Getting Started on a Budget: Tip's and Tricks from an Amateur Civil War Reenactor

                Let me get one thing straight, I am in no way a professional, nor have I been reenacting long. But it is my wish to help other people get started in  living history and reenactments without all the hassle that I had (and am going) through. I hope that this little "Getting Started" series helps you figure out what, where, and when you will be getting or making your impression! This post (and probably the series as a whole) is mainly written for the ladies, but I guess you fellas can stay, if you don't mind seeing some womens skivvies! I reenact the American Civil War, so everything that I own and will be showing is for that certain time in history, 1861-1865.

                   Also, side note.. my kit is not 100% historically accurate (which from now on will be referred to as HA); it is probably not even 75% HA, but it works for me, and I have had many people tell me that I look authentic, which, to a reenactor or living historian, is obviously the best compliment we could ever receive (along with "super hardcore!" " you look like you just stepped off a battlefield/out of the time period" "you look like death, and smell worse!") .  If you don't like the inaccuracies, then feel free to skip this post! If you don't mind them, then by all means, please stay!

                   I would say the most important thing I learned when I was first getting into living history  was that you should always start from the inside out. "And what the dickens does that mean?!" you might be asking yourself right about now (I know I was when I first read that). It basically means to spend the first fruits of your new found obsession pouring over countless books, fashion plates, photographs, blogs, and videos to search for the perfect chemise, or shift, pattern; the perfect pair of drawers, now referred to as bloomers or pantaloons; and everything else that will never be seen by the outside world on a well-to-do woman with high standards.  Getting the right underclothing is very  important because it gives you The Right Silhouette ™. The Right Silhouette ™ means that you will look less like you're playing dress up, and more like you live in the right time period. To get The Right Silhouette ™ you should start with setting a good foundation.

Here is how I started getting The Right Silhouette ™ for myself...

~~~~~~

                These are my two chemises. I made both of them out of muslin fabric from (and I know those of you who have been doing this a while will gasp and possibly faint when I say this) Walmart. Yes, you read that right.. the good ol' Wally-World. It is 100% cotton muslin that was only $1.97 a yard, and I got both unbleached and bleached white. It took 2 yards each to make them and I used this free pattern that you can find BY CLICKING THIS RIGHT HERE 

I was unsure how to finish the sleeve hem, so I added
some soft ribbons. 

                   There were no instructions for the sleeves, so I also cut two rectangles and used those for the arm straps. I had just the straps on one, and for the other I wanted sleeves so I made a tube out of two more rectangles and sewed them onto the straps.

A close-up of the sleeves

The chemise with sleeves

               For the drawers, I used this pattern from the same website as a reference (WHICH YOU CAN FIND BY CLICKING HERE  ) but I used this very helpful and easy-to-follow-when-I-understand-what-she's-saying tutorial from ten years ago on YouTube (WHICH YOU CAN FIND BY CLICKING HERE)

                      The only thing I did different was instead of using elastic on the legs and waist, I gathered and sewed them onto a band. I closed the waistband with a button.
It took around 2 yards of a cotton bed sheet that my mother gave me, so these bloomers were free. If I would not have had the sheet, I would have used 2 yards of the same fabric as the chemise.

The button closure. Also, you can see that the fabric
is stained, and I like how it looks. It gives it an authentic
feel, like I've had these for a while.

  

         Ideally, you should have no less than three petticoats, but as of right now, I only have one! 

Yes, I know only having one petticoat is pretty bad, but I just haven't gotten around to sewing another yet. And, let's face it... a petticoat takes up a lot of fabric. I have set aside a few yards and plan on sewing one up if not this week, then the next. For the petticoat I have made and any one I will be making in the future I will be using this handy-dandy tutorial THAT CAN BE FOUND BY CLICKING HERE

The fabric I used was some recycled cotton curtains. If I didn't have the curtains then I would have used.. you guessed it.. the same fabric from Walmart. It would take around 4-5 yards of fabric to make a decent sized petticoat that would cover a hoop skirt. For a regular working-dress petticoat 2-3 yards of fabric would do.

I decided to be different and use a patterned fabric for the waistband

                    Don't feel like you have to spend a fortune on fabric! I have found that cotton bed sheets do just as well as cotton fabric. You can find sheets at every thrift store. Take a weekend and go bed sheet shopping! They don't even have to be white if you don't want them to be. But historically, they were almost always white or at least the natural beige color of linen or cotton.  The reason being, white is easy to wash. You don't have to worry about white washing out or staining other clothes. (Honestly, I think some pretty pink undies would be just as cute as white, but then again.... I'm not hand washing all my clothing!)

For all of my under-things that I have made myself, I would say that I've spent around $8-$10 on everything.


