I went to a yard sale and found -get this- fourteen pair of hermetically sealed, unused, circa 1930 bloomers. Needless to say, I bought them. (After my first thought was: where in the world did they get these?) They are plain white cotton, with the legs to just above the knee. The elastic in the waist needs to be replaced, since when I opened the packages, they fell to dust.
My question: what can I do to make these bloomers more renn-ish? Any thoughts or ideas would be more than welcome!
Thanks!
I don't know how much this will help but here are some extant ones:
http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/workbox/extdraw.htm
One can add tiny cotton lace to add aperiod flair. Where the eleastic was, do a corded drawstring. Even some decorative stitching. The sky is the limit.
Thank you so much for the ideas! I like the idea of the drawstring, especially. Lace around the legs sounds fantastic...and I will definitely use that idea.
14 pair! What will you do with them all!?
Quote from: Merry on June 18, 2008, 08:33:51 AM
14 pair! What will you do with them all!?
...and did they ever mention
why they just happened to have
14 extra pair?
???
To be honest, I didn't really want to know why they had 14 pair of bloomers that old...but when I asked how they happened across them, or if they were used, they told me that their great-aunt had a "thing" about buying several dozen of everything, including shirts, pants, skirts, etc. Then they showed me something pretty amazing...they had five HUGE boxes of pantyhose. Never worn. Never even opened.
What will I do with them all? I'm not really sure. I'm going to "ren out" two pair, drawstring and lace, but I don't really NEED fourteen pair of bloomers. Any ideas?
Quote from: Deborah on June 19, 2008, 08:19:11 AM
What will I do with them all? I'm not really sure. I'm going to "ren out" two pair, drawstring and lace, but I don't really NEED fourteen pair of bloomers. Any ideas?
Yeah::) Ebay. I know that sounds like a cop out on the creative use category, but nice bloomers are hard to find for Rennies! Share the wealth! :D
I wear them. They keep the legs cool and avoid getting "ren rash".
Which reminds me, I need to whip up another pair for myself. I make them with ensembles for others, I need more myself.
I feel like such a noob, but would you wear the bloomers under a chemise? Are they h/a?
Quote from: tigrlily64 on June 19, 2008, 11:24:12 AM
I feel like such a noob, but would you wear the bloomers under a chemise? Are they h/a?
I'm not sure how you would wear them except under the chemise. ;) There is a link above that I posted in regards to period drawers but there is also a bunch of period paintings and woodcuts, such as those below, showing women clearly wearing drawers beneath their skirts, dresses, and chemises.
http://www.freewebs.com/isabelladangelo/xmilkmai.jpg
http://www.wga.hu/art/m/mantegna/2/judith.jpg
What size are they?
I wear mine under my chemise. It's like another pair of undies.
Dye them insane colors - they're your little secret, after all. Or dye to match your garb - no embarassing whoopsies in the event of a tumble or gust.
Our dear Queen Margaret at the MNRF is such a card.
During a Tea we attended in 2006, she so happened to lift up her skirts during a skit to reveal lime green jammie bottoms with cute characters on them and she was wearing MOON BOOTS!!!!
When it comes to things under the skirts, the sky is the limit.
Honestly, I discovered the need for bloomers during a fairly embarrassing scene where I had my skirt tucked into the back of my undies. Having to get up super early meant that if I was camping I would just sleep in my bloomers and a tank...the most comfy jams in the world. I made myself several pairs and wear them to bed. Now lets be clear...since there are never any men in there with me it doesnt matter whether they are alluring or not... that might decide you another way..
Quote from: Lady Kathleen of Olmsted on June 19, 2008, 09:53:18 AM
I wear them. They keep the legs cool and avoid getting "ren rash".
A little off topic, I know, but having to do with one of the reasons for wearing bloomers:
A gal at work had a magazine with an article that said that if you rub deodorant between your legs and let it dry completely before putting on your clothes, it will prevent chafing all day. They were talking about wearing regular skirts, but I wonder if anyone had tried this at faire?
I recall Badra giving that advice a few years ago. She said it works great.
Quote from: Lady Renee Buchanan on July 04, 2008, 08:32:54 AM
A little off topic, I know, but having to do with one of the reasons for wearing bloomers:
A gal at work had a magazine with an article that said that if you rub deodorant between your legs and let it dry completely before putting on your clothes, it will prevent chafing all day. They were talking about wearing regular skirts, but I wonder if anyone had tried this at faire?
Speaking from 15 years of SCA events and Faires, yes it works somewhat. After more than 4-5 hours you may find that the sweat and friction start overwhelming the deodorant. You can extend the benefit of the deodorant by also giving your legs a good coating of talcum powder.
Bloomers, bicycle shorts and panty hose actually work better if you're looking at an 8 hour day.
