Archive for February, 2013

In our last blog post we discussed the necessity to keep winter weather in mind when choosing the costumes you’ll wear during events and adventures both inside and out. I asked you, dear readers, to share in your tips for having fun and keeping warm even when it’s frosty, and mentioned I’d be sharing a few of my favorite winter Renaissance costume essentials. And… here they are! Please do share yours, as well! 🙂

Stretch Velour Pants: For days, nights, or events when a skirt or dress simply won’t work, I turn to my trusty black velour pants. Well-suited to a pirate costume, these can also be worn beneath almost any dress or skirt for added warmth.

Chess Queen Bodice: Remember those layers I mentioned in Part 1 of this post series? This lovely piece is among my most popular choices! Fashioned from faux suede with a soft satin lining, it pairs well with many tops and dresses. It also looks pretty fierce with the velour pants above, and if the Renaissance was anything, it was fierce!

Milorada Wook Cloak: Crafted from supremely soft and warm wool, I feel powerful, pretty and poised in this cloak. It’s as though it is imbued with confidence and charisma! Plus, it helps me stay toasty. And, it’s available in many colors to complement your costume of choice, or where you’ll be wearing it. I personally love the white cloak, but it can be a bit impractical if your character is likely to get dirty. For those lady LARPers I recommend the green, red, blue, black or grey. (But seriously, the white is gorgeous!)

Queen Isabella Renaissance Boots: The versatility of these boots knows no bounds. And – you get to customize them! They are definitely an investment piece, with a heavy leather upper and screw-on buttons that you can switch up as you wish, but you’ll understand their price the first time you see them in person. They are warm, comfortable, and built to last, with a Vibram welted sole and heel. Their quality is unlike any we’ve seen, and as they can be re-soled, we expect you’ll enjoy them for many years. I personally love the brown boot with blue trim, but have yet to see a customer order a color combo that didn’t turn out awesome!

While the calendar tells us that spring is in fact somewhat within reach, there’s no denying that in these parts, winter is still very much having her day in the spotlight. It’s just too bad her spotlight doesn’t give off any warmth!

Let me start by saying that I am very pro-winter. I don’t mind the cold nearly as much as many people, and try to save most of my weather complaints for those stifling summer days that make me feel melty. That said, winter is not to be taken lightly; she is to be taken with warm fabrics, sturdy boots, and lots of layers. And taking her that way while LARPing or attending Renaissance events makes them all the more enjoyable!

While I do spend more time indoors during the winter months, avoiding prolonged exposure to the elements more often than not, I’m also steadfast in not becoming a hermit just because the temps are below 50. If friends are heading sledding, or have a little snowy Saturday LARPing on the agenda, I’m not about to miss out just so I don’t get chilly. That said, I’m also not about to invite discomfort by wearing a lightweight gown or gauzy cotton skirt. When you dress with the weather in mind, you find you don’t mind the weather!

I’m putting together a list of a few of my favorite winter Renaissance costume essentials, and will be posting it here in a few days. In the meantime, I was hoping some of you might share your own faves. What do you look for in a winter Renaissance costume? What tips do you have to help others have fun without getting frostbite?

To say I have a soft spot for LARPing is a bit of an understatement. Sure, on the surface it can simply look like a group of people with similar, perhaps slightly nerdy interests, playing a grown-up game of make believe. And – it is partly that! But what hurts my heart is when people see that as a bad thing, as though taking time away from the routine stresses of life to spend time doing something you enjoy with others is somehow immature or stupid. In my humble opinion, I think it’s quite the opposite.

A simple fact that’s tricky to argue is that humans are by nature social creatures. I enjoy a solo movie night or shopping trip alone from time to time as much as the next gal, but as an everyday way of life, no thanks! Interacting with others gives us new perspectives, new ideas, a way to decompress, and a way to elevate our spirits. It helps us forge bonds that can never be broken, experiencing life together in a very meaningful way, no matter how small the events. It’s necessary, and good, and right. But no matter how amazing our lives may be – and I hope all of yours are amazing! – there will always be room for improvement, and there will always be times we just need to get away from it all. That’s where LARPing can slip in quite nicely.

