Real world clothing stinks

[Rawion]

But I sorta figured making it yourself was part of the charm?

Well making the stuff would be wonderful, IF I had the time. so... I also find it strange that with all the various clothing genres out there, there is'nt one for this kinda stuff. They have Goth, Prep, Hippie, Sporty, Business, Punk/Rocker, Gangster, Retro, and I'm sure many more, but alas, no elvish/medieval/ranger style

 

[Mistwell]

I'd check various Little India areas around the country. For example, the Little India for Los Angeles has a lot of this sort of stuff.

 

[pawsplay]

Somtimes goth shops have some tunics and such. Your best best is to go to Ren Fairs to do your shopping. Most fairs have at least a couple of good clothiers. Otherwise, well, you make it yourself. Or you date someone who makes it. Or you talk your parents into making it.

 

[Wik]

I also find it strange that with all the various clothing genres out there, there is'nt one for this kinda stuff. They have Goth, Prep, Hippie, Sporty, Business, Punk/Rocker, Gangster, Retro, and I'm sure many more, but alas, no elvish/medieval/ranger style

...um.

I don't really see that as a bad thing.

 

[Umbran]

Hm. I wonder how many LARPers are on ENWorld? I imagine a fair amount.

I suspect you're more after SCA stuff than LARP stuff.

You rang?

To be 100% honest, the vast majority of LARPers and SCAdians don't wear stuff that looks as good as you see in fantasy art. Why? There are two basic reasons.

First off the fantasy clothes are usually impractical, if not outright impossible. You can't just join glossy leather and gossamer fabrics together willy-nilly in real life and have a functional garment. Many of the fantasy garments look good in a particular pose, but if you tried to make it real, you'd find it would bind, bunch, or otherwise not work well.

The other reason is that the demand for such stuff is not large. There's not a huge market, so the goods are not mass-produced. That means it is all handmade - the time and skill required make it expensive.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Have you checked out Amazon Drygoods?

Amazon Drygoods catalogs sell books, reproduction clothing and household accessories, shoes, toys, corsets, plus historic clothing and window treatment patterns.

I know what it looks like they have, but I still have one of my old catalogs. If you read closely, you'll note they've supplied pro-level costumes to every aspect of the visual arts: films, stage, TV, Opera and ballet.

Besides the patterns, they also sell pre-fabricated clothing. Some of what they sell is either "semi-authentic" period garb or stuff made in period style with more modern fabrics and techniques.

For instance, they used to sell leather Roman style sandals (as I recall, somewhere about calf height) for @$120. And I own a couple of Jester/Harlequin hats of theirs...

 

[dbm]

If you want 'real' active clothing, rather than pseudo-medieval, check out Tilley Endurables - The Finest Hats and Travel Clothing in the World

They make fantastic travel clothing.

Cheers,
Dan

 

[Pbartender]

If you want 'real' active clothing, rather than pseudo-medieval, check out Tilley Endurables - The Finest Hats and Travel Clothing in the World

They make fantastic travel clothing.

Cheers,
Dan

Tilley makes great stuff... but very expensive.

 

[Rawion]

First off the fantasy clothes are usually impractical, if not outright impossible. You can't just join glossy leather and gossamer fabrics together willy-nilly in real life and have a functional garment. Many of the fantasy garments look good in a particular pose, but if you tried to make it real, you'd find it would bind, bunch, or otherwise not work well.

I agree that alot fantasy clothing is ridiculous. However, ranger clothing has to be functional by law. Also in my original post I mentioned the evlish clothing on LotR. Have you seen the design pics of the clothes? Especially for Legolas. Never before have I seen such a perfect combination of utility, comfort, and beauty. However it would be kind of a rip-off to run around in a Legolas costume all the time, so variations of the theme is required. Also also, I had a neat idea that you could put leather pads on the clothes to make tumbling easier.

 

[Blair Goatsblood]

..... However it would be kind of a rip-off to run around in a Legolas costume all the time, so variations of the theme is required. Also also, I had a neat idea that you could put leather pads on the clothes to make tumbling easier.

Good lord, is anyone going to try and stop this madness? You really do not need to be running around in an elven ranger outfit with tumbling pads in non-convention/larp situations.

If you are interested in fantasy clothing, I suggest you explore the world of High Fashion to see examples of crazy, real-world clothing.