Today I got a healthy reminder of one of the reasons why I left my former time period. You see, I was wildly enthusiastic, totally in love with the era, and utterly miserable. I was wrestling with a dragon, and didn't need to be (see? she has that thing totally under control - "why did you stab my dragon dude? He's on a leash & everything!"). So, I left. I found my tribe.Paolo Uccello 1470 St. George etc.
But George does not have to fear the Authenticity Dragon! George can make best friends with it given the right venue, support, and opportunities! So before poking at the poor beast, hop off your horse & let's see how Dragon Obedience Class works out. (if you want to, at worst you'll get eaten). Sit Boy.
I'll frame this in context of historic clothing, but it can really apply to anything
*Do research your persona. Follow the evidence and accept it, and do your best to represent that faithfully. (This obviously only applies to persona-based aspects, not everyone has/needs a persona, and you totally don't have to pluck your forehead hair).
- Don't try to bend the evidence to fit your original idea. Please do not be Cinderella's Ugly Step Sister hacking off her own toe to make the shoe fit. Forget the Prince. Get some practical shoes in your size, then go out and showcase your natural leadership and management skills.
*Do MAKE A LIST. Seriously, write it down. Garment name, materials, color, patterns, special details.
- Don't wing it. This is always a bad plan, and you won't be happy with the results. Ask me how I know...
*Do shop for the items on the list. Stick to the list! Dyeing stash fabric is acceptable, do it.
- Don't deviate from the list. No improvisation.
*Do Follow the plan. Stick to the plan. All the way to the end.
- Don't Change your mind mid-cut. You will forget, it will be a tangent, and you will not be happy with the results. Ask me how I know... like literally this week I deviated and I'm mad about it because it's going to make the next step harder.
*Do Own it. Own it big-time. Own the triumph and the terrible disasters.
*Do Learn from your mistakes and move on.
- Don't be afraid to cull horrible the things you've made. We all make mistakes, sometimes costly ones.
*Do better. Always strive for better even in small ways. This doesn't mean 100% accurate, it just means push the bar to improve each time as you need to and are able to.
*Do make sure your awesome is being shown in the right venue.
- Don't get upset that someone doesn't appreciate your awesomeness if it doesn't fit in with their vision of what it ought to be (I know, this is hard). I mean, yeah, you could feed them to a dragon, but honestly you're more likely to be eaten by it while tying them to the post, especially if you never completed Dragon Training 101 ("Sit Boy! AAAHHHH).
IDK how well my analogies worked, but the whole point of this is to make life easier and have fun. We love our hobbies, and our hobbies ought to love us back. Seriously, if you aren't happy in a given venue, go find a place where you will be - there are a gazillion different groups all doing different and wonderful things while wearing spiffy historic fashions to lesser or greater degrees of accuracy. I adored the 18th c., but I did not adore tourists and historic inflexibility (among other issues). That is not the goal.
Here are just a handful of mega-awesome venues to rock your historic socks off:
SCA (yay!), Adrian Empire, Legio, Renaissance faires, pirate festivals (aarrr), fairy festivals, scads of Norse stuff, various LARP groups, English Civil War Society of America, American Colonial Militia Units, National Rendezvous and Living History Foundation, George Washington balls and colonial dance groups, Colonial frolics, Jane Austen dance groups, War of 1812, American Civil War, WW1, WW11, steampunk, and far too many others to list. Some have loose rules, some are curated - read and follow the rules so everyone can have fun - if you don't like the rules, play elsewhere (yeah, I know).
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