Joshua
Tudor mercenary (In Germanic pluderhose) - Historical research
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Photos
London 1988, Armada centenary
London 1988
Saw summat
Guard duty at Kenilworth castle
Information
| Typical Elizabethan soldier in doublet and baggy "pluderhose". This was worn in 1988 for the Armada commemorations of that year, in a variety of locations. We went so far as to build a replica street in Alexander Park London, and lived in it for two weeks. Also worn the year before at Linlithgow castle/palace in Scotland for a Mary Queen of Scots scenario. At that event I was briefly taken for a ghost, and the poor woman actualy screamed and fell over. Patterns for the doublet and pluderhose taken from Janet Arnold's book on 16thand 17th cent mens clothing, particularly Nils Stur's costume. The main cloth, a smoky blue wool melton is trimmed with green velvet strips, edged with wool piping that has been pinked(snipped) to add texture. The pluderhose are interlined with a light weight grey wool to give the baggy effect. At this time I always went for muted smokey colours in the green-blue-grey spectrum, but went for dramatic cut and texture. One advantage of this is that it films and photoes well on dull days, you can jack the appature right out on the camera to compensate for dull conditions without the colours "flaring". The boots are made out of an old suede coat bought in a charity shop, sewn on a treadle Singer sewing machine, right sides together, with a thicker leather sole glued on after turning right side out. They lasted surprizingly well dying the death in Le Puy, worn through on rough cobbles that wrecked all three pairs of boots I had with me at the event. The leather jerkin is worn elswhere in my frocks page. The pattern is from Janet Arnolds book again, the original in the Museum of London, made of pigskin and decorated with tooling and punched holes. Mine is tanned deer hide, from "Turn Leathers" and relativly plain, but it's lasted well, still in use and now 24 years old. You'll see various bits of my kit turn up again and again, styles changed slowly, and clothes worn till they died the death. What was new and fashionable one generation, would be worn as old working kit or lower class gear in another. |
Comments
Very nice!
Again, this is just epic. Story about the ghost made me laugh, but that's a serious credit to the costume! Where did you find the fabric! I need something woolen like that for Faramir and cannot find it anywhere, at least not anything accurate enough.