Medieval Costumes

Get ready for LARP season with renaissance costumes

The end of February is not too far off, which means that Live Action Role Playing (LARP) season will be here before you know it! Many groups like to hold their first events of the year during March. This means that it is time to dig out your Medieval costumes, oil up and polish your Medieval armor, and to start practicing with your boffer or latex weapons.

What is LARPing? LARPing is a type of roleplaying that takes you away from a gaming table and actually places you inside the role of your actual character. When you create a character, you actually come up with their personality, put on a Renaissance costume, and head out to a location, such as a campsite, to act out how your character would respond to the situations that are presented to you.

In most cases, there is a game staff that comes up with the story, villains, and other characters to help immerse you within the world of the game. Then you spend the entire length of the event acting out your character as you come across various scenarios. It is both a unique and entertaining experience.

If you are thinking about attending a LARP and are in need of a costume or armor, make sure to visit our site to see all of the fun options we have available.

"What? Me hungry!" said the barbarian

As you may know, in the past we have had some of our readers submit their funny LARP stories to us so that we can share them with everyone. For newer readers, LARP stands for Live Action Role Playing, and it is a game where you actually become your character and roleplay him or her out in a physical setting. Depending on the organization you are with, there can be combat with safe-for-combat weapons, while other games use other methods. It is a great place to utilize Medieval and Renaissance costuming.

This particular story starts in the town’s Medieval Tavern. Most of the players had gathered for the Saturday afternoon feast and were enjoying merriment and games. Since everyone was going to be in one location, the game directors had organized a valuable piece of information to be released to the players by way of a good old fashion tavern fight.

While everyone was enjoying their meals, the two people who were “staging” the fight were throwing taunts toward each other, gearing up for this elaborately planned affair. The tension was running high as the players were waiting to see what exactly would happen in the following altercation.

Just as one of the participants got up to draw their sword, something unexpected occurred: A player, taking the role of a barbarian, did not wish to have his meal interrupted by petty barroom antics. Before the person initiating the fight could even draw their weapon, this barbarian picked up his club and used a skill that knocks someone out for ten minutes, thus adverting the fight.

Once complete, the barbarian sat back down, looked up, and realized that everyone was looking at him. He simply shrugged his shoulders, that were covered by his Medieval Barbarian wrap, and said, “What? Me hungry!”

Please feel free to share your own funny LARP stories in the comments section!

Hear ye, Hear ye!

If you are planning on visiting a Renaissance Faire in the near future, wearing a costume can help add to the atmosphere.  Or maybe you are a seasoned veteran who loves to dress up, but you are looking for a different costume to change things up a bit.

Popular roles at a Faire are:

-Warriors

-Knights

-Clerics

-Tavern Keeps

-Pirates

But there is one role that people sometimes shy away from: The poet. Medieval poets were often great lyricists who penned some of the most beautiful poetry that we read today. If you are looking to meet a lovely lady while at the fair, why not consider wooing her with some vibrant verses? An appropriate costume to go along with this archetype would be this Renaissance cotton poet shirt.

We also wanted to bring up this idea this week because the 22^nd of December is National Haiku Day. We thought it might be fun to pair a pop-culture event with some of our Renaissance themes. Therefore, we have tried our hand at some of our own haiku.

“Cunning Rogue”

O’ Wondrous Maiden

Your vast beauty radiates.

Please bring me some ale.

“The Calm Before the Storm”

Rain, nor thunder could

draw the evil Duke from his lair

Churchmen prayed all night.

Can you come up with any? If you can feel free to post them in the comments section!

Create authentic food for medieval celebrations

From time to time we like to bring you recipes that have a Medieval flair to them so that you can include period food during your reenactments or  LARP event. And so we realized that when it comes to the Middle Ages,  there is something that takes precedence when it comes to food: Preservation.

Since there were no means of freezing or refrigeration, tavern owners needed to adopt other methods of making their food harvested during Autumn last through the Winter. Here are some of the more popular methods, other than salting, that were used:

-Smoking: Smoking via wood smoke was the common way to preserve fish or pork.

-Drying: Grains, cereals, meats, and fruit could be preserved through drying.