This post is inspired by a wonderful article I read recently: Adults should be imaginative, too: Try LARPing as a hobby. The author, Channing Kaiser, echoes many of the same sentiments I have about this underappreciated pastime. Kaiser sums it up nicely with, “I think the world needs more LARPing because I’m tired of living in a world where you have to grow out of make-believe.”

As a LARP enthusiast, I use LARPing in part as a way to escape. However, unlike harmful methods of escape, such as drug or alcohol abuse, LARPing actually enhances my ‘real’ life. I meet new people, go new places, turn away from technology and reconnect with nature, and come back from it all with some awesome new friends and a soaring spirit. It might be unconventional, but it’s really not nearly as ‘weird’ as outsiders might think it to be. It’s fun and oftentimes silly, and it lets you explore aspects of yourself that might not fit into your everyday life quite so easily. You can stretch your creative side, wear some super cool clothes, and just let yourself go to have a good time. That’s right – a good time! What’s so wrong with that?

I understand that most if not all of the people reading this are of a similar opinion about LARPing as I am, so I don’t expect this post to change the world. But if you do have negative notions about LARPing, I hope you’ll take a minute to think about where they come from. The world is full of enough negativity and name-calling, there’s no need to fuel that fire. We are all beautifully unique creatures, and the things we enjoy are beautifully unique as well. Some might love waking up to heavy metal – for me, it’s Lady Gaga! Neither of us is wrong or right, as there is no wrong or right. We know what works for us, and we do what it takes to make the most of every day.

Similarly, I know LARPing helps make all that mundane stuff seem not-so-bad. I still have to pay my bills, and get my oil changed, and make sure I shovel the walkways after a snowstorm. I’m not trying to run away from any of that. It’s necessary. But all of that is made easier because I let other sides of ‘me’ have their day in the sun, too. Don’t be afraid to be your best you. 🙂

Sometimes when you spend a lot of time around certain people, in a certain space, or around a certain product lineup, it can be tricky to see things in a new way through fresh eyes. Oftentimes it takes someone on the outside pointing something out for us to snap out of our ‘daily daze’. The perfect example? I never really noticed how messy my desk was until a friend stopped over and was like, “Whoa! How do you get anything done at that desk?!” Suddenly, it was like I truly saw my desk clearly for the first time in months. And… she was exactly right. My desk was shockingly messy! That’s not to say I tidied it up completely, but it was refreshing to have an outside perspective on a space I occupy every day and don’t pay much mind to.

Fast-forward a few weeks and that same friend came by my office for a visit. When she peeked at my computer screen, I had our Renaissance belt pouches page pulled up. And, truth be told, I was a bit surprised when she said, “Those are super cute, maybe I’ll get one,” pointing to our Courtier’s belt pouch. She is appreciative of many of the items on our site, but is not one of my ‘Ren Friends’ as I affectionately call them. In short, she thinks a lot of Renaissance and Medieval garments are attractive, but she doesn’t attend festivals or really ‘get into the Renaissance’ so to speak.

I was a bit perplexed by her interest in the belt pouch, until she explained that it would make a stylish weekend bag that was on trend and fashionably functional. She could run errands, take the dogs for a walk, and do a little shopping while keeping her essentials at her hip and her hands free. Genius! But, of course, I didn’t think of it because I look at those pouches every day the same way. Suddenly it was like a light bulb went off, and I liked having it lit.

While some people have a defined style, I tend to simply buy what I like. If it happens to be considered preppy, sporty, hipster-ish, or hippie-ish, so be it. I like it, and that’s all that matters to me! But truth be told, as much as I love my leather belt pouches, I hadn’t thought to take them beyond the realm of my Ren life. Until now, that is. And as cute as it looks with my outfit, I have to admit it felt a little strange to put a lip gloss and hand cream inside this morning. I don’t think those were very popular during the Renaissance! 😉

If you have a leather belt pouch as well, consider whether it will work with your everyday wardrobe. Multi-tasking accessories make life more fun and affordable!