bargain prices — that’s admittedly where I do most of my shopping. You never know what goodies you’ll find. But if you want a wide selection of chemises, collar & cuff sets, coifs, or something custom-made with elaborate, historically accurate embroidery, head to the main shop.
The Tailor’s Eye doesn’t make many things, but their shirts are fan-freakin’-tastic. Not the cheapest, but reasonable imo because the final product looks & feels perfectly accurate & is of top-notch quality. Plus, it’s custom-made & customizable, so you’re not getting a cookie-cutter shirt. I wear my shirt at least once per SCA weekend event, so its cost-per-wearing is pretty low by now. And again, this is superb machine embroidery that fools embroidery people, so it’s really a great score.
Readymade 16th-century shoes
Boots by Bohemond has a good, all-purpose renaissance shoe for women or men in it’s Mary Rose shoe. This one is always in stock, & you can upgrade to a nonslip sole & the total is only $100. Sure, that’s more than a generic “will blend in if it’s not seen much” shoe from Payless Shoe Source & the like, but you won’t find a genuine historical style for less. This one breaks in easily (& I have wide, hard-to-fit feet) & is nice to wear at long events. Ideal for renfaire and SCA events.
Readymade 18th-century shoes
I *big puffy heart* my Fugawees!!! I can’t yell it loud enough from the mountaintops. I have literally walked miles in these shoes, across the cobblestone streets of Venice, over broken glass during Carnevale, & my feet felt perfectly fine that night & the next day. Oh, & this was after filming & dancing the Ballo del Doge. I’ve had my pair of black leather Marthas for at least 5 years now, wearing them at 18th-century events several times a year, mostly outdoors, & they’ve held up fabulously. Like the old Timex watches, these shoes take a licking & keep on ticking. Plus, the Martha’s are strong enough for a (ok, very femmy) man, but made for a woman — yeah, I wore them to cross-dress, even tho’ I usually wear them with 18th-century girl clothes 🙂
Readymade & custom-made 18th-century men’s shirts & neckwear
Historic Seams on Etsy made the quite excellent ruffled shirt I wore as Leonard Autie (Marie-Antoinette’s hairdresser), & I definitely recommend her work. It’s a lovely shirt, well-made, & it was a pleasure doing business with her.
Little Bits Historical Clothing on Etsy made an exquisite 18th-century neck stock that I wore for my Leonard outfit. That was truly a piece of art! Very finely pleated & perfectly made, plus precisely fitted. Every elegant gentleman (or woman playing a gentleman) should have one of these.
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So what are some of your favourite resources for buying readymade & custom-made historical costume pieces? Share your sources in the comments!
Hi. Tailor’s Eye’s website appears to be down/gone. Any idea where they might have moved or if they’ve gone out of business? (or, got any new recommendations for where to get 16th century shirts? I don’t wanna have to make one!)
Well crap! They must have just recently gone away bec. they were still up about a month ago. That is a super bummer 🙁
I’d suggest Thistlebees specifically for something with blackwork — they do full smocks w/machine blackwork & also cuffs/collars that you can sew onto your own shirts.
And I’ll keep looking bec. yeah, who wants to make a shirt? Boring!