As you've probably noticed 2018 was the year of railing against the historically accurate community. Perhaps railing isn't the word, but I was growing increasingly frustrated with the snobbery I was experiencing at events, and at how unsatisfied I was if something I made wasn't as HA as possible.
HA caused me nothing but misery, and also a considerable sum of money. I was inspired to write this post because I read an open letter by another blogger to "newbies" to the historical costuming scene. The longer I roam in these cyber circles the more I realise that historical costuming is actually a subset of the broader costuming hobby.
For instance, you have cosplayers who make costumes based on characters in literature, manga, tv series, and films. Then you have general costumers who dabble in cosplay, fantasy, and also historical pieces. The historical costuming community is just one group under the general umbrella. There's no doubt loads more (Furry comes to mind) that I don't know about.
I'm only talking about the historical community because that's the one I've been more exposed to, and let's just say I'm far from impressed. I'll admit, I skim read the open letter despite not being a newbie, but I have a short attention span at the best of times. The general message I got from the skim read was research, research some more, and then maybe you'll be accepted....I'm kidding about the last part but the gist was the more you research the more accurate your creations will be. This is true, but how many iterations is that going to take you? How many events are you going to have to get sneered at to finally get to an "acceptable" level of accuracy.
I'll say at this point I'm biased against the HA community solely because I can't stand snobbery. Sorry, but just because you had the time and willpower to sew that 18th century gown doesn't mean you can act high and mighty.
Historical costuming is great, all hobbies that keep people engaged are great, but the fact there seems to be eligibility criteria for practising it is baffling to me. I think these stringent rules will put people off.
I read an article not so long ago, the source escapes me, that pointed out the deficit of young people in the reenactment community, and the suppliers of historically accurate costume. Hmmmmm, I wonder why....
It's all well and good for the handful of HA bloggers to write kind, encouraging open letters, but that's going to be about as helpful as a chocolate fire guard if newbies are showing up to events and being snubbed or sneered at by the veteran reenactors. In some cases, ignored completely.
I find the HA scene to be very much like high school where everyone was in their separate camps and no one dared venture outside of those groups for fear of retribution. I also felt that somehow everyone already knew each other, and if you weren't already established in that group then there was no way of getting in. It's like the entire community is a VIP club and it's full so no one else is getting in.
Granted, I haven't been to an event in some time, but that's because the ones I did start going to when I was a newbie weren't welcoming, so why bother? Perhaps other newbies had a better time than me, perhaps they managed to get past the velvet ropes, but as an introvert with social anxiety I found the clique-ish atmosphere unbearable and frankly quite frustrating since it had taken courage to attend the event anyway.
I suppose what I'm trying to say in my ranting way is that HA isn't everything. Creativity shouldn't have rules, that's why I like it over my science day job. You should be able to use that polyester to make that gown because silk is too expensive, you should be able to use that kind of seam even if it wasn't used at that time, and you should be able to wear a modern corset because it's all you can afford, because a modern corset is better than no corset at all. You should be able to do all of these things without being judged.
In light of the last year and my general experience I've discovered a new sewing mantra that the HA rejects like myself can use. Historically inspired. Inspired by historical gowns and clothes but made using modern techniques and materials. This doesn't have to mean they look cheap, or were any easier to put together, sewing isn't easy no matter what. It just means machine sewn regency gowns, polyester 1860s gowns, and bum pads stuffed with polyfill.
Don't be afraid to create! Despite these kind letters from the occasional blogger, events tend to be ruled by the firm HA crowd. However, I do encourage independent thought, so attend as many events as you wish because my experience won't be yours, and if you do find a nice group then drop a comment so I can join.