-Picking: Substances high in salt such as brine, or liquids like vinegar, were the usual methods of preserving fish and others meats. This was also a great way to keep vegetables longer into the colder months.

-Honey: When it came to certain drinks, such as mead, honey was sometimes used as a way to preserve the eventual mixture.

-Gelatin: Meat and fresh fish could be well kept by cooking them in a material that will eventually produce and solidify into a gel.

These are just some of the methods used during those times. If you ever wanted to give your customers/players a true sense of historical food, you can consider trying one of these preservation techniques. It can also be an educational process if you have your servers, who are dressed in beer wench costumes, work with your customers/players in assisting with some of these methods so that they can learn how people had to prepare for the winter months in the Middle Ages.

The right costumes can make or break the play

If you belong to a community theater, you know that you have to work hard to get as much out of the limited budget as possible. Each time you can find ways to save money, the more you can add to your overall performance.

One way to reduce costs for your company is to have an established wardrobe room. Having a wardrobe or costume room that you are continuously adding to means that you will accumulate a wealthy selection over time. When you have such a diversity of costumes to pick from, that means you will be more likely to find the correct costume for whatever show you plan on performing.

A popular style costume that can be used in a multitude of eras are Renaissance costumes. Whether you are working on something Shakespearean, Medieval, or any type of general historical setting from the Renaissance era, this style of costume can apply. Whenever there is a play with a King, a Queen, or nobility, these dresses or robes will certainly add a sense of atmosphere to your show. You can find these types of costumes at PearsonRenassainceShoppe.com, so that you can start building up the wardrobe at your theatre.

As we move into the spookiest time of year, we also can’t ignore how popular vampires have become in pop culture. With a number of books, movies, television shows, and video games revolving around these mythological creatures, it is hard to say that they haven’t made an impact on a lot of our lives.

Vampires also have a tie in to the Renaissance and Medieval era, as it is during these time periods the lore of the vampire first surfaced. It was fabled that viscous rulers would need to feed on the blood of mortals in order to survive. Throw in the fact that most vampires sport a Gothic attire, it is easy to see why their costuming would fit right in at a Renaissance Faire.

Therefore we wanted to give you a few examples of vampire costuming you can find at PearsonsRenaissanceShoppe.com:

Gatekeeper Cloak:  A dark cloak that gives an aura of mystique to whomever you encounter.

Vampire Queen Costume: An outfit that clearly shows your noble status while staying true to the Gothic style.

Vampire Cloak: What is a Lord of the Night without a patented cloak that they can use to disappear into the shadows? A must for any vampire attire.

Vampire Pendant: This pendant also sports the Gothic style and contributes well to the vampire feel. It is a great accessory for almost any costume.

We hope you find everything you need to make a costume that is deserving of a Vampire Lord or Lady.

Choose the right costume for your character

If you are considering designing your first LARP character but aren’t quite sure on your costume, then this post is for you. Most LARPs or Live Action Role Playing games, are fantasy based, which means that many of the races made popular in fiction are available for playable characters.

But what type of costuming should you wear depends upon the race that you play. Hopefully we will be able to address that for you. Please keep in mind however, that these suggestions are based upon general fantasy settings. The LARP you attend may have a very specific take on a particular race, so it is encouraged to learn as much about the game setting before making any major decisions.

Humans: Humans are wonderful in the sense that they are so adaptable. Whether you want to be a noble, a warrior, a farmer, a tavern keep, or the town crier, you can wear almost anything you want, so long as it fits the Medieval theme.

Elves: Elves are generally regarded as somewhat of a regal race. They are usually fair, elegant, and refined. They are also drawn toward magic, and their fine clothing reflects this. An elf may wear something along the lines of this Medieval wool cloak. Most games also have a branch of Wood Elves, who live off of nature and have a deep respect for all that the woods have to offer. They typically use the land to live and are expert archers, hunters, and trackers. This Elven Prince Brocade tunic is an excellent example of this type of Elf.

Dwarf: Dwarfs are categorized as miners, craftsmen, cooks, or tavern keeps. They are a hearty race with a passion for good food, good drink, and treasure. Dwarves are also very stubborn, and will never back down from a fight and therefore make excellent warriors. For a craftsmen, this Innkeepers vest may be appropriate, while a fighter may consider this leather jerkin.