Quote from: Lady Renee Buchanan on July 04, 2008, 08:32:54 AM
A little off topic, I know, but having to do with one of the reasons for wearing bloomers:
A gal at work had a magazine with an article that said that if you rub deodorant between your legs and let it dry completely before putting on your clothes, it will prevent chafing all day. They were talking about wearing regular skirts, but I wonder if anyone had tried this at faire?
I've tried that and it worked well for me, no rash at the end of the day! On cool days I wear leggings so theres not much need for deodorant.
see i actually have MORE issues with hose than without...
The period styles (Italian/Turkish) of bloomers/drawers seem to work the best. The reason has nothing to do with H/A but the fact that they are a slightly wide legged, lightweight material that doesn't constrict at your knees/ankles/or where ever else you decide to add the cuff of the bloomers.
The bloomers most people wear at Renn Faire/with elastic normally in the bottom of the legs, are based off of 19th c models. One of the problems I've seen is that people accidentally make the elastic too tight and the leg opening causes those red lines where it's hit your leg. Another problem is that the opening doesn't allow air flow. You end up sweating more around the opening of the leg.
As others have already pointed out, deodorant can wear off after a few hours. I've seen the powder usage as well and it wears off very quickly.
So, basically, just get a pair of lightweight loose capris and wear those under your gowns/dresses. If you are really good, you can probably find a pair of linen ones at a store. They are simple to make (plenty of patterns out there that are cheap) and the open legged drawers/bloomers are extremely comfortable.
Quote from Isabelladangelo:
the open legged drawers/bloomers are extremely comfortable.
My girlfriend is a seamstress and she made my bloomers. When I mentioned how cute they would look wth elastic and lace at the knee, she said that she would leave them open, so that more air circulates around. And it really has worked, because I haven't gotten "ren rash" and it does seem cooler.
I just recently bought some linen blend capris specifically for this purpose from:
http://www.womanwithin.com/clothing/Only-Necessities-lightweight-cropped-pants.aspx?PfId=124500&DeptId=9268&ProductTypeId=1&PurchaseType=0
For the price they can't be beat and I plan to trim the legs w/a little lace. They do have a little pocket on the leg, but will pick it off w/a seam ripper.
I make fun bloomers using fun fabrics, I mean who is going to see them under your skirts (unless you want them seen)?
My favorite bloomers are made with two of those satin pillowcases I found at the local thrift store and made a slight alteration for the crotch and sewed them together and using elastic for the waist - perfect! I even sewed some curtain remnants to the bottom of each leg for a cute ruffle.
It gets too hot for me to wear bloomers too. I have the thigh problem, did when I was 110, always will, and I use Body Glide. Any sports store carries it and I put it between my thighs when I run and on my feet where I might blister, as well as any other place that will chaff. I do triathalons (dumpy and slow. Don't be impressed) and I use it all the time. Stays on under my wetsuit, so it works in the rain too. I used it yesterday for a parade I was in for MIRF and it was WONDERFUL!! As usual.
Taffy, those are perfect. Exactly the type I was talking about! Actually, if you feel up to, you could cut a slit on either side of your skirt and use the pockets to hold things. :-)
Rumba, the main problem with using any type of fabric isn't the "snark" factor, it's the cool (as in temperature) factor. Although satin is pretty, poly satin is not going to keep you cool like a lightweight cotton or linen. There are plenty of lightweight cottons with fun designs (thinking batik myself) that can easily be used. The problem with poly and other man made materials is you are essentially wearing a woven garbage bag. It's certainly a lot prettier than a garbage bag (well, normally. I have yet to find any one that thinks nearly sheer bridesmaid's orangy peach poly taffeta lining is pretty..) but it acts the same way. It does not absorb the sweat and doesn't allow air flow like natural fabrics do. It's more of a health thing than anything else to use natural fibers; especially for those layers closest to your skin.
The entire reason I wear bloomers has nothing to do with H/A...it instead has to do with that big gust of wind that once in a while blows across the joust field. ;)
I've never had a sweat problem with my satin type bloomers, since I tend to sweat buckets from my head, everywhere else on me is dry.
Once again, I put in my annual/semi-annual/monthly/whatever plug for
JC Penney's cotton knickers (http://www5.jcpenney.com/jcp/Products.aspx?ItemID=13e5195&ItemTyp=G&GrpTyp=PRD&ShowMenu=T&ShopBy=0&SearchString=knee+pants&RefPage=SearchDepartment.aspx&CmCatId=SearchResults&Search1Prod=True)
All cotton knit, so they stay much cooler than any bike shorts would; they're reasonably fitted (so the crotch goes where it should), but not tight, so they do the job without binding OR adding extra bulk under your garb; you get three pairs for $20 (and they frequently go on sale for 3/$15!!) so you have clean extras all season; etc.
Really, pretty much exactly what we're all looking for.