Salutations all!
Well, it looks like Kit is movin' on up in the world. I've moved up from being a pick-pocketing rascal of a peasant to a artistic French noble lady. I've never been a noble before so I have a few questions for those of you who are familiar with the going-ons of the upper crust...
1.) Tips for keeping cool as a noble? I got dehydrated pretty badly when I was playing a peasant, so I fear what's going to happen when I load on all those skirts and ruffs. :-\
2.) Is there a website anywhere that has pictures of French fashion circa 1579?
3.) I'm trying to pick a surname for my character, but since I do not speak French, I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing them right. Could some write out how these surnames are pronounced? Merci!
de Sablionnieres
de Vallans
de Louviers
de Fleurigny
Janvier
de la Fontaine
Dubois
4.) Can anyone point me to a map of 1579 France?
5.) Are there any bowls that would appropriate for a noble lady to eat out of? I mostly see nobles with plates. I loved the bowl I had as a peasant since I could walk around with it without fear of anything dropping out of it.
6.) Best place to get light 100% cotton over-the-knee socks/tights? The lighter, the better!
7.) What is [your] opinion on wigs for faire? I'm hoping to do the "hair in rats" look for the festival, but I have extremely fine, thin hair (and I'd have to rely on someone else doing my hair every morning). I was musing on getting a wig, but then I wonder if that would end up cooking my head in the usual 90 degree Tennessee May weather. Thoughts?
8.) Well...it has to be asked.....best way for a noble lady to go to the loo? We only have access to Port-o-Johns. I'm thinking of just taking off my skirts, so I'm down to bloomers, and going from there.
9.) I am looking for a leather sketchbook. I found some perfect-looking leather journals at Barnes and Noble, but alas they were all lined for writing (or a 6x8 size, which is just a wee bit too small). Any suggestions?
Thanks so much!
Quote from: Squire_Kit on February 09, 2011, 12:24:54 PM
Salutations all!
Well, it looks like Kit is movin' on up in the world. I've moved up from being a pick-pocketing rascal of a peasant to a artistic French noble lady. I've never been a noble before so I have a few questions for those of you who are familiar with the going-ons of the upper crust...
1.) Tips for keeping cool as a noble? I got dehydrated pretty badly when I was playing a peasant, so I fear what's going to happen when I load on all those skirts and ruffs. :-\
Water...Water.... Electrolytes.... Water ... Water... Electrolytes. The best is PEDIALYTE....tastes great too !
Quote from: Squire_Kit on February 09, 2011, 12:24:54 PM
Salutations all!
8.) Well...it has to be asked.....best way for a noble lady to go to the loo? We only have access to Port-o-Johns. I'm thinking of just taking off my skirts, so I'm down to bloomers, and going from there.
Thanks so much!
Assuming you're wearing a hoop with your garb, the best thing is to try to use a handicap Port-o-John if available. With the volume of your skirts and everything else it gives you the most maneuverability.
Then you'll want to grab the bottom hoop and pull it up under your armpits tucking in all the skirts so it's kind of like you've formed a bowl around your torso. It's very time consuming getting into everything at the beginning of the day so it's best if you avoid taking the skirts and everything until end of day. Hope this helps.
OK I'll try to go though everything I can
First, this is a map from 1542 but it should do for what you need: http://www.raremaps.com/gallery/enlarge/24195
This page seems to be pretty good on French renaissance fashion and the pictures at the top should give you some good ideas: http://romancereaderatheart2.com/ren/timeline/
As far as staying cool, use only natural fabrics in your clothing so that it breaths and use a linen chemise as it wicks the sweat from your body and helps to keep you cool. Also as said before, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Also, depending on the heat, go backstage about every hour for 10 minutes and cool off in some shade.
Nobles eat off of plates unless its a soup. Sorry. Go to a second hand store and get a silver plate for a couple of bucks and you are good to go.
Best I can tell, the French women also wore hats so the hair issue might not be an issue as it would be in a caul then under a hat. That is up to your costume director though on what they want. If you are considering a wig, be aware that they are hot especially fake hair. A LOT hotter than a hat so consider carefully what you do.