Orcs: Orcs are a green-skinned race who are usually cited for their incredible strength and battlefield prowess. Although they can take on other trades, fighting is usually their profession. Often hot headed, difficult to reason with, and at times brutal, a pack of Orc raiders are not a welcomed site. Unlike Elves, Orcs do not care about refinery and only wear clothing that is beneficial to them. That is why this woolen tunic is an ideal choice for an Orc.

We hope that these ideas have been useful to you and that whatever character you decide to play, that you have an amazing time.

If you are thinking about going to a LARP, you are going to need to develop a character. A LARP is a completely immersive gaming experience where you literally become your character and go to a camp site and to act out what your character would do. It can be a very entertaining experience that gives you the opportunity to meet a lot of interesting people.

When developing your character, you will normally have decide upon a character class or a skill path. A common skill path found at LARPs is a Wizard or a Mage. Below is a list of pros and cons that you can consider if you were thinking about playing a Mage, so that you can make an informed decision.

PROS:

-You have access to spells. The further down the path you go, the more powerful these spell can become.

-Spells are essentially a ranged attack, so you don’t have to be right next to the enemy to hit them with the spell.

-You will be highly valuable in specific situations depending upon the type of spells you can cast.

CONS:

-Most LARPs represent a spell being cast by throwing “spell packets.” Spell packets are little squares of fabric that are filled with bird seed, then tied off to form weighted packets. Since you can’t actually make a fireball come out of your wand, you have to throw these packets instead. Throwing these packets in a combat situation makes it difficult to effectively wield your weapons.

-You won’t have a lot of access to skills relating to fighting as they are reserved to fighting classes.

-If you can cast spells designed to protect players, you may be pestered a lot by other characters.

Every class is going to have its ups and downs. So long as you have fun playing the character, you can always work around the cons. If you are in need of a Medieval wizard costume, we’ve got you covered here at Pearson’s.

Look like Danny McBride in this tunic

Given the nature of our site, we always like to stay up-to-date on various Medieval- and Renaissance-related events that occur in the news or entertainment fields.  It is always rewarding to see that there is still such a strong interest in these eras of history.

One such event is the release of the motion picture entitled Your Highness.

Your Highness is an historical comedy that is scheduled to be released April 8th.  It stars Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman, and Zooey Deschanel.

In this film, two princes Thadeous (McBride) and Fabious (Franco) must join forces to save their land from an evil wizard.  Fabious is your typical knight in shining armor, rescue the damsel in distress, perfect heir to the throne type prince.  Thadeous is none of those things.  While questing to defeat the evil wizard, Fabious must not only fight the forces of evil, but must also make sure his own brother doesn’t bring about the destruction of the kingdom.

We are excited to see how this movie pans out.  We’ve noticed that Danny McBride’s character wears a tunic much like this Medieval undertunic you can find at Pearsons.  Maybe they secretly ordered their wardrobe from us!

How do you think this movie will be?  Let us know in the comments section.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that Spring is almost here?  Winter will finally be cast off as we begin to enjoy longer days and warmer temperatures?  The coming of spring also marks the beginning of many Live Action Role Playing games, or LARPs, seasons.  Since the events will soon be upon us, now would be a great time to think about and prepare your character’s costume.  But what type of character are you going to be?

LARP season is on the way!

Perhaps you are thinking about playing an Elven mage who has power over the forces of magic.  You may not be one of the most respected fighters in your game, but the damage you can hurl at the enemy along with the magical protection you can offer your allies will be second to none.

Or maybe you were planing on portraying a rugged dwarf who has spent most of his life below the mountains, who only recently ventured to the surface looking for new treasures.  Will you be the traditional archetypal dwarf who is a miner or craftsman?  Or will you break the mold and play something different?

Will you entertain the notion of playing a human, where your options are almost limitless?  Will you be the sagely cleric?  A cunning rogue?  A daring warrior who leads his comrades into battle?  If so, you may want to consider wearing a riveted aluminum chain mail coif for added protection.

Whatever character you come up with, you will be sure to have fun this season while you LARP.  You will also be sure to find costuming you need at Pearsons.  Let us know about your character in the comments section.