Whatever Will I wear to War?
(By Brighid the Ageless as appeared in the May 1994 Bolt)

Whatever Will I Wear to War?

I know a lot of you will be going to War for the first time this year. My greatest concern at my first War was what to wear. (OK - so I lost all the men reading this article. When you're not in armor, you'll need this information so read on). It was my second year in the SCA and I had managed to limp along with three pieces of garb. One for hot weather, one for cold weather and one for indoor events. This was not enough for a week of camping. The following should help you start to prepare for this year's adventure.

The weather will do what ever it wants at War. It can be cold at night and hot during the day, rainy or dry and any combination imaginable. In any case the weather will change. So what do you do?

FIRST - Get that cloak and cloak pin you've been thinking about. This will help with a lot of the wet and cold part of War. You may want to invest in a little water repellent spray to fortify your cloak. At the very least bring along a spare Blanket to use in a crisis.
SECOND - Get a hat. All the peasants wear them, the men too. A large brimmed straw hat works well with some way to tie it. This will help with the sunny and rainy parts of War.
THIRD - No matter what you do, don't try to break in new shoes at War! You will be doing more walking than you ever thought you could. Period footwear is not as important as your feet. You will see a lot of people in tennis shoes so no one will think it's strange. Wear what's comfortable!

These are Brighid's top three dressing tips for War. If you don't remember anything else, remember those three things: cloak, hat, comfortable shoes.

But, wait there's more. Try to plan to dress in layers. ladies should have a couple of chemises, a T-tunic, two circle skirts, maybe a bog dress in addition to the top three items. If it turns really cold you can put on all of it at one time! There should be a place to wash things at the camp as needed and if it's not raining the entire week of War you should be fine. Note: there is a place to swim that requires a bathing suit and one that does not. Be prepared either way.

Lords should also pack two shirts, two pair of pants and at least one T-tunic. An extra set of sweats will be a good idea if it gets cold or rainy. It always amazes me that men seem to get by with far less clothes. It must be because they spend all their time in armor.

One final note. All the clothes in the world won't make you happy if they get wet. Invest in a plastic tote for your clothes. They only cost around $8. They pack well, keep your clothes dry and you can use them as a table or chair as needed.

So when are we going to have our next garb meeting?

Brighid

 Page last updated 12/15/99