As already said, use the handicapped potty. Maybe you can convince your faire to get a handicapped one that is just for cast so you don't have to deal with the messes left by the public. That is what we do at VARF. If you tell them its a health concern because ladies won't go otherwise (which is pretty much the truth) then you have more power to your argument for the cast only one.
Just look online for the leatherbound sketch book. I'm sure you'll find something there.
Hope this helps you.
Congratulations, M'Lady, and welcome to the Nobility. If your experience is anything like ours -- we moved from the peasantry to the nobility four years ago -- you will find patrons much more apt to seek interaction with you. Since this kind of interaction is a major part of the joy we derive from Faire, we much prefer our current status.
As to your questions, the only one to which I can offer a definitive answer is the first: How do you keep cool and hydrated in noble garb. (As a physician and former Air Force flight surgeon, I can speak to these issues with some authority.) The truth of the matter is that, on a hot, humid day, there is no way to keep cool in noble garb. You are going to be hot. Get used to it. It is, however, rather easy to avoid dehydration and heat illness under these circumstances, and that is the same way our combat personnel do it in the middle of a 120 degree Baghdad summer day while wearing body armor: DRINK WATER! If you wait until you are thirsty to drink, you are already dehydrated. Start the day at cast call with 8-12 oz of water. Then drink continuously from then on. Except under circumstances when you MUST have both hands free, e.g., during parade, one should be occupied with a goblet of water, from which you are constantly sipping. If ice is available, put ice in your water -- it will help you feel a bit cooler. If not, drink it anyway. (Some people find the occasional electrolyte drink such as pedialyte helpful, but I recommend that you dilute it half and half with water and not drink more than 16oz per day.)
Finally, when patrons ask, as they often do, what we have in our goblets, we reply: Alas, M'Lord, 'tis but Adam's wine! Feel free to use it. Now, go forth and enjoy your new station!
PS: The Baroness also recommends a fan and a parasol, but then she is something of a wimp.
I use a fan, parasol and a bodice chiller (i just make sure its tucked way down so you can't see it) it helps tremendously! Normally i wear cotton leggings, knee high or thigh high socks underneath my dress but on hot days i skip em and throw on a pair of my old cheerleading shorts instead. Also if you have a hoop skirt, standing there swinging it back and forth, much in "Bell" fashion helps to create a breeze. :) But everyone above me is right-stay hydrated! That is the best way to keep from overheating.
too funny! I just answered you on facebook about my parasol! lol!
Quote from: Squire_Kit on February 09, 2011, 12:24:54 PM
Salutations all!
1.) Tips for keeping cool as a noble? I got dehydrated pretty badly when I was playing a peasant, so I fear what's going to happen when I load on all those skirts and ruffs. :-\
~~ BODICE CHILLERS!! I froze small plastic shampoo bottles from wal-mart. also, ask michael( the Baron ) to show you his neew discovery! I kept mine changed all day long, i.e., four frozen bottles. I will show you more at rehearsals. also the partlett and ruff were good for getting wet and cooling the neck! You can also wet the pulse points and the feet on particularly hot days!
5.) Are there any bowls that would appropriate for a noble lady to eat out of? I mostly see nobles with plates. I loved the bowl I had as a peasant since I could walk around with it without fear of anything dropping out of it.
~~ I second that, but I have a couple of silver ones with high rims that I can let you use/ buy cheap. Just remind me, and I'll bring them!
6.) Best place to get light 100% cotton over-the-knee socks/tights? The lighter, the better!
~~ Check JAS Townsend - they are cheap, many colors, and i have never had a problem getting them approved! make sure you have two pair, cause i seemed to getting really muddy!
http://jas-townsend.com/index.php
7.) What is [your] opinion on wigs for faire? I'm hoping to do the "hair in rats" look for the festival, but I have extremely fine, thin hair (and I'd have to rely on someone else doing my hair every morning). I was musing on getting a wig, but then I wonder if that would end up cooking my head in the usual 90 degree Tennessee May weather. Thoughts?
