Faire Ladies, Faire Lords

Quality, American-Made Renaissance Costumes

costume

UPDATE: The Green Linen Project

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UPDATE: The Green Linen Project

I don’t know where the time went, but here we are at last. The hunter green linen has landed!! That took a while, yes? If you don’t recall or maybe never knew, I’d been trying for a LONG TIME to source my linen and linen blends in Hunter Green. Here’s the original post about it.

Its really the MOST popular color in the Renfaire genre in my experience. But alas, it was nowhere to be found at a wholesale level. So, I figured out how to order a custom color from China. I got a few folks to invest/pre-buy and went halfsies with a fellow business owner. Add in the tariff hassles, and a lot of chaos because my importer up and moved their warehouse out of state with no notice right as the fabric got to Los Angeles. Its been exciting at the least. But, its here! Its a good linen/rayon blend, lightweight and with a good hand feel.

So far, I’ve got Venetian Breeches made up. Some are going on my website, some are going to faire this fall at Casa de Fruta. I’m in process of sewing linen shirts, and ladies skirts, and partlettes. All are going to faire this September.

There will be more, of course! I’m thinking ahead to the spring season having Doublets and Bodices in the Hunter Green Linen. I’m also branching out my sourcing and changing fabrics in a few areas – details to follow in another post. I should be sewing right now. I’ll be back.Patrick and I

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I am a costume designer specializing in renaissance faire and historical costumes. My shop name is Faire Ladies Faire Lords . I make the clothing in my shop at faire from linen and linen blends. The good stuff.

Winter Renfaires! 2024 – 2025 season

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In the warmest parts of the US its time for awesome winter renfaires! Some of the biggest and best Renaissance shows are happening during this time, and the fun has just begun. The rest of the country is chilly and tucked away; meanwhile faire goers are garbing up in linen doublets, gowns, bodices, etc. Performers are readying their acts and the show will go on! Huzzah!

Here’s a list of SOME of these shows happening this 2024 – 2025 season. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if I’ve forgotten your favorite winter renfaires. Some of these shows are very new, and some like the Arizona Renfaire are established long running traditional renfaire gems.

Arizona Renaissance Faire (AZ) – February 1 – March 30, 2025

Brevard Renaissance Faire (FL) – January 18th to February 23rd 2025

Castlefaire Winter Renaissance Festival (GA) – January 17 – 19, 2025

Yule Viking Festival (TX) December 6 – 22, 2025

Orlando Renaissance Festival (FL) – December 7 – 15 2024

New Braunfels Renaissance Faire (TX) – December 6 – 15 2024female human wearing a partlette

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Now to the really important things, like what to wear? Well of course I’m here to advise you take a look at my online store and pick out some new gear. I’ve been working diligently on keeping stocks up all year long. Now’s your opportunity!

Thanks for reading! I hope this info will give new opportunities to play faire and live your best life. Please share this with your friends and family, your guild mates, your cosplay people. And as always if you need help or just want to get in touch, I’m on Facebook and you can email me here.

Laundry care for your costume

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I just today got an email from a customer who needed some laundry care help. They had run their partner’s doublet through the wash, and the dryer too. The doublet came out looking like a tangled mess and they were understandably upset that the garment was ruined. It was not, thankfully. It just needs proper laundry care to be fully awesome again.

That got me thinking however; in this age where most everyone wears knits and tshirts, that laundry care for woven and lined garments isn’t well known. Most clothing in 2024 is cheap and disposable, many people have never had to think about this stuff. The items you purchase from me are neither cheap nor disposable, wrecking them in the laundry is traumatic and costly. And so this post is I hope, helpful and reassuring.

The Basics:

This is the Good Stuff. All the clothing I make is pre-shrunk. The fabric goes into the wash and the dryer before I cut it. Unless specified, the costume pieces are made of linen or a linen blend. I do make cotton shirts and bodices from cotton twill, but the advice remain the same. The biggest note here is that you will need an IRON for best results. Natural fibers like linen, linen blends, and cotton relax a bit when you wear them. Its part of the comfort. So when its washed it will constrict again, like your jeans do. Part of this expansion/contraction is that steam and heat will bring things together and correct any inconsistencies.

The Care:

If a garment is not stained, spilled on, or grungy you can turn it inside out and put it on a hanger outside for a day. The sunlight will literally disinfect the smelly bacteria from your sweat.  This is for garments that are not touching your skin. Like a doublet or a bodice or a skirt. Optional: Give it a nice light steam iron when you fold it to put it away.

For garments that touch your skin like breeches or shirts, wash them. Cold/cool gentle cycle in the washer machine. If its really icky hot water is okay. Then hang dry. Once dry a little shake out, fold and put away. Again Optional: Maybe a light iron for tidy collars or cuffs.

