Costuming Links

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These are web sites, e-mail addresses, surface mail addresses,etc, of interest to the costumer and reenactor.

Inclusion on this list does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the products or services of any company or organization. The sites just looked cool. I've done business with some of these organizations, but not all.

Click on the highlighted text to visit the site or write down the URL and access the site on your own.

If you know of another cool costume-related site, please e-mail me at randwhit@moirandalls.com and I can add it to the list. If one of the sites has moved or gone away, please let me know so I can make corrections.
 

Link Index
Costume Information and Research Sites
Costume Dealers, Books, and Supplies
Costume-Related Clubs and Organizations
The International Costume Guild
Costume-Related Magazines and Publications
Miscellaneous Links

Research
 

The Costume Site is a web site maintained by Lauren Podolak containing links to a tremendous number of other sites of interest to the costumer. These include supply companies, museum image galleries, and how-to instructions for a variety of garments.
http://www.milieux.com/costume
 

The Costume Page by Julie Zetterberg, is an ever-expanding list of costume and costuming-related links for the benefit of those who make and/or study costumes.
http://members.aol.com/nebula5/costume.html
 

Jessamyn's Regency Costume Companion by David and Jessamyn Reeves-Brown. "Want to create a Regency costume? Desirous of dressing like a character from a novel by Jane Austen? Do you do period dancing or own a period home with which you wish to coordinate? Jessamyn's Regency Costume Companion is a collection of information, ideas, pattern tips, and images."
http://www.songsmyth.com/costumerscompanion.html

The Renaissance Faire Junkie This is one of the most entertaining personal pages I've yet seen. Liz Genscheimer presents her reviews of renfairs across the country and a broad selection of renaissance-related links.
"http://www.faire.net/renfaire-junkie"
 

Sew City "Your Internet Link Directory for all sewing and related information." Includes links to most major sewing manufacturers, a chat room, and many other worthwhile features. Sewing-related merchants can purchase banner advertising.
http://www.sewcity.com
 

The Renaissance Information Center is operated by Crossroads Renaissance Publications & Event Productions, the same people who bring you Renaissance Herald magazine and run several faires in the western US. This site has the most extensive set of renaissance faire links I have seen, including event calendars, merchants, craftsmen, and re-creation societies.
http://www.renaissanceinfo.com
 

The Scottish Tartans Museum in Franklin, North Carolina represents the US branch of the Scottish Tartans Society. Their web site features a Virtual Museum Tour that narrates the history of Scottish costume (accurate history, not "Braveheart"), the Tartans, and the role of Scots-Americans in the history of North Carolina. Interesting pieces in the museum include the oldest existing civilian kilt and a kilt from the film, "Brigadoon." The gift shop has tailored kilts and tartan fabric by the yard in most of the known setts.
www.scottishtartans.org

The Costumer's Manifesto by Tara McGinnis, Ph.D. includes costume history information and a bazillion links to information, garment, pattern, and supply sources. There is even some X-Men fan fiction. This is the anchor site for The Costume Ring, also operated by Dr. McGinnis.
http://www.costumes.org
Note to people who type the addresses by hand: This URL is very similar to that of The International Costume Guild at www.costume.org.

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Shop
Alteryears For The Costumer is an excellent source of unusual historical clothing patterns (including the Randwulf's line) and hard-to-find corsetting supplies. Visit their web site at www.alteryears.com. The web site shows only a portion of the available publications, emphasizing Alteryears' own line of historical clothing patterns. Send away for the full-size paper catalog to see the rest.
 

MoiRandall's Randall Whitlock's idiosyncratic commercial page features the "Randwulf's" line of original sewing patterns for the medieval/renaissance/highland enthusiast, and even an item or two for model rocketeers who sew.
www.moirandalls.com
 

House of Dra This well-illustrated and linked online catalog offers solid renaissance faire garb. Choose items ready made, or have them custom designed and fitted. The garments are made using 100 percent natural cottons and silks.
http://www.houseofdra.com
 

Renaissance Dancewear offers specialty hosiery for medieval/renaissance re-creationists and performers. The basic material is a substantial cotton-lycra, not the plastic-like stuff you find in ordinary dancewear stores. Innovative designs include tights with built-in codpieces, XXL sizes, and striped Landsknect leggings.
www.renaissancedancewear.com
 

Wings & Roses Trisha Murphy makes custom Victorian, Renaissance, and Celtic clothing. Specialties include chinese jackets, victorian vests and nightgowns, riding jackets and skirts, and kinsale cloaks. The site is fully illustrated with color photographs.
www.wingsandroses.com
 

Dragonfly Design Studio offers old fashioned Halloween costume and supply.
http://DragonflyDesignStudio.com/
 