~ too hot! if you have problems in the heat, keep it minimum. You may get Pickles to help you with a few ratts, or do as master James said, caul and hat, like my avatar
8.) Well...it has to be asked.....best way for a noble lady to go to the loo? We only have access to Port-o-Johns. I'm thinking of just taking off my skirts, so I'm down to bloomers, and going from there.
~ I will also go to the handicap one! i just flip my hoop over my shoulders, minding the mud! it kept it all up and out of the way
9.) I am looking for a leather sketchbook. I found some perfect-looking leather journals at Barnes and Noble, but alas they were all lined for writing (or a 6x8 size, which is just a wee bit too small). Any suggestions? hmmm, not sure.... try Etsy.com?
Quote from: Squire_Kit on February 09, 2011, 12:24:54 PM
Salutations all!
Well, it looks like Kit is movin' on up in the world. I've moved up from being a pick-pocketing rascal of a peasant to a artistic French noble lady. I've never been a noble before so I have a few questions for those of you who are familiar with the going-ons of the upper crust...
3.) I'm trying to pick a surname for my character, but since I do not speak French, I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing them right. Could some write out how these surnames are pronounced? Merci!
- French is not my best language but I'll give this a shot. Looks like you have answers to most of the rest.
de Sablionnieres (day Saab-lee-on-nee-ays)
de Vallans (day Val-lawns)
de Louviers (day Loo-vee-ays)
de Fleurigny (day floo-i-nee)
Janvier (shan-vee-ay)
de la Fontaine (day la Fon-tayne)
Dubois (doo-bwa)
7.) What is [your] opinion on wigs for faire? I'm hoping to do the "hair in rats" look for the festival, but I have extremely fine, thin hair (and I'd have to rely on someone else doing my hair every morning). I was musing on getting a wig, but then I wonder if that would end up cooking my head in the usual 90 degree Tennessee May weather. Thoughts?
- French women in France before 1600 wore hats with different types of cauls, and occasionally a veil as well. Wigs didn't really appear until nearly 1700 and they are hot as all get out.Thanks so much!
Congratulations Squire Kit. :)
Renaissance Art seems to be the go to for custom leather bound sketchbooks. You are looking at over $100 for one there, but they do beautiful work and get raves.
My thoughts are that you might get ahold of a list of vendors from your faire and have them make one for you if someone there does leather bags or such. It would be great for their business for patrons to see you with the book and perhaps you might be given a good price for your patronage.
Yes to the parasol. It's instant shade when you have no other. If approved by your faire you might make a small pouch to hold it from the same fabric as your gown, or perhaps black velvet.
As far as the journal goes, Under the Mango Tree/The Journal Guy has a shop at GaRF, and they have really unique items and the cost isn't too bad.
The Journal Guy (http://www.thejournalguy.com/index.html)
The website is not very good but the selection at the festivals is great and they usually respond to email.
Having doneTennRenn many years ago in June, I can atest to 95 degrees but have never experienced 100+, however after 90 it all feels the same. One trick I used was to have 2 to 4 of those freezer jell packs and place in pockets under your arms if that is all possible. Another trick that the old King's Trollops used to use was a liquid concoction of distilled water, camphor oil, and eucalptis oil and place a wash cloth in it and then use that to wipe with. It is VVVEEERRRYYYYYY cool and soothing in hot weather. The last name that you mention is the only one I could help with, DUBOIS would be pronounced as do-bwa. Welcome to the upper ranks M'lady
The BLAKDUKE
Merci à tous!
My apologies for not replying to you guys sooner. I ended up getting snowed in at the airport I work at, had to stay overnight, and pull some long double shifts. But back to business!
I am definitely NOT going to do a wig. I do not want to overheat any more than I have to in humid Tennessee weather. I'm not sure exactly what hairstyle I'm going to do yet, but most likely it'll be 'rats'.
Baron - Thanks for the welcome! I actually very much enjoyed being a peasant (I was the town pick-pocket). I had customers at a local Starbucks I worked at recognise me two years later from that faire! (And Lady Catherine says you have a "new discovery" in the realm of cool chillers. Should I private message you about that?)
I know we're required to have a fan at our faire. I'll be looking to have a parasol backstage that I can whip out when I go down to the jousts or chess match field (as there's no shade). I'm also going to do a standing ruff to shade the back of my neck.
