h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Aaaaand here I am.

You said 15th Century, right? That makes it a big easier, as hose was being worn joined by then.

Can you give me an idea of how "authentic" you need to be? There's a big difference between a costume (worn for a day and then discarded, more or less) and garb (real "everyday" clothes that just happen to be made from historically-accurate materials and patterns.)

Also, what role will he be playing? Peasant? Soldier? Merchant? Nobleman?

Oh - and by when would you need it?

Sorry I haven't answered this yet. There was some talk of some costumes being provided. It's hard to get information, but I think we're talking around 1420. It is for a play which will be performed at least 4 times and goes on for hours. So it needs to be fairly robust. He also has to do a couple of energitic things such as wheel his mother about in a wheelbarrow.

He is most worried about shoes at the moment, as he has no idea where to get wooden clogs.

I have a pair of wooden clogs that I just bought at a normal market in the Netherlands - unvarnished and undecorated. They're surprisingly comfortable, but do take some getting used to!

Otherwise, he could always go for a pair of Bundschuhe - they're authentic for almost every era.

Remember that the secret to any good costume is layers. Take a look at the Lord of the Rings movies and you'll see what I mean!

I assume you're after a peasant costume - so you'll need a simple tunic of heavy cotton, light wool, or linen (don't use polyester, if only for the drape!) and an under-tunic of unbleached cotton or linen. Then add a simple cowl and some kind of trousers. You can probably get away with simply buying wide-ish linen summer trousers (women's, probably) and adding some kind of leg wraps - otherwise, just make wide trousers with a drawstring; the top will be under the tunic anyway. Socks weren't really widely worn yet at that point, but do get some thick wool ones to keep the clogs comfortable! (And add a modern insole...)

Belt the tunic with a long belt that you wrap around itself so the end hangs down, and hang a purse from the belt, and hey presto, authentic peasant.

You'll want to stick with a brown/green/russet/unbleached wool colour scheme. Bright colours and blue were the most expensive to dye and unavailable to peasants. You won't need authentic fasteners and cuts and so on, since it's for theatre, but no visible zips, please!

It would be easier if I could just lend you something, but he probably has different measurements

Well - I went to see the play last Saturday evening. The authenticity of the costumes would probably make your toenails curl, especially as they seemed to be wearing the same in the 14th, 17th and 18th centuries!

Here he is (he's the one pushing the cart) http://theater2.jalbum.net/Von%20Sundirn%20nach%20Sondernheim%202009/slides/PIC_0015.html

The old lady is 83 - she played his mother. The children looked lovely, but also wore the same smocks and bonnets in all acts!

Looks good to me, for a play

At least they remembered to cover everyone's head! And bare feet are always authentic

Just been putting all my medieval kit away - there's quite a bit of it if you ever need to borrow any

What was it I was to explain but not in Alex' thread?

About wearing gloves when working on the North side of the house? It wasn't relevant to uterine fibroids, but intrigued me to want to ask more about it.

Oh, right. It's not that interesting. Of the jobs that needed doing around the house (after all, I moved back in with my parents to renovate the place...), most were on the south side of the house or in the south-facing garden, which was far too hot. On the north side, I could've stripped paint or demolished the tiles on the wall and ceiling in the old kitchen, but those jobs both require more clothing than I was willing to wear, plus a breathing mask. So that just left cleaning the pantries, where I only needed gloves (because of all the mouse droppings).