SodHoppers Medieval Footwear Custom medieval footwear made from a cast of your foot using top-grain buffalo hide. Order online from their web site. They'll send you a video which demonstrates how to make a cast of your foot.
www.sodhoppers.com
 

Lavolta Press publishes pattern books on historical costume, particularly turn-of-the-(20th) century styles. The web site also includes links to other historical costume sites.
http://www.lavoltapress.com
 

Erin Shaw is a freelance costumer whose specialties include elizabethan and renaissance styles for men, women, and children; ribbon embroidery, and custom-designed dolls.
http://www.geocities.com/vinger@sbcglobal.net/
 

Calontir Trim Master Andrixos offers a wide selection of intricate trims at reasonable prices. The site includes a search engine which locates trims by color, width, or price range. The trims are illustrated with magnified color photos.
http://www.calontirtrim.com
 

Blue Muse Ceramics is a bookseller specializing in publications about ceramic arts and doll-making. There is an extensive links section for ceramic sources, doll-making information, and doll clothing resources.
http://members.tripod.com/~Fibergal
 

Pendragon Costumes makes most excellent leather doublets and bodices. If you have visited renfaires in the western US, you have probably seen their work.
www.pendragoncostumes.com
 

Curious Antiquities is an online antique dealer specializing in items from the Roman Empire, Middle Ages, and Renaissance periods, along with many other interesting times. The site includes an extensive links list.
www.curiousantiquities.com
 

Patterns of Time A Clothier's Guide for the Complete Costumer, offers a wide variety of historical clothing patterns from small-run publishers (including my Randwulf's line), as well as clasps and other costume accessories, custom and ready-to-wear renaissance costumes. The web site features a clever search engine which finds patterns by key word.
www.patternsoftime
 

B.D. Patterns Offers a line of original sewing patterns for Middle Eastern dancewear, as well as a video on makeup techniques for the dancer.
http://members.aol.com/Bdpat/bdpat001.htm
 

The Scottish Lion Import Shop Scottish and Irish gift items. Scottish Lion is a reliable source for items of highland dress, including kilts, jackets, sporrans, jabots, bonnets, and tartan fabric. Look for a full-color rendering of your family tartan using an alphabetical search engine.
www.scottishlion.com
 

The Ring Lord
Jon Daniels (HL Tarquyn of Sergontium) offers chainmail making supplies, including rings, coils, wire, weaves, tools and some finished mail items. A best price policy on rings is proclaimed. The Ring Lord also maintains a SCA Merchants Page featuring businesses whose products are of particular interest to medieval recreationists. http://www.theringlord.com/sca/merchants
 

Bloomers 4 U
Whether you wear them as historical underwear or as colorful modern puffy pants, this is Your Source 4 Bloomers. http://www.bloomers4u.com
 

Dainty Jane's Handmades
Jane Reamer makes pointy-toe and curly-toe suede medieval shoes. The prices are very reasonable. I've paid more for hiking socks. www.daintyjane.com
 

YaTaHai Beads & Buckskin
Sparrowhawk makes buckskin clothing and a variety of moccassins and moccassin patterns. Visit her store in Tacoma or her web site at www.yatahai.com
 

Aquarian Arts Studio
Lady Morgan's site has many items for medieval re-creationists, including:
Books (metalworking, textile arts, garb)
Textiles (looms, bobbins & shuttles, yarn)
Clothes (gloves, hats, belts, pouches, boot moccasins, sandals, skull caps)
Jewelry (glass beadwork, silver)
Metal (swords, knives, tools, lanterns, camping accessories).
www.aquarianarts.com
 

Xcentricities by Ynhared
Victorian-Inspired corsetry and fashion for any body
www.corset.net
 

Leather and Lace
All sorts of leather clothing and accessories at discount prices, including jackets, motorcycle wear, corsets, exotic dresses in all sizes. Free shipping
www.eleatherandlace.com


 

Gryphon's Moon
Celtic-inspired jewelry, mugs, statuary, ornaments, and clothing. Sewing patterns including the Randwulf's and Folkwear lines. You can download the full catalog from the site as an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file.
www.gryphonsmoon.com
 

Maeve's Unmentionables
Maeve and Tristan make garb suitable for medieval/renaissance/pirate/pagan. Specialties include studded leather belts, cloaks, hoods, pants, shirts. They do custom work as well.
www.maevsunmentionables.com

B Coole Designs
Eclectic period costumes, cotton blend ladies and childrens knitwear, cotton diapers, cotton women's healthcare products, How-To articles on hats and turbans for hair loss.
www.bcoole.com

Medieval Magic
The perfect place to begin your journey into the magical world of history, fantasy and spiritualism. Medieval Magic is an online specialty store serving Medieval and Renaissance Re-enactment groups, The Society for Creative Anachronism SCA groups, Live Action Role-Playing LARP groups, Gothic Groups, Pagans, those who practice of Wicca, Wiccan, or witchcraft, Drama and Theatre Troupes, History Enthusiasts and the general public
www.medievalmagic.ca

