Newbie needs garb advice!

[Cogsworth]

Greetings everyone! I am new to the board but I have been to a few Faires in my time though not for many years. I am planning on going to the Pleasure Faire here in Los Angeles this spring and I have decided to acquire some new garb. I am aiming for the "middle-class merchant" look. I already have a nice "natural" color shirt that I purchased at the Faire a few years ago, so I am in need of a basic doublet and knee breeches.

I am looking at ordering my outfit (and my fair lady's) from Celtic Rose Designs, since I really like their doublet and the price is quite reasonable. If anyone has any feedback on them, or can suggest another vendor that might offer a better deal, please let me know.

Now the questions...first I am having trouble deciding on the colors. I know purple is off-limits. My favorite color is blue, and my first thought was a royal blue for the doublet and navy for the breeches...but then I was thinking I should lean more towards earth tones, like maybe hunter green for the doublet and some sort of brown for the breeches...any suggestions? Should the breeches match the doublet? Or contrast?

I am open to blues, greens, burgundy or black.

Also, I am thinking of getting the doublet with removable sleeves...should the sleeve color match or contrast with the doublet?

Last question...I would like to add a leather ring belt and pouch, would it be appropriate to wear this around the outside of the doublet? Or under it?

Thanks in advance for your opinions and advice!

[isabelladangelo]

Hi and welcome!   

Believe it or not, purple isn't off limits (unless you are on cast and then check with your fair's rules).  Purple as we know it was (and still is!) called violet back in the 16th C.  What they called purple, we'd recognize as more of a dark purplish red - sort of a burgundy really.  It was created from dried blood of sea creatures, hence the color and the expense. 

Look through http://elizabethan-portraits.com/ for what was actually worn in period.  Http://www.wga.hu also has a LOT of paintings but the Elizabethan portraits is a good place to start.  Is there a specific time/place you are looking for?

When it comes to color, there is a huge selection. 


DSCF1356 by jubileel_insaneone, on Flickr

The above is a project done by a lady who looked at natural dyes available to Northern Europe between the 12th to 14th C.  As you can see, there are a ton of options.   Our ancestors were anything but drab.   

[GryffinSong]

Wow, that color project is awesome! I've bookmarked it for reference.

[Gauwyn of Bracknell]

 

Believe it or not, purple isn't off limits (unless you are on cast and then check with your fair's rules). 

Thanks for saying this - sometimes malady gets the 'look' - even though the king was indebted to her father and as a young girl was granted to wear whatever color she likes

[GryffinSong]

You two look awesome!

[isabelladangelo]

Thanks for saying this - sometimes malady gets the 'look' - even though the king was indebted to her father and as a young girl was granted to wear whatever color she likes

Not a problem.  Just tell her to inform people that she is wearing violet and not purple - and if she would like, to carry a small bit of maroon (purple) cloth that the "king" gave her from his own vestments.  The purple that is written in English sumptuary law is purpura.  Violet, on the other hand, was well known and is seen in multiple paintings of all classes.  (It's not hard to figure out that red+blue=violet!)

I really wish people would do more research and stop assuming that something is true just because someone told them it was.   Even going to a museum or cracking open a coffee table book on renaissance paintings would quickly dispel many myths on Renaissance era colors. 

[Cogsworth]

Thanks for the color information! I think I will still stay clear of purple...partly because of the Royal connotations but also because I don't particularly care for it LOL. Right now I'm thinking a royal blue doublet with navy sleeves, and possibly burgundy breeches...hmmm...yeah I know I am over-thinking it.

[DonaCatalina]

While I stay away from purples out of respect for my friends who are cast as royalty,I would say wear whatever you are comfortable wearting.
If you look around at renaissance portraits you will see that they had a different color sense than what we consider putting together in the 21st century.
Brown and red

Peach and black

Green and burgundy

Teal and taupe

[gem]

Right now I'm thinking a royal blue doublet with navy sleeves, and possibly burgundy breeches...hmmm...yeah I know I am over-thinking it.

While I'm all for embracing your color-loving self, and would have no issues at all with this many colors in a gown... I'm wondering how you would feel about wearing a navy blue jacket, royal shirt or tie, and burgundy trousers in real life.  I might switch that color scheme up a bit. Maybe royal or navy for the doublet, black for the breeches (it's always nice to have a neutral base), then burgundy for trim or sleeves. Contrast sleeves were popular in Italy early in the Renaissance (like Dona C's first portrait), but I generally see doublet sleeves matching at Fair (see Gauwyn's beautiful charcoal grey doublet, above). And although shirts were always white in period, that's another great place to play with color in your Fairwear. I'm not sure you can see it in his photo, but Gauwyn's shirt (or the one he wore when I met him!) is purple! It looks amazing with the charcoal/black of the rest of his garb. And I like Milord in his green slashed doublet with a contrast shirt. You can see in that photo that the lining is navy, which coordinates with the trim--that's another way to bring in more color, without overwhelming the look.

When I'm trying to work out color schemes for an ensemble (which is EVERY ENSEMBLE I MAKE!  ), I will often print/trace out several line drawings of the outfit and get out my markers and colored pencils (or Photoshop). It's a good way to see how everything works together.

***

Last question...I would like to add a leather ring belt and pouch, would it be appropriate to wear this around the outside of the doublet? Or under it?

I think generally over (also for your comfort)...? Although I'll let others weigh in on that one.

Have fun!!