If you need to wash something out of your garment, lunch or a spill of some kind, and its got a lining you will for sure need to IRON it. If you toss it in the dryer this will be even more needed because its getting tossed around and jumbled. Try to avoid this by gentle or hand wash and hang dry. Yes, you will still need to iron, but not as much.

If your garment has boning or extensive trim, do not put in a machine. Ever. Air it out or hand wash is mandatory. Hang dry and steam iron to get the garment back in shape.

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Thanks for reading! I hope this info will give your costume garments a longer life and you’ll love them like I do. Please share this with your friends and family, your guild mates, your cosplay people. And as always if you need help or just want to get in touch, I’m on Facebook and you can email me here.

Bodices are back!

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Bodices are back in stock online, yay! You know the ones, the cotton twill square necked bodices featured in so much of my promotional images? These bodices are based on renaissance Tudor and Elizabethan styles I’ve been obsessed with since 2004. Hey that’s 20 years, we should have a party!

drawing by Cristof Weiditz, girl with an ermine apron square neck bodiceRenaissance art is such a wonderful resource for design, and its only gotten better since I started out. Back then, I had to order books from a paper catalog – it was all so niche and hard to find. Since then; Project Gutenberg has been busily scanning and uploading every single document, manuscript, book, catalog, etc. on the planet and made it free to the public. What a time to be alive and nerdy.

Any way, back to the bodices. I’m updating the listing NOW with more stock in those classy (and classic) garments. Black, blue, hunter green, and now burgundy. I’ll keep adding more all summer long. YOU CANNOT BUY THESE FROM ME AT A SHOW. THIS IS ONLINE ONLY. Bodices are Back, baby!

I am cautiously optimistic that I’ve got a stitcher properly trained to do things ‘my way’ aka the Right Way on this style. I’m still cutting, setting grommets, fussing with patterns and all – but what a relief to have some help with the actual stitches. Another YAY!

Share this with your friends, your guild mates, your cosplay people please? And as always if you need help or just want to get in touch, I’m on Facebook and you can email me here.

Linen Chemise Appreciation

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linen chemise with pink lace and ribbon detailEvery once in a while, I feel like highlighting one of my designs so you readers can find it and have some of The Good Stuff. Right now, that’s the Linen Chemise. I debuted this design in 2019 at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire and it sold out FAST.

I’m stocking the website for summer and just listed a batch of the Long Chemise and the Short Chemise too. Its in stock now and ready to ship. I’ll be filling in more inventory in the next few weeks so if you need to backorder don’t be shy.

My personal favorite is still the ivory with blue trim and ribbon. But I know not everyone dresses like I do so I have colors available too. Lilac with cream lace/ribbon, ivory with pink lace/ribbon and always the ivory with cream lace/ribbon.

I think we can all agree that at faire, a linen chemise is a mandatory for comfort in the heat, and the most comfortable  undergarment for your ladies renfaire outfit. Bonus: I designed these to emulate period patterns for a great historical look and for maximum comfort too.

The latest batch I made for faire are super cute, and one of the reasons that it can be work outside of faire. You may find yourself wearing it after hours by itself for lounging or as a nightgown. I do. Some of my clients tell me that with the right skirt and a boho belt, its fun to wear almost anyplace. Try it, summer is coming!

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ps. Yes you can totally wash these in the machine! Just hang them dry for best results. Enjoy!

Guest Artist at Nor Cal Renfaire!

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Its official. I just got my confirmation that Faire Ladies Faire Lords (that’s me) is a Guest Artist at Nor Cal Renfaire this fall. Huzzah! Hooray!

What this means is that I’m setting up and vending at the Northern California Renaissance Faire for three weekends. The booth will be there on Opening weekend of September 18th and 19th, and the last two weekends of October 16th and 17th plus the 23rd and 24th.

At this event, I bring my linen clothing items. I’ll have my gowns/kirtles, hats of various kinds, mens shirts, breeches, chemises, doublets, pockets, bodices and maybe even masks. Currently, I’m in a mad flurry of finishing inventory build just for this show. Lets just say there is a stockpile, and selection will be deep.

I’ve been honored to be a Guest Artist at the Nor Cal Renfaire since 2018, and I’m very excited to be back at this faire specifically and working in general. I have worked for decades to get into this event, so it means a lot to me. Additionally, this is my first faire since Covid began, and I’m really REALLY ready to be out and about again.

The faire is located at Casa De Fruta on Pacheco Pass, HWY 152, 10031 Pacheco Pass Hwy, Hollister, CA 95023. My booth location is TBD – they may insert in the Guest Artist Row, or further into the event as has been done in years past. I’ll be sure to pass along my location once its known.

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Hey, you should know that I appreciate your reading and your patronage. Did you know its pretty easy to keep up with my writing if you Get the Insider’s Newsletter? Anybody who reads so thoroughly deserves a nice reward, like a discount on a purchase from my website. Hint, Hint. You can also find me on Facebook.