Dharma Trading Company
Based in San Rafael, California. Fiber art supplies and clothing blanks since 1969. Famous for their line of fiber-reactive dyes.
www.dharmatrading.com/

Big Daddy's Gypsy Caravan
Big Daddy's Gypsy Caravan is an online fabric store and renaissance fabric, vestment brocade supplier. They fabric by the yard and at discount and wholesale prices. Cotton fabric, polyester fabric, brocade fabric, velvet fabric, wool fabric, linen fabric, satin fabric, vestment brocade, liturgical brocade, ecclesiastical brocade, hemp fabric, SCA trim, renaissance and medieval trim. They also offer do-it-yourself items, such as studs and leather stamp set tools. 
www.bigdaddygypsy.com

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Join

The Central Arizona Speculative Fiction Society (CASFS) is the host of the annual Coppercon Science Fiction Convention and the annual Hexacon gaming convention. CASFS also publishes the webzine CONNOTATIONS ONLINE. Visit their web page for details.
http://www.casfs.org
 

Leprecon is one of central Arizona's three annual fan-run science fiction conventions. The emphasis is on the art of SF and Fantasy. The convention is held every May.
http://www.leprecon.org
 
 

TusCon is the third of central Arizona's trilogy of annual fan-run science fiction conventions. The convention is held every November in Tucson, Arizona.
http://home.earthlink.net/~basfa/
 
 

The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is the world's largest medieval re-creation society. From their home page you can explore heraldic archives or link over to the home pages for the member kingdoms baronies, and shires. Included also is a Virtual Merchants Row with links to a variety of medievally oriented companies.
http://www.sca.org/
 
 

The Adrian Empire is a medieval re-creation society whose members are esteemed for their skill at Live-Steel Combat in a variety of forms, as well as the arts and sciences. These web sites offer a general introduction to Adria, its customs, and hints for the newcomer. I've had trouble with these links before, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.
http://www.adrianempire.org
http://home.earthlink.net/~dilvish/index.html

The Estrella War is the Society For Creative Anachronism's annual gathering near Florence, Arizona. The event, held every year on Presidents Day Weekend (and the preceding several days), includes large-scale medieval battles, arts and sciences demonstrations, and a Merchants Row to rival any renfaire.
www.estrellawar.org
 

The Dark Ones is an organization formed for the expression and exploration of various cultural themes including, but not limited to, the Dark Ages and the Renaissance through forms of art including, but not limited to, painting, drawing, writing, photography, spoken word, and acts of characterization. The monthly Phoenix-area parties are good too.
www.darkones.org

Hobbyists' Paradise Arizona's premiere hobby community is a site for persons interested in all manner of special hobbies, including (so far) animation, manga, card collecting, movies, fitness, and cosplay. Features include discussion forums, news, contests, an events calendar with links to many local cons, and movie/game/comics reviews.
www.hobbyistsparadise.com

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The International Costume Guild

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Subscribe
 

No Quarter Given is a clearinghouse for those interested in pirates, privateers and nautical history. Visit their web site for sample articles, links to merchants with a buccaneerish bent, a Pirate Movie Guide, Book Reviews, links to Pirate Re-Creation organizations, and of course information on how to subscribe to No Quarter Given magazine.
http://www.noquartergiven.net
 

Renaissance Magazine is a high-quality, slick-cover quarterly magazine encompassing the entire Renaissance Faire phenomenon. Each issue includes faire reviews, articles on personalities at the fairs, and articles about the history, costume, and customs of the renaissance era. The magazine offers reasonably priced display and classifed advertising for renaissance-related craftsfolk and services. www.RenaissanceMagazine.com

For subscription and advertising information, write to:
Renaissance Magazine/Phantom Press
13 Appleton Road
Nantucket MA 02554

or e-mail RenZine@aol.com
 

Fandata fandom directory (online edition) is "Your one-line link to Fandom around the world. Science Fiction, Comics, Trading Cards, Gaming, and more. Point and click access to thousands of fan, collector, dealer, store, publisher, club, and convention e-mail addresses and web sites." Listings are free, though a reciprocal link is appreciated. Fandata has also published an annual hard-copy directory of fans and fan-related businesses since 1979.
http://www.fandata.com

Miscellaneous
 

These sites don't quite fit into the other categories. Most are presented as a courtesy to other webmasters who have posted links to this site.

HISUNGLASSES.com is an online store featuring sunglasses from famous designers.
http://www.hisunglasses.com/
 

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Return to MoiRandall's index page.
 

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Links last updated July 26, 2007 by Randall Whitlock. Please report any broken links to the webmaster.