Archive for December, 2012

When you spend as much time around Medieval clothing, Renaissance clothing, and other historical garb as we do, you can’t help but get interested in the past a little bit. With 2013 knocking at the door, many of you are probably figuring out your New Year’s resolution or doing something similar. It might be a fun idea to resolve to look back on the past a bit in the coming year to see exactly where we’ve all come from. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how the celebration of the New Year has changed throughout history.

• It should go without saying that the celebration of a new year is the oldest of all recorded holidays. It was first observed in Babylon about 4000 years ago. In those days, the New Year began with the first New Moon after the first day of spring. This makes sense—the season of spring feels like a true time of rebirth and renewal.
• So how did the New Year come to fall on January 1? The Romans celebrated the New Year in late March, but emperors changed the calendar and one thing just led to another. In an effort to set the calendar straight, the Roman senate declared January 1 to be the beginning of the New Year way back in 153 BC.
• During the Middle Ages, the Church was actually opposed to the celebration of New Years. It didn’t become a Western celebration until about 400 years ago. Huh!

Ring in the New Year in style by choosing the perfect Medieval clothing and Renaissance clothing from Pearson’s! Don’t party like it’s 2013… Party like it’s 1613!

Bring some of the past along with your presents!

Christmas Eve is upon us, and we couldn’t be more excited! Christmas was one of the most important and sacred holidays back in the Middle Ages. It was a time of both spiritual reflection and festive gatherings! (Much like it is today, we suppose.) Let’s take a look at some of our favorite Medieval Christmas decorating ideas. You never know—it might not be too late to incorporate some of them into your very own holiday décor along with your Renaissance clothing!

• Nativity scenes are still popular today, so they are a very easy way to bring a Medieval touch to your Christmas décor. They first appeared in 10^th Century Rome, and they were quite commonplace in upper class households during the Middle Ages.
• Holly, mistletoe, ivy, and pine boughs could be seen everywhere—from humble homes to high society—during Christmastime. These greens actually date back to pre-Christian times in Europe, where they were part of the winter solstice celebrations.
• Apples and nuts held some symbolic meaning for Medieval Christians. They represented the Virgin Mary and the little baby Jesus. Medieval people collected them during the harvest to store throughout the winter. During the Christmas holiday, they were placed in chalices and bowls around the household. (We wonder if this is where that awful fruitcake tradition got its roots…)

From all of us here at Pearson’s Renaissance Shoppe, we hope you have a marvelous Christmas season!

Match your style to your steampunk decor

Steampunk is one of our favorite fantasy offshoots. It melds Victorian aesthetic and science fiction together into a beautiful array of gizmos, gadgets, and other wonderful things. We love it, and that’s why we have a large selection of steampunk costumes to help you create the fantasy in your own life. But we also think it would be fun to take it one step further, too! Let’s look at how you can add some steampunk style to your home.

There are some great places you can look for inspiration. Think about the works of Jules Verne or H.G. Wells and go from there. The movies Wild Wild West and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are perfect examples of the steampunk style. The whole vibe combines the look and feel of Victorian England with funky gears, cogs, and other futuristic gadgets. Decorate your home with clocks with gears showing, hourglasses, and decorative rifles mounted on the wall. This will be perfectly complementary to a floral Victorian wallpaper and furniture. Kick it up a notch with accents including brass, copper, and dark glass and wood.

Have you decorated your home in the steampunk style already? We’d love to see some steampunk style pictures! We hear it can be just as functional as it is decorative—you can create stained glass domes for some eye-catching nightstand lamps or something similar

One of the most beautiful scenes in any of the Harry Potter movies would have to be the time when Hogwarts celebrated Christmas. In fact, the witches and wizards at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry took Christmas so seriously that they celebrated it for several weeks. Each Christmas, the Hogwarts Great Hall is decorated with towering Christmas trees, holly, mistletoe, and other Yuletide accents. And, since it’s a magical world, the school is also decorated with live fairies that fly around the trees, and everlasting icicles that add a touch of winter whimsy. There’s even dry snow floating around from the Enchanted Ceiling.

You can’t quite reenact everything about a Hogwarts Christmas, but you can certainly make sure that you look the part as you celebrate your own Muggle holiday! Here at Pearson’s Renaissance Shoppe, we have a selection of Harry Potter costumes to help you look and feel magical this holiday season. You can find some unique Triwizard Tournament shirts, Hogwarts school scarves, wizard robes, wizard hats, and other great wizard costumes

You may not have access to magic, but our Harry Potter costumes will help bring a little bit of Hogwarts into your holiday celebration. And they certainly make great gifts for the Harry Potter fan on your list!

Renaissance boots are perfect for the faire grounds, but there are plenty of other fun uses for them outside of the Renaissance life. Thick, rugged boots like the Caribbean Buckle Boot and the King Richard Boot are perfect for outdoor LARPing, SCA gatherings and anything that requires rugged footwear with a Renaissance flair. For rough outdoor terrain, choose a tall, thick boot with a non-slip sole such as the Airship Captain Boot. For variable terrain and temperatures, the Porthos Boot can be worn as either a thigh-high or knee-high boot to allow you to adapt your costume to your environment!

Softer boots like the Medieval High Boot and the Men’s Renaissance Boot are perfect for indoor RPGs, theatrical productions and filking. These softer Renaissance boots are also comfortable for cons and even for everyday wear. A pair of simple boots such as the Captain Boot can be used for formal occasions as well as a day at the faire, and they adapt well to many types of costumes.

In hot weather, Renaissance garb doesn’t have to feel like a burden. Choose boots that will give you some air circulation such as the Ghillie Boot or short boots like the Viking Boot, and you’ll be ready to travel any road!