~~~~~


Now that we've gone over everything that I have made, let's look at what I have bought....



                    My favorite part of getting dressed is putting on the corsets! I am unsure why, but I love my corsets. They are the icing on the cake when it comes to support. And I mean support, real support. 

I got the dark pink one for $42 from a sutler at a Civil War event, and the lighter pink one I bought off of Amazon.com for $30.

I love my Amazon one, because it has spiral steel boning, and I love the sutler one because it has the softer synthetic baleen boning.  I would add a link to the Amazon.com one, but I have forgotten what it is called, because I tore off the tag and any identifiable papers have since been lost. I would search for "Victorian historical corset steel bones" until you find one. It also came in the color black, but I decided to go with the one that matched my skin-tone better. One day, I will buy a custom corset, but since I don't have an extra $100-$300 laying around, it will have to wait.

The sutler corset was a little too big, so I had to
sew it up a bit for it to fit right.

                 For the stockings (socks to every modern person) I bought the green ones in the middle off of Etsy.com,  HERE IS THE ETSY PAGE ; the striped ones are from the same sutler I got the corset from, they were $5; the black shorter ones are a pair of men's cotton dress socks that I stole obtained from my brother.

I would recommend getting some garters when you buy the stockings, and if you don't want to pay upwards of $15 for a simple pair of ribbons, then get cotton, silk, linen, wool, or basically any natural fabric ribbon and cutting it into usable lengths, or cut  fabrics into usable lengths and use those.

 Don't use synthetics, like polyester, nylon, etc., because they won't grip the natural fabric of the stockings and will slip and slide and you will get caught with your stockings down around your ankles (which you shouldn't even be showing in the first place! How scandalous!)

I do have another pair of striped stockings which I bought from the same place.
You can also see the different lengths of my stockings. Find out which length suits you best
and run with it (pun intended)

                        My boots are probably my other favorite part of getting dressed. I don't feel complete unless I have my boots on (which I put on before or after my corset. I have no problem with that 'boots before corset' dealio, but personally I have never had a problem putting on my shoes while wearing a corset.)
             

  The shoes are, in my opinion, just as important as the corset or dress. Look at it this way, you wouldn't go to  a wedding wearing sneakers, or run a marathon in thigh-high boots. Well you wouldn't (or at least shouldn't ) wear the wrong shoes to a reenactment. No matter which time in history you are portraying, whether it is the 14th century or the 20th, a pair of period-correct foot wear is very, very, very important. Spend a bit of money on this one part here, and you will be thanking yourself later, you don't want to have blisters on your foot from walking around all day in an ill fitting pair of shoes!

I got these this past Christmas  from my wonderful parents and I haven't even worn them yet except for to try them on (as you can see by the paper and cardboard still being in the shoe) 

                           When searching for a pair of shoes, do research first. Research is key when it comes to the perfect look. Were the shoes in the time you are portraying square toed or round? what color would they have been? laces or zippers? black, brown, tan, red, white, blue? heel or no heel? There are countless things to consider. A simple pair of ankle boots from World War II  are going to be completely different from a simple pair of ankle boots from the Civil War, or even World War I!

These are from Amazon.com for about $25

  

These are my canvas and leather dancing shoes that I wear to any  mid-19th century
ball or dance. They are period correct to my knowledge although they are just fabric jazz shoes.
I got them for Christmas two years ago from my parents.

         
















  Thrift stores again come to the rescue. I got these boots for $2.99 at a local thrift store. They are not HA for Civil War reenacting, but I bring them anyways as a backup boot, in case my other shoes break or something happens to them.

             Boots are not the only type of shoes used during any time in history! Do some research of your own, and see what type of foot-wear goes with the person you are portraying.

~~~~~

               It shouldn't break your bank to start a hobby you love, no matter what that hobby is! I would advice that  you do research before you start anything. Research is the key to having a good experience. If you don't research then you might get overwhelmed and discouraged, and you'll let another year go by where you don't live your dream and start living history, reenacting, model ship building, golfing, horseback riding, any hobby really. Read books, watch documentaries, look at  blogs, look for videos on YouTube, there are so many free resources out there others have already put together that  you can glean important information from!

      In the next post in this little "getting started" series I will help you find out how to accessorize your impression, and to get the right outer clothing! So stay tuned!