List of trusted online garb shops

[Rowan MacD]

I was so nervous about the whole thing though, because of what I had read here. But, everything turned out to be alright, which I am very glad about. I don't think I'll order anything else from them, just because I don't want anything else from there, but we're happy with our order.

  For most online garb shops; if the order is simple, i.e. plain Renshirt, plain chemise,  tunic or vest, simple breeches, etc. you won't have problems, so buy from them especially if it's cheaper than you could make yourself.

 Most of the complaints about MV and other relatively inexpensive online vendors are that they give the impression that they can make you excellent quality noble garb that will look indistinguishable from much more expensive custom work at 1/2 the price (or less) of the better garb; and very frequently their prices were far below what you would think the materials would cost.  

 But you know the old saying:  'If it's too good to be true, it probably is'.

 A lot of the folks that bought from MV (and were disappointed) pretty much got what they paid for: an outfit that was somewhere between a mid priced Halloween costume and decent off the rack garb.  Not bad, but nowhere near what they expected.

  I will go out on a limb and say MV probably gives decent value for your money.  If you don't want to spend a lot of cash, and if your expectations are not too high, you will probably be happy with your purchase.

  If you are serious about buying quality garb, expect to have to go to a seamstress, and also be prepared to pay a lot.
  In return you will get exactly what you want, it fits, and will stay looking good for years.  
 

[Athena]

Holy Clothing
http://holyclothing.com/

If you're looking for affordable, non h/a medieval/peasant/gypsy garb, you can't go wrong with this company. I just ordered a skirt and chemise from them, and am impressed. Good customer service, too. Unfortunately they don't carry small sizes, only L-5x. Standard shipping takes a while, 10-12 business days, but they send status emails and give you an estimated arrival date. They've got a very active Facebook page, and communicate with their customers on a daily basis. Highly recommended.

ETA: I checked the website and they do carry smaller sizes on a couple of items, but the majority are only in L and up. Also, if you see something you love order it ASAP because they don't have a huge stock and the numbers dwindle quickly, especially in the smaller sizes.

[gem]

Cute stuff! How adorable are these pants?!

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

Interesting points, Rowan!

When shopping for fabrics for Commissions, I am always checking prices per yard of what i could use in the future as  well as what online vendors use. I choose fabrics that are as Natural as possible to endure climates all over the country. I am very fussy about that. If a client is paying good money for a custom made ensemble, the fabrics, workmanship, trims, etc., have to be of the highest order. Even ion this Economy, getting what you pay for is very important. Even getting a bit more is good.

As for Majestic Velvets(Royal Coffers), the Velvet is a Rayon Velvet  that is more than $10 a yard. The contrast, even on sale, costs over $10  per yard. Factor in the amount of fabrics used and labor costs, they are barely breaking even or losing money per order.

[cincivulcan]

http://veneficacorsetry.com/index.html

Her stuff is fantastic... I have three of her corsets and 3 of her skirts.

[ophelia murdoch]

i just ordered a dress from holy clothing and will get to pick it up tomorrow at the post office and can't wait!  i'm going to try to get a hat to go with it from http://dreamhats.com/ i've seen some of her work around faire and it's all really nice. i've even gotten to meet the milliner at faire and she's really nice too.

[maggieb]

Just wanting to vent... I ordered a chemise and bloomers 10 weeks ago from Odd Bodkin and I still havent recieved my garb. I have emailed her twice. uggggggg

[Delireus]

Just wanting to vent... I ordered a chemise and bloomers 10 weeks ago from Odd Bodkin and I still havent recieved my garb. I have emailed her twice. uggggggg

I hope you get your stuff soon! The woman who owns Odd Bodkin just moved to my town, I've been thinking of ordering a chemise from her, so let me know how that goes.

[Adriana Rose]

937-317-4420

This is her phone number try giving her a ring.

[Lady Lowrye verch Jankyns]

Holy Clothing
http://holyclothing.com/

If you're looking for affordable, non h/a medieval/peasant/gypsy garb, you can't go wrong with this company. I just ordered a skirt and chemise from them, and am impressed. Good customer service, too. Unfortunately they don't carry small sizes, only L-5x. Standard shipping takes a while, 10-12 business days, but they send status emails and give you an estimated arrival date. They've got a very active Facebook page, and communicate with their customers on a daily basis. Highly recommended.

ETA: I checked the website and they do carry smaller sizes on a couple of items, but the majority are only in L and up. Also, if you see something you love order it ASAP because they don't have a huge stock and the numbers dwindle quickly, especially in the smaller sizes.

I wish they carried more in the small sizes!!  I love their clothes.  Gonna just have to watch and maybe I'll get lucky.

