Some Renaissance Fairs are just skanky, let’s face it. You get your ZZ Top look-alikes in breeches, your Lady Mullets in painfully revealing bustiers and a wide assortment of decked out creatures wandering around smoking, getting sunburned and gnawing on $10 turkey legs. It can be scary.
But I went to King Richard’s Faire in Carver, Massachusetts today and had a wonderful time. The fairgrounds were clean and pretty, the bathrooms plentiful and clean, the entertainment cute, the food good (I mean, for fair food), the employees charming and the weather gorgeous. People were SERIOUSLY dressed up and looking GOOD!
I happen to think that we have far too little opportunity to dress up in costumes in this society. Creating costumes allows us to get super creative with our clothing, to think about who we’d like to be for a day rather than who we are (a freedom and new vision that can extend to our daily lives), and to push ourselves outside of our comfort zones. In that spirit, I’d like to share with you some of the images from my day.
I love this garment. I forgot what she told me it was, but she made it herself. Vestment idea, no?
I love this dark-haired gal with the bright lipstick…
Isn’t it fun to add a little color to your life?
A dash of drama! Not afraid to be noticed!!
Haven’t we gotten awfully dull in our everyday 21st century clothing? 
(As I said to my companion, “Boy, there sure are a lot of white people here!”)
I was just trying this on…
It’s fun to step outside ourselves. Adults get precious few opportunities to really live out of our imaginations. Make some time for yours today.
You look really cute in that white hat, PB.
The lady in your first pic seems to be wearing a scapular. Lots of female clergy like them because they drape better over big, um, bosoms, than many stoles do. Here’s a link:
http://gailbirdvestments.com/catalog/Scapulars-2-1.html
When I was in the SCA I would have called that first one a tabard.
Variants where the sides were open down to the hip and then sewn together would be called a sideless surcoat (surcote alt. spelling). I could make a case for its being a (sideless) surcote anyway ;). She’s got the “cut in at front” thing going on and may have decided to just keep the line going to de-emphasize her hips.
I love your comment about living out our imaginations.
at the moment all that is in my imagination is a cuppa decaf and some frozen custard. *sigh* Maybe I need more practice at this imagination stuff? OH! i know! I will watch Battlestar Galactica on dvd! life in the fast lane…..
Going to the Renaissance Festival has been a yearly event of mine for many years, and I’ve been to ones in many different states. At the one in Michigan this year I commented to my friend that it was a lot more modest this year, and less of that breasts-on-a-platter look that is usually so um… abundant. I don’t know if it’s a shift in the trends, or if it was just because it was a colder summer, but it was a lot more family-friendly than it had been becoming. Let’s hope it’s a trend that continues!