I will shortly be attending a large SCA war in Mississippi. Now, I've been to my share of cold events, but never one that was a week long.

I'm looking on some good suggestions for staying warm, most specifically my feet. We will have a fire in camp and I sleep under silk and wool, so I don't get cold at night. I'm just trying to figure out how to keep my feet warm while they are in the stirrups or while I'm marshalling. Does anyone have any suggestion?

Stateline tack has Silk sock liners as well as other silk undergarments that don't seem to be too pricey.

From a historical POV, it depends on the timeframe you are portraying.

Most of the week I will be portraying a 1640's English Civil War era Cavalier. Since it's very well documented that ladies in that period frequently dressed and rode in men's clothing (one of those things the blasted Roundheads railed at, LOL) I will be in woolen and velvet doublets and slops. The buff coat is out of my budget and not appropriate since I'm not portraying an officer in His Majesty's army but it would sure be warm, sigh.

I have four pairs of riding suitable boots that go with me to this event every year, plus several more for walking around. I've always firmly believed (as do my feet) some boots are for riding, some are for walking. I used to only take two pairs but since so called Gulf Pours VIII, I take more. I don't have any pattens at least I don't think I do--I'm not familiar with them in their medieval form, only their Victorian form.

For the formal Emprise activities, I will be dressed as a 12th century Scottish squire participating under the watchful eye of my also Scottish knight of a good border reaver family. My surcoat is linen and I'm making an undertunic of wool. I also wear heavy leather gauntlets and sock liners.

The South as a rule is always damp, even in the winter months humidity is around 70-80% but the site itself is not damp unless we have torrential rain.

I'm in Washington State. Its ALWAYS cold and wet here, but we manage to stay comfy even in downpours and snow with the following:

1. wool!!!!!! it stays warm even when wet, wicks water away, is water resistant and oh-so period. wear it on your feet as stockings, even two pairs at a time. Wear it as the garments themselves. I wear a woolen gown and a woolen coat.

I've been to events in the pouring rain. the water wicks off the shoulders and drains to the cuffs of my coat. The cuffs and bottom will be wringing wet but the shoulders will be basically only damp, since the water has been running down the coat itself, and I'm dry underneath.

poly-wool blends dont do this, only 100% real wool, preferrably the fully fulled stuff (ie you threw it in the washer and dryer before you made it up into a garment)

2. cover your head. Preferrably in linen with wool on top of that. Silk is good as under wool also. Cotton does NOTHING to keep you warm and polyesters dont breathe so they're no help at all either (plus being modern. ugh). I wear a linen head cloth plus a woolen hood that covers my head and my shoulders. I have a wool coif that I sleep in when the nights reach into the 30s.

3. Mittens of wool are wonderfu. I have a pair of sheepskin mittens just like the period ones the sheepherders wear.

4. pattens (those are wooden overshoes that go over your medieval leather shoes) are a godsend. They keep you out of the wet a bit so that you dont lose heat through the bottoms of your feet. I dont know about you but if my feet are cold its hard for the rest of me to keep warm.

hope this helps! its actually neat to be portraying people while wearing medieval clothing (ie wool and linen) in medieval weather. You'll be warm and fairly comfy while the folks running around in plastic garbage bags over cotton tunics with watch you with envy