Adalia Lee - Oh I wish we could do that. I'd go with probably just wearing cotton underwear underneath if I could, but we have to be accurate and have on tights and bloomers as well.
Dona Catalina - Thanks for the pronunciation help! :)
Anna Iram - Sadly, $100 for a sketchbook is definitely going to be out of my budget (I'm going for about $200 for everything). That is a good thought though about the vendors. I'll have to check into that.
BamaWoodsman - What a great find! Still a teeny pricey for me, but I'm glad to know those are there!
Quote from: Squire_Kit on February 12, 2011, 05:33:46 PM
Baron -(And Lady Catherine says you have a "new discovery" in the realm of cool chillers. Should I private message you about that?)
Alas, M'Lady, but you have the wrong Baron. I'm the one from Colorado.
For a leather book you can buy a cheap journal at Wal-Mart or similar and wrap it in leather. There might even be a few on this site that would do it for you. Also, try a used book store. Find a book cover you like (doesn't matter what's inside), rip out all of the pages and replace with plain paper. Use, I believe, rubber cement to glue the binding. Place heavy books on it or use clamps while it dries. We used to do this all of the time to old books with soft covers.
Fan: if you're going to wear false hair, I suggest a fall rather than a wig. Depending on your hair color, Sally Beauty Supply has decent ones that are inexpensive, reasonably attractive, and durable. They clip in, so all you do is sweep your hair back into a bun, clip the sucker on, and go.
Keeping cool: A fan and a parasol are absolute necessities as far as I'm concerned. Parasols are not strictly period, but neither are asthma inhalers, right? If you have access to a fridge or freezer, I suggest you get a pair (or more) of bodice chillers so that one can re-chill while the other is chilling you. I think you'll find that a hoop skirt will actually help you get more air to your legs, and if you sort of sway gently back and forth so that your skirts move a little like a bell, they'll create a half-decent breeze. Also, BLOOMERS. It may seem counter-intuitive, but you will be so, so much more comfortable.
As to peeing: practice flipping the back of your hoop up to about your shoulders. If you do it right, it will hold up all your layers as well. Then of course you'll need to pull down your bloomers and other underthings, which can be difficult. One year the Queen at GARF had to have one of her ladies do this for her, because she couldn't reach them.
Quote from: Dinobabe on February 14, 2011, 03:12:05 PM
For a leather book you can buy a cheap journal at Wal-Mart or similar and wrap it in leather. There might even be a few on this site that would do it for you. Also, try a used book store. Find a book cover you like (doesn't matter what's inside), rip out all of the pages and replace with plain paper. Use, I believe, rubber cement to glue the binding. Place heavy books on it or use clamps while it dries. We used to do this all of the time to old books with soft covers.
I was going to suggest this too.
In fact, if you are handy with a needle, you may be able to fashion a soft, thinnish leather or faux leather slipcover that can be transplanted from book to book! Embellishment with jewels, and decoration with that glue and foil stuff that is used on t-shirts (and is washable) and your imagination is the limit.
Edit: I almost forgot to mention: If you go to your local mystic shop, look for wooden bound 'Books of Shadow', which are just blank pages of high quality paper sandwiched between 2 pieces of 1/4 plywood and screwed together.
You can add and subtract pages without damage, you have a hard surface to write/draw on and you can glue the leather down onto it.
The only drawback is the size. I have never seen any that are larger than maybe 6"x8" They were running about 40$ for a plain wood one with no decoration.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on February 25, 2011, 10:15:33 AM
Edit: I almost forgot to mention: If you go to your local mystic shop, look for wooden bound 'Books of Shadow', which are just blank pages of high quality paper sandwiched between 2 pieces of 1/4 plywood and screwed together.
You can add and subtract pages without damage, you have a hard surface to write/draw on and you can glue the leather down onto it.
The only drawback is the size. I have never seen any that are larger than maybe 6"x8" They were running about 40$ for a plain wood one with no decoration.
That's cool! Seems like you could make it fairly easily.
I did a quick search and found this; make your own!
http://magickaschool.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=23610