A Journey into Gentlemen's Attire; Crafting a Stunning Victorian/Regency LARP Costume

[@seanmcgcostumes]

As a gay guy who *loves* Renaissance and 18th century fashions, I cannot tell you how good it felt to hear someone else finally point out how there's so much less available resources for men's historical clothing than their is women's. I can't tell you how many books I've gotten that didn't emphasize that it only covered women's dress, thereby giving the impression that there'd also be men's clothes I could use as reference... only to be severely disappointed. Thank you for discussing this! I'm in a Good Society ttrpg game, so I've been looking into Regency menswear more and designing my character's wardrobe. We have vampires in our game, and at one point he gets attacked and turned and now hunts in his bloody, torn finery (he's also, ironically, the son and heir of a duke; he was the youngest, but the two eldest were assassinated the same day he was attacked and turned). So seeing you discuss how you distressed the clothes was super helpful! I loved this video, it was so fascinating and creatively inspiring.

[@mxheathcliff]

now it's time for SECOND WAISTCOAT!! for real I'm so looking forward to the waistcoat video, as someone of a Unique shape. I've never thought of layering waistcoats before and now it's all I can think about!

[@Nessi-dances]

I'll admit I was a little dubious on the 2 waistcoats, but dang! They look awesome! The layers and the shape with the short jacket are amazing. I'm used to thinking about how to do feminine shapes, so watching you put on like 4 things and bam! Masculine shape! Hecking magical. 💜✨

[@AnidHarker]

Since you mentioned the confusion: the cave in concave is related to cavern and cavity, it's the one with the hole; convex is the uh, sticky outy one

[@vincentbriggs1780]

Ooh the waistcoats are delightful! Lovely outfits all around! Costume Close Up is one of my favourite reference books and I'd like to try drafting that one someday, but I'm a bit intimidated because I Always have trouble with the fit of the shoulders when making collared waistcoats. Also who? the Hell?? is saying CCU is mostly menswear??? Gah, the lack of resources, and the constant lack of acknowledgement that MAYBE not every single person reading/watching "how to get started in costuming" advice is a woman who wants to sew dresses is endlessly frustrating.

[@AshLG]

It's like the first thing anyone masc in costuming that I meet talks about! I want to say this waistcoat was easy but I'm not sure fitting me well straight off the bat is a great recommendation as I have an unusual shoulder/neck shape. I think the fact that it has a separate back collar and the shoulder extensions is going to give me a lot of options to adjust it though

[@vincentbriggs1780]

@@AshLG I've gotten a fair amount of messages over the years from people who want to get into sewing menswear but can't find information on it! I'd like to do a video on resources, and a blog post with more, but it's such a huge task because so many of the useful things are tiny little bits scattered here and there across the internet. Someday. I have a rough resources post on tumblr, but it needs reorganizing. I have one shoulder that's a bit bigger than the other, and I try to even it out with padding on my waistcoats, but no matter how I do the shoulder seams they always end up a bit wrinkly :(

[@KathleenStidham]

You are stunning in these more masculine clothes. Thank you as always for talking through not just the 'how to' but also the WHY. So very amazing to see these costumes come together!

[@swarshaw1510]

I'm not a gamer but the majority of my friends are and most of us are veterans of DragonCon here in the US. Hearing you talk about "garb" vs. "kit" is very reminiscent of our conversations regarding costume vs. cosplay. Your kit is quite awesome and I'm very much looking forward to the shirt video (that shirt is AWESOME) as I also tend to mix my garb in with my regular wear.

[@katwitanruna]

I costumed The Crucible for my dad who taught high school drama. I made two sets of costumes for the prisoners and took one set outside and used three different colors of acrylic spray paint to distress them. Best part, it washes and keeps the design.

[@cherylrosbak4092]

Love the waistcoats, especially love the layered short jacket over the longer waistcoat.

[@Bealzabub]

I find the regional terminology differences with things like this absolutely fascinating because I come from an area and discipline where this stuff would 100% be called "garb, and hearing you refer to it as kit makes a lot of sense to me just cuz I'm used to camping with a "mess kit", it's just not a term I would have instinctually used without hearing it first.