[Adriana Rose]

I have a dress and a shirt that I ordered from them when I was preggers and the shirt is beyond comfy 4 years later but the dress is about 4 inches too long with out baby belly to hold it up but still the smaller sizes may fit a smaller person

[Lady Gryphon]

I have a suggestion.  It may not be H/A but when Lord Dragon needed black pants to go under his one costume and to wear with his Pirate costume, I bought him a pair of Black Breeches for riding.    The are cotton, breathable and he can easily tuck them into his boots.  They are also machine washable.  There are many places on line to find them

Stateline Tack www.statelinetack.com is a good place as well as Dover http://www.doversaddlery.com.  Sometimes you can even find them on sale.  They are more comfortable than men's tights, have pockets, and are a workable alternative.  My suggestion

Also Lord Dragon bought me a wonderful dress from this place.
http://www.yourdressmaker.com They have ready to wear and also do custom work.  My Lady Gryphon dress came from them. 

[LAVAGODDESSSS]

The two places I go are

www.Damseldress.com (she has outfitted me in the most amazing custom pieces ever...her work , no one is able to touch what she does. Her bodices, skirts, etc. are beyond devine, and I have not found one corset through the 35 I now have that has touched the quality or way it makes me look. They are freaking amazing!!! (Did I mention I am 6' tall and she customizes them for me? Even her premade, ready to order stuff has fit like it was custom for me. Holy wow!!!)...)
She has a shop on etsy, and artfire (you can reach both through the blog tab on her website). She also has her website up and going again.

As for my hats? I love love these guys: www.blondeswan.com I saw their work at a ren faire face-to-face, then decided to order online (it was half the price). THe quality is amazing, though do remember that these are custom pieces, so I did have to wait nearly 6 weeks for it. Though they do say that if you need it faster to email, that didn't seem to help. Frankly, if you have 5 weeks and want something you can customize, for a decent price, the quality cannot be beat. I recommend them, as long as you are not in a hurry.

[LAVAGODDESSSS]

Just ordered from Medievalclothing.com.

A few things to note:

• The items are really inexpensive on 85% of their website
• When you order, make sure you call or chat and get up to date info on every item you order.  Just because you can put it into your cart, does not mean they have it. There is a spot you can click to see what sizes/colors are avail for each item on the page. That isn't always up to date either. Just call or chat them live (during business hours). It was relatively painless.
• They don't ship all your items until all items are in stock. So if you have 3 items and one is backordered months, you won't get any of your gear. To avoid that, you can do one of two things: 1) call them after the order is done, or chat, and let them know you want to split your order. It didn't cost me anything extra, but I was told it may. 2) do two seperate orders

As for the quality of goods, I ordered:
2 leather skirt hikes
2 men's ren faire shirts (one with laced up sleeves and one with billowy sleeves and wonderful wrist cuffs)
1 72" leather belt
1 black leather 'potion' holder. It's a leather 'box' that holds three glass bottles with stoppers
1 sword frog in black
1 pair of lace up the sides men's black pants - AWESOME



As for the prices, holy cow, they cannot be beat for the leather goods. The skirt hikes and leather belt were SUPERB. They aren't the softest leather, and they are finished on one side, but wow. I paid $8 for the skirt hikes and $13 for the belt. I was really impressed.

The only thing was that you really have to be careful and read reviews as well as look at measurements in the clothing.  We had luck on 2/3. One of the shirts was just too big. We ordered an XL in one and a M in another, and the sizes were esentially (inch-wise) the same. But the quality was awesome. We will be exchanging one shirt.

The only thing was the sword frog. The back piece(that no one sees) the leather is cut kind of ...off. But the part that ties/corsets up to hold the blad is really well done. 

For leather, just don't expect that extra 'step' that is hand made tooled goods. The quality i woud rate as "good" and the price "Excellent" we were impressed. They don't have pretty designs on the leather and in most instances you had the choice of black or brown. But we didn't need anything more.


Note on their return/exchange policy: If you return, be prepared for a restocking fee. If you exchange, it's even exchange, no 'change' back. I'll let you know how that goes since we have to exchange one thing.

Shipping was SUPER SUPER fast. I'm not sure if it's because I had someone custom help me with my order or not.

We have a pair of boots on backorder that I'll let you know about.

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

Some samples of what Projects for 2012 I will be busy with...


17th Century Doublet with new Shirt, collar, cuffs, and Boot Tops, Pants for Parse Exception. I will draft  the Doublet Pattern and Sleeves.


Venetian Gown idea for Lady Kett. Will be done in a  deep Navy Jacquard with Silver trim edges, pearls, White Silk Camica.


Tudor gown, Queen Isabella of Spain that will be done in Black V elveteen, with Gold and Red contrast tapestry fabrics for a client in Maryland.


A variation of Gandalf the White in Tans, Cremes, and Steel Blues for Merlin the ELder.


A variation of this Venetian Courtesan Gown ensemble for Lady de Laney.