This last weekend, Gerald and I were fortunate enough to have the occasion to attend 12th Night, hosted by the Barony of Lions Gate. I looked forward to this event with great anticipation, as it was not only my first formal event in the SCA, but also my first opportunity to observe a coronation.
For the last two years, I have been working on putting together a formal outfit to wear at SCA events.
While I have been learning a great deal about sewing by making linen dresses for Mirella, Quinn, and myself, I am definitely not ready to put together an outfit made with velvet and fur. As a result, I did not actually sew these new garments myself. They were put together by someone with far more talent than mine. Instead, I was more of a dress coordinator. ;-)
I began gathering supplies a couple of years ago when I purchased the silver buttons used to close the sleeves on the cotehardie while on a trip to Victoria, BC. Then I selected patterns for both the cotehardie underdress and the sideless surcoat. Using linen, I made a sideless surcoat out of this pattern to verify that the style of the pattern was well suited for me.
The green velvet skirt has a bit of a train in the back, which made walking at 12th Night interesting. Quite a few gentlemen (but no ladies) put an immediate halt to my attempts to walk by standing on my dress. I suppose this is one of the hazards of medieval high fashion.
The one portion of this outfit that I did make myself is the hat. The sides are green velvet and the top is made from the same brocade as the surcoat. It is lined with buckram to help keep the shape. There is a silver trim and pearl beading on the front.
A final touch for this outfit was to find appropriate footwear. I located a wonderful SCA merchant who makes shoes and purchased this pair. I was going to wear black linen hose with this outfit, but at the last moment decided to wear dark red instead. Just for fun.
This coronation gathering was quite distinctive, and I found that fact to be both enjoyable and sometimes a bit disappointing. It was lovely to stay in a hotel where I felt comfortable wearing velvet without any worries about it getting wet or muddy. The Royal Court on Saturday was long, but sincerely touching.
In the evening we went dancing. I have to extend my most sincere gratitude to several gentlemen of An Tir, with whom I had no previous acquaintance. They were gracious and kind as they helped me learn a variety of country dances. What a wonderful way to spend an evening ~ dancing with my lord, Gerald.
Unfortunately, I did not have the good fortune to see any of my friends this last weekend. I was a bit disappointed to find that this type of event was primarily a gathering of people who are already friends. At times, I felt like an outsider. Gerald and I found that we missed our friends from River’s Bend.
We did enjoy shopping with the many merchants in attendance. A delightful woman was selling hand painted game boards and we found a charming one to bring home for Mirella.
All together, we had a splendid weekend. Our deepest gratitude to the people of Lions Gate for all of their work in hosting this momentous occasion.
~ Cristiana
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