beginning 15th c. soft kit

[mortuary3]

I've been contemplating this for awhile and going to start moving forward with it.  Pleated gown / coat is already in the planning stages (wife / seamtress) will be making that.  My question to folks is shoes / ankle boots.  Right now shoes from Revival looks to be my best bet, whether it be the premium or standard one's is undecided. 

others I've checked with...


Historical Enterprises
Medieval Designs
and Matuls (Poland)

any others I may look at?

Cheers,

Billiam

[Das Bill]

I'm not entirely sure what other places to look at, but for whatever its worth, the Revival Clothing shoes are really excellent.

[Sir Wolf]

what years, area and class are you looking for?  might i suggest going to http://www.lordgreys.org and checking out the site. there is a forum there you can sign up on that will help you.

as for the Revival shoes, there not really historical. the hobnails in the soles are not period nor is the leather or stitching used.  HE uses correct stitching, but the leather is not right either, unless you get the more expensive shoes i think.  I can not remember what Matauls uses.  I do believe Medieval Designs to use veggie tanned leather. a person in the Lord Greys has a pair and she loves them.

so its all in the details. if you want a cheap fast pair of good shoes that will last you a while, than Revival is the best. but if you want more historical etc you need to look into some details first.

i do 15thc as well.  i have owned a pair of HE shoes that lasted a few years and now have a pair of hand made ones. hand made are always the way to go imho.  if you have any questions on 15thc garb/outfits etc please post and I'll try to get you the answers   its a great time period.

[Das Bill]

as for the Revival shoes, there not really historical. the hobnails in the soles are not period nor is the leather or stitching used.  HE uses correct stitching, but the leather is not right either, unless you get the more expensive shoes i think.  I can not remember what Matauls uses.  I do believe Medieval Designs to use veggie tanned leather. a person in the Lord Greys has a pair and she loves them.

so its all in the details. if you want a cheap fast pair of good shoes that will last you a while, than Revival is the best. but if you want more historical etc you need to look into some details first.

Ah, that's good to know. Not being a living history person, there's a lot of those things that I don't know. (Which is kind of funny, considering what a stickler I am for accuracy and details on swords...).

[Sir Edward]

Yeah, we all have our different areas of knowledge, that's true.

Footwear I think tends to be one of the harder parts to get right, particularly in a soft kit. There just aren't that many options out there to choose from, and it tends to be overlooked by most people (particularly at renfaires and the like, and probably SCA too).

The revival ankle boots are definitely comfortable, for what it's worth, though I haven't tried wearing them for any extended periods of time yet.

The revival clothing turnshoes aren't bad. I can't speak to the accuracy of the stitching and so forth like Wolf can. But I suspect they'll easily pass the "10 foot rule", if not at 3 feet of distance.

The boots I tend to wear with my garb and armor are not historical at all, but they look good in a modern-fantasy sort of way (most spectators won't know any better), are comfortable, and waterproof (muddy renfaires aren't a problem).

How much accuracy are you aiming for?

[mortuary3]

Thanks for the responses & info.  I'm not looking to be spot on for accuracy.  Not going to be doing any living history (yet anyway that I know of).  Just wanting to put together a reasonable kit for doing presentations & demo with our group (Roanoke Valley Sword Guilde).  I'm still leaning towards the Revival shoes / boots due to cost factor for one.


Danke


Bill

[mortuary3]

Received my 14th c. ankle boots from Revival this week and I'm quite chuffed with them. Very comfortable.....will give them a good try-out at our next training group on Tuesday.  This is a good foundation start on my kit....my wife is going to start on my coat after she finishes up a Medieval wedding gown & bride's maid dress.


cheers

[Sir Wolf]

kewl, le tm eknow if ya need some help. i can get you to the right person or persons that could make a world of difference.  heres a good book to check out on making the garb : "The Medieval Tailor's Assistant, making common garments 1200-1500"  by Sarah Thursfield

[Sir Edward]

Cool, I hope you like the boots. I'll be giving mine a try at Pennsic next week. So far I've still only tried them on and haven't used them for anything more extensive.

Oh, I remembered that you mentioned the Roanoke Valley Sword Guilde here, and just spotted over on SFI the thread you had about the sword video critiquing. Online video makes for a great way to seek input on such things. I'd love to see people doing that more... but it always means going out on a limb, of course.

I haven't tried doing combat or anything like that with the ankle boots, but they move so well, like wearing socks, that they're probably fine for that, as long as the traction is appropriate.