I realized that next month (Memorial Day weekend to be precise) marks the 20th Anniversary of my first event as a reenactor. And this is the 1000th post on my blog. That makes two projects which I did not foresee lasting so long, nor taking the routes that they did.
In honor of the occasion, here's my top 20 tips or lessons I've learned from living history, in the order I find funniest.
- Hydrate.
- Boots before corset. Always.
- Put on your chemise before styling your hair. You can also do your hair after getting dressed, but having fewer garments going over the head will keep your hairstyle neater.
- Dress for the weather, and try to resist the temptation to bring every possible garment along.
- But also, bring an extra shawl, apron, and handkerchief. Back-up shoes are also a good idea for overnight events.
- Have clean undergarments for every day of the event.
- A sewing kit with a stocked pincushion is an indispensable dressing aid for every era.
- Cutting someone's corset laces is less exciting than it sounds, and will also almost never actually need to happen.
- Bunny ears in your stay laces and a front-opening busk are, in fact, better than sliced bread.
- Corsets won't actually prevent you from doing that many things, provided you learn to bend with your knees rather than waist. Except for reclining seats. Also, they make running even less fun, and putting on your shoes a bit more annoying.
- Straight hairpins need to be woven into the hair, and hold best when "flipped" into place. Bobby pins are for bobbed hair and are easily defeated by my mane.
- The two great blessings of getting all your under-layers accurate are that your garment system isn't working at cross purposes (warming/cooling/bathroom access), and you don't have to stress concealing modern make-dos. The same applies to period food, containers, furniture, tools, and toys.
- If you're having trouble putting on a narrow-back or drop-shouldered dress, try putting on both sleeves just to the elbow, then sliding it up to the shoulder.
- The research is half the fun, at least.
- Document! Document! Document! Otherwise, years later, you will find yourself hopelessly searching for variations on a particular phrase you remember reading once upon a time, because it was related to something cool that you found once and cannot find again.
- Practice sewing on bad fabric if you must, but whenever possible, save up for the good stuff. A shoddy fabric takes just as much labor to make up as quality one, but the later is much more pleasant to work with and wear. It will also have better remaking or resale potential.
- Natural fibers are not only the most accurate choices for garments prior to the 20th century, but are also the safest option around open flame.
- No one catches their clothing on fire as often as pop history writers would have you think. Yes, even with long skirts and cooking/campfires/candles. That being said, you do need to exercise suitable caution and avoid doing stupid things like "setting a lit and unshielded candle on the ground in an area where people are walking."
- Split drawers are amazing. I do still feel smug about getting through the necessary faster than the poor trouser-wearers struggling to deal with pre-zipper technology.
- "If they had it, they would have used it" is not a useful metric for historic reenactment or recreation, and I will expound upon this, so don't get me started.