[@olwenbodica]

All the kit you've made is amazing, but I think this might be the most stunning - particularly that coat, goddamn! I love those periods and styles of menswear, and would love to wear it, but unfortunately I am extremely the wrong shape for it.

[@tomireland3644]

Right off the bat I am HERE for the brightly coloured sash! I did the same thing with a teal sash for a costume years ago and it made me feel so cool and dashing 😂😊

[@lieslr147]

Gee is so incredibly good and it’s been awesome watching his kit evolve! The two waistcoats and fancy shirt especially is such a look 😍

[@sarawahlund223]

I all with you on the I sew clothes for my characters that I may use in ordinary life. My trend to think of them as second hand garments lovingly bestow on me by the characters. That coat is excellent, very dashing.

[@lynette.]

Look forward to the future sewing videos but the added stories about the costume decisions are interesting.

[@carrieschutrick8550]

"All I really want is for someone in an Empire-waisted dress to swoon in my arms" - I volunteer as tribute! Seriously though, the odds of us ever being at the same event are slim to none, but I really enjoy your costuming+character videos; this one and the Heliotrope one are faves. It's very neat to see how you fit them together.

[@Tisiloves]

I'm so happy you made the second breakfast reference

[@jaegermonster7520]

I'm tremendously excited for your follow-up videos on the shirt and waistcoats! I've just started building a history-bounding/fantasy-inspo capsule wardrobe, and this whole video has been fantastic inspiration and food for thought on how to move forward. ^_^

[@olliejones3302]

The last bit of Gee in all the fancy two-waistcoated kit was so very gender,

[@NortherlyK]

I also love smocking! There's a bit on the Dread Pirate Roberts'/ Man in Black costume and it makes me so happy.

[@donnarichards2021]

I have very little understanding of this very complicated game system but it was quite enjoyable to listen to you describe the minutia of your costume choices and the attention you pay to the details of it.

[@lilalicat32]

Please make the trousers. That would be a great addition to the kit. I can't wait for your next sewing videos.

[@bunhelsingslegacy3549]

"smooshing historical periods together and making them be friends" lol t think that's the best description of my battle armour I've ever heard, my story is it's different bits and piecces passed down from family and scavenged off the battlefield, the only piece I can legit point to in a museum is the shoulders made from measured drawings my armouring mentor made at the Malta Armoury years ago. I think they can be dated to early 1600s but I need to go double check that. Because I do live steel fighting at events, I am always interested in what the men were wearing under their gambesons and what they were wearing when not in armour, I keep vacillating between whether I want to wear a kirtle or make up some men's garb for when I'm participating in demonstrations at events during the time I'm not in armour.... Pretty can be fun and I enjoy making peasant-style dresses, but there's a reason I am almost always found in some flavour of trousers. I'm kind of a disaster in a dress, pants are much more practical for me, and IRL I get called "sir" rather a lot when I'm in my work clothes, despite being not tall and a pretty slight build. Must be the paint on my scuffed workboots with the pink laces... I really am thankful though that I live in a time and place where I can wear whatever I want without getting crap from anyone about it (except sometimes my father in-law, but he taught me how to darn socks so I'll forgive him for wanting me to appear in public without holes in my pants). With the exception of my wedding dress, I've always felt more comforable in men's formalwear than women's, despite being rather firmly cis-female. I asolutely adored Nicole Rudolph's Gonzo costume.

[@TamarHestrinGrader]

Delighted that the social medias have suddenly presented me with your channel, for several reasons, including that I’ve been contemplating that Costume Close-Up 1790s waistcoat off and on in the last couple of months, and trying to wrangle the construction (and re-sizing and fitting to my particular shape) into some sort of sense in my head. Count me in on the list of people looking forward to your video on making that, whenever you choose to release it! (Apologies in advance, that i’m unlikely to have capacity to comment very often; I’ll be an irregular but enthusiastic lurker.)

[@thorunns.craftstudio]

i just stumbled upon your channel and have now watched a few of your videos and i have to say the more i watch the more i like you/your content!

[@charlymicky1722]

A video about reading Tarot at LARPs? Yes please!!!!

[@Anopano3000]

The two waistcoats over the shirt? On par with Mr. Darcy coming out of the lake, 10/10 would swoon in an empire dress.

