from my research with the italiens and hispanos there are so many differences in style within the "south" between one state or duchy or kingdom and another; even within them proper. yes, there are basic stlyes because of the human form. so how can we acount for these differences and afix a tag of what is "in" or the usual with an avoidance of digging up every etreme mode of fashion as a counter to the arguement? how do we determine this?

i would like to have any suggestions that can be offered because this saturday is going to be the first OFFICIAL Company of the White Stag (i didn't come up with the name) LH group. we are a very young group with some members that need to be edge'macated as what is acceptable and what should be left on the set of Xenna. (yes Bob, the space pirate mercenaries still scare me )

we are taking the basic armet guidelines provided by Gwen from a privious post and using them as our clothing guideline outline. the main deviations are because of the south florida climate. for the doublets we have linen as an acceptable primary material before wool and "temporarily" we are allowing cotton jersy that has been fulled as an acceptable second coice as hose material. what we want to get away from is the use of dancer's tights and try to have something more appropriate for hose. for the other element of clothing guidelines we haven't changed from the posted ones.

is that o.k. Gwen? it's your handwritting and i don't want to take credit for it. so, should i rewrite in Dan'speak or keep as is with contibuted/inspired by GWEN caption at the bottom?

now as far as ARMET how would we fit in? we are italien in origin. the festival we participate in fluctuates in setting location between Venice and Florence. we are going to portray garrisoned soldiers within the walls with typical italian form of weaponry armour etc. from c.1470-80. so would we be able to don burgundian livery and portray an "italien" lance? would we have to modify in order to play? how do you feel about a space pirate cutlass? (just kidding) how would a backswords or a stradiotti recurve or saber fit in if at all? some members will be nationals of italien origin. others will be of a mercenary origin, i.e. outside of italy, and some will be from the satellites of venice, i.e. greek, albanian, dalmatian, etc. ????

so these are my basic questions:

advise on dealing with new recruits and discouraging the space pirates.

how can there be room for the italiens at a armet event?

help me o' wise ones.

have fun,

dan

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Db

First of all, you MUST learn to spell ITALIAN if you want me (or anyone else) to take you seriously.

That having been said, you are perfectly welcome to use the guidelines I posted for ARMET, as I believe the general consensus was that we mostly agreed on the content. (As much as a bunch of compulsive nitpickers can agree about anything ).

Go ahead and make linen your primary doublet material- there's a post around somewhere where we hash out the linen issue. The medieval health handbooks recommend linen clothing for summer wear, and I think Florida qualifies as summer weather....

FYI, you won't be able to full cotton at all. If your guys can wear jeans or sweats in the summer, they'll be able to deal with the fulled wool. Our guys wear it here in SoCal when its 105* with no problems. Wool is nothing at all like dancer's tights because it is a natural fiber that breathes. Try it and you might be suprised!

Good luck!

well... let me not get to much into our inter group politics. but the above should give you all an indication how this "LH" group is going.

i've been working on finishing a complete kit to have as an example for other members. here's a bit of a run down, pics will follow when i can post them:

1 lined linen doublet with detachable sleeves.
2 linen shirts
2 linen braise
1 linen coif
1 cotton joined hose
1 leather belt and pouch
1 suede riding boots

i'm working on a pair of joined woolen hose to replace the cotton ones; the material has been cut it just needs to be sewn. as a side note when the cotton ones do start to stretch i just stick them back in the dryer and they are tight again.

i also started to work on a kidney pouch aswell to replace the one that i have that is based off of a Durer woodcut from the 1500's.

the boots are made from the wrong material but the cut has the right feel. they will be replaced as soon as i finish with my other projects. i also plan to make a pair of pattens.

i also have to make/get some points for my hose since the points that i have right now are questionable to their appropriateness. the points that i used for the doublet are of leather as per the discusion in a previous thread.

everything is either handsewn or at least bears no visible machine stitching. they are also based off either extant example or paintings from our time priod wit a heavy italian influence. i'm looking into getting a suitable straw hat and fashioning some type of outer wear that may help me keep dry from the rain. i feel that i have a solid start. there is of course a lot of items in the planning stage, but the work is progressing (just as long as i can keep my chem exams at bay)

interest in making this group into an LH group is mixed. there is a gentlemen that has done other LH including ACW and WWI. i need to find out if his interest lie in making the stuff or purchasing them (i've allready have fowarded him the Historic Enterprises website) another young man has the enthusiasim but is a bit misguided by pop culture. he however is looking for information on doing and making things right. our other members are... well... *sigh* it's very frustrating, but i keep telling my self baby steps, baby steps.

my emphasis right now is getting the semblence of a "correctly" outfitted individual. personas i've talked about, but interaction in said personas hasn't been addressed yet. all of the other things that flesh out an impesion needs work.

so to gather some type of train of thought. for those of you who have succesfully started a group, what advise can you give. i right now am trying to share the info and skills that i've gathered and am trying to find like minded individuals. i also am trying to lead by example and setting up workshops for those who are interested in making things. what else can i do? what do you suggest? any remedies for a bad infestation of SPM?

have fun,

daniel

[ 07-10-2001: Message edited by: LHF ]

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Db

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yes... ( as i thump my head on the keyboard, "nutts, i knew i would get a responce from using the "s" word )

i know that the suede used was wrong. i know that now. long ago, when i used to skateboard and had pimples, it was what i had on hand. i had gotten as a bargain when the local tandy dealer closed down. it was cheap @ $5.00 per split and a very good heavy ounce of leather. i based the boot off of a Durer painting and figured that as a first attempt at making boots for myself (i used to make orthopedic shoes for company i worked for), why not? if i goofed it would just be $25 in materials scraped.

three years later i'm still not ready to make a new pair for myself after all of the hand sewing endured; my next turnshoes will probably be ankle boots. i make sure that i don't represent them as "authentique" representations but instead as historically inspired. it has spured interest in some to make their own shoes. i got two gentlemen that i'm helping them with their boots. one is based off of a 16 c. turkish riding boots that were on display at the MOA at Ft Laud. the other is going to be of the style used throughout Rene d'Anjou's treatise. i am more confidant that i can construct a more authentic pair from the research into construction and maerials i've gathered. i can thank some of you all for that.

so please forgive me Jeff for ever mentioning the "s" word.

have fun,

daniel

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Db