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

I really enjoy your kit videos. I watch all of your videos cause I don't want to miss anything! My grandson has started handing me weird pictures from cartoons to make costumes. The kit ideas transfer well. I have always loved smocking. I actually have been try to remember the look of my favourite shirt from the 70's. If I'm going to see I should be able to make favourites from my life. Anyway there was smocking involved. So now I'm looking for a photo and a pattern. I would also love to know more about that coat it's stunning!

[@mandylavida]

Am loving Gee's full name - as a person with a self-made unpronounceable double barrelled surname. No, not gonna tell all of KZbin what that name is.

[@jamesmulholland6959]

His Grace 💜💜💜

[@rosefox4245]

My main larp character is a fortune teller and honestly, there's little I love more than doing tarot readings in game

[@Rotten_Ralph]

This is fantastic kit

[@niccyknickers]

loved seeing the layers of this kit, and the reasoning behind them. Has given me ideas for my own larp kits :D

[@jellotheocracy]

This is a great video. Before I transitioned female to male, I had done a lot of larping and historical costuming, but I found after transition, men's wear was a much bigger challenge, and I have been very frustrated with the lack of resources. It's been very eye opening to try and find resources. Have you ever thought of maybe sharing your best men's resources that you found helpful?

[@maureensummers8212]

Sounds fun what your hobby is. Just found your channel.. Great.

[@therewillbecatswithgwenhwyfar]

I LOVE your kit!

[@jennywitts5025]

this is such a good video, and you look damn good in all of it, even if I do miss grubby e1 Gee

[@therewillbecatswithgwenhwyfar]

That is fire!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@katwitanruna]

I like Katherine Holkeboer’s Patterns for Historical Costume. Ancient Egypt to 1912. There are excellent instructions in the front on how to size up the patterns.

[@katwitanruna]

@@Yidhra23 my copy fell apart and I put the pages in a three ring binder because I used it so much. Sometimes just for a first mockup.

[@lizb7271]

I assume that if one forgets one's kit, one has to do it in one's shorts and vest. /j An interesting fact about typewriters and firearms is that the first typewriters mass produced were made by the Remington company in the late 1870s. Yes! Go off about sexism in historical fashion!

[@shelleymonson8750]

Does Gee possess a hat? (Possibly on my mind because I’m in the throes of getting together a hat for one of my outfits.). They can be quite useful in defining a character, and also useful, if brimmed, for keeping the sun out of your eyes!

[@corasgrove3474]

I love this kit - it looked so great 🙂 more videos sounds good.

[@ReinaElizondo]

Love these! Epic waistcoats!

[@linda.brotherton1689]

❤ 🇺🇸 wow so interesting, I played D&D and made my character too.😊 I started at about 40ish.

[@linda.brotherton1689]

I loved turning into a spider and had a long hair piece but on purpose tripped on my hair or it attacked me lol 😆

[@itcouldbeanyone]

I belong to a modern Victorian group that is on the edge of larp and I am always down for kit I can wear in my muggle life. And who can say no to a good waistcoat.

[@Mongoly8]

oooo Taro and larp!!!!

[@MaleneMaare]

Yes, I'd love to hear more about this reading tarot as a larp-tool.

[@sarawahlund223]

I second that. I have been read during larp a few times and evertime it has been an excellent experience giving me further insight to the characters.

[@Rowan.Evander]

100000/10 would swoon in an empire waist dress (and I'm not even a lady).

[@Rowan.Evander]

But no really, thank you for taking the time to go into so much detail about kit and construction and the ways it can boost the in-character experience! I haven't done LARP in over a decade but this almost makes me want to jump back in. ...Almost. There's the issue of inclusive games being scarce around here.

[@elsa_g]

My immediate first thought is I love the hair!

[@SuperDuckyWho]

*Fans self* 😅 These outfits are rad

[@SuperDuckyWho]

I would LOVE to figure out, as a novice, how to sew some pants that are true to various times. Patterns always seem so complex for these but especially Renaissance, medieval, victorian, etc... I keep thinking "they couldn't have ALL been this complex right? Even for the average guy who wasn't going to a tailor?!"

[@imsunnybaby]

hottttt hot hot