Costumes for SCA & Renaissance Faires

by Shira

In the early 1980's, when I had been belly dancing less than a year, I was invited to perform at a feast organized by the local chapter of Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA), a group that re-enacts the Medieval era of history. The person who invited me to do the performance knew that I was a beginner, but thought it would be fun to have me dance anyway, so I agreed to it.

For my show, I did what I had been taught in my classes how to do: I showed up wearing an emerald green bra/belt set with green chiffon skirts and veils. The audience was very warm and responsive, and generally seemed to enjoy the show.

Afterward, as I was changing my clothes in the bathroom, one of the women from the audience came in to use the facilities. When she saw me, she asked why I had chosen the nightclub look instead of an ethnic look. I knew there was no point in lying about it, so I came out and said it was because I was a beginner and this was all I knew. That answer seemed to soften what had started as a hostile attitude. Looking back, I know that my costuming was very inappropriate to that setting, but I did the best I could with the knowledge I had at the time.

Now, 20+ years later, I would like to think I'm a little older and wiser. Over the past two decades, I've learned much about the historical and ethnic traditions of Middle Eastern dance, and the dance community's overall knowledge and sophistication has grown. In this article, I'd like to share with you what I wish I had known back then about performing for historical re-enactment events!

What Not to Wear

When performing at an event that seeks to re-create either the Renaissance or the Medieval era, the following things would be extremely bad choices:

Chainmail Bikini. The look popularized by Red Sonja in the 1980's might set young men's blood racing, but it's not a valid re-enactment of what Middle Eastern women once wore! There's a reason why they call the genre "fantasy". Save it for the science fiction conventions!
Fur Bikini. I'm sure the men would like to touch your furry places, but it's all wrong for historical depiction! This is another choice better suited for science fiction conventions.
Xena, Warrior Princess Costume. As a novelty costume for a comedy act at a belly dancing festival or hafla, it might be fun. It would be a big hit at a science fiction or comic book convention. But the Xena look just doesn't match the historical garb of real women from the Middle East and therefore is not the right choice for historical re-enactment.
Anything With Glass Beads and Sequins. Women in historical times who had a passion for shiny things decorated their clothing with shisha mirrors (India), mozunas (Morocco), or coins. Sequins and beaded glass fringe didn't exist yet.
Harem Fantasy Looks. Historical re-enactment events aren't the right places to look as if you raided the costume archives for an Aladdin movie or the 1960's television show "I Dream of Jeannie." Leave at home the teeny halter top, the chiffon, and the navel jewel.

What About Tribal?

This is a delicate question, and it's somewhat political because the Tribal community has a passion for its flavor of Oriental dance. Everything depends on the expectations of your local group with respect to historical accuracy.

Tribal-Style Dance Garb
If historical accuracy is deemed important, then the American Tribal look is wrong because it consists of mixing costume items from assorted cultures (cholis from India, turbans from Middle Eastern men, Spanish-influenced flamenco skirts, necklaces from Afghanistan, tulle bi telli tunics or dresses from Egypt) with 20th-century invented-in-the-U.S. items such as tassel belts and coin bras. Although it looks fabulous, it's not an accurate depiction of the clothing any culture wore at any particular point in time.

Still, I'm acquainted with many dancers who wear American Tribal costuming for SCA and Renaissance Faires, and I love to watch them perform at my local events. Their costumes look great even if they're not accurate historical depictions of historical garb. So far as I know, the very first belly dance troupe to perform as a Renaissance Faire act was San Francisco-based Bal Anat, and they were also the pioneers who created the foundation that today's American Tribal style has been built upon. To members of the public who attend these events, the full skirts, bouncing tassels, and jingling coins look convincingly ethnic.

If you have a passion for coin bras and tassel belts, check with your local historical re-enactment community to find out whether they expect attempted realistic portrayals of what people actually wore in that part of the world at that period of time, or whether they find the American Tribal look acceptable. Different groups will have different attitudes on this subject, and you'll want to be compatible with your local organization.

ARTWORK CREDIT: Drawing by Julie Anne Elliot, copyright 2002, all rights reserved. You may not use this image on your web site, flyers, or other uses without written permission. Used here on Suite101 by permission.

So What Would Be Appropriate?

The first thing to remember about dance costuming for historical depictions is that Oriental dance originated as a social dance. People did it in the normal clothes they might wear to visit their neighbors or attend wedding festivities, and they still do today. Before the 20th century, there was no such thing as a separate "dance costume" because Oriental dance had not yet become a "performing art". So when researching historical dance costumes, just research what women actually used to wear for everyday use and model your costume on that.

One direction you could take with your costuming is the Ottoman look that pervaded the Muslim world for many centuries, as shown in the drawing to the right.

This illustration comes from an Italian book titled Costumi Orientali (Oriental costume), published in the 17th century.

Although not visible in this picture, pantaloons were worn as an undergarment. They were very full -- 60 inches across the width of each leg. Drawstrings were used at the waist. At the ankle, the lower edge could either pulled up into a drawstring, or it could be gathered to a cuff that buttons or hooks. Cuffs were typically embroidered.

Over the pantaloons women wore a skirt, with a sash tied at the hips. On their upper half, they wore a sheer V-necked blouse with full sleeves. Over this was a hip-length coat, flared below the waist.

The headdress is not a turban, because turbans were worn by men. This is a fancy adaptation of a pillbox hat.

The Ottoman empire begin in the 15th century, and lasted until after World War I. Over the centuries its influence expanded to cover the entire northern coast of Africa, much of eastern Europe, and most of the Arabic countries. Much trade occurred within the empire, and carried the cultural influence of the Turks across many lands. This style of women's clothing was widely worn throughout the Ottoman empire and eventually inspired the garb of the 18th-century Ghawazee in Egypt.

Another approach could be a costume modeled on the dresses worn by women of the eastern Mediterranean area in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, etc. such as the one in the drawing to the left.

The picture to the left shows the cover of a pattern sold by Folkwear Patterns for making a Syrian dress. Folkwear also has a pattern for making a "Gaza dress" from the Palestinian region. See Folkwear's web site at http://www.folkwear.com for patterns for additional historic garments from the Middle East.

I like to use patterns made by Folkwear because many of them contain historical information about the garment. Often, Folkwear's patterns will include embroidery designs based on those found on genuine antique garments.

Practical Considerations

Historical re-enactment events often take place outdoors in hot weather and dusty conditions. Consider that when deciding what to wear. Here are some thoughts to keep you comfortable while you look great.

Jewelry. Metal jewelry looks wonderful, but could become very hot and even painfully uncomfortable if you're likely to spend a lot of time in the sun.
Keep Cool. Wrap ice in a small towel that has been soaked in cold water and hide it under your headdress for merciful relief from hot conditions.
Reflect Heat. Light colors will absorb less heat from the sun than dark colors, and may be more comfortable in hot weather.
Natural Fibers. Even if you're not a historical purist when it comes to fabric choices, natural fibers such as cotton, silk, and linen still have several advantages over synthetics. They breathe better, and therefore won't feel as hot. There's also safety to consider. If you're likely to be dancing near a fire, natural fibers are much safer in the event a spark flies in your direction. Polyester and other synthetics can be very dangerous around fire.
Washable Fabrics. Historical re-enactment events typically occur outdoors under dusty conditions. Consider fabrics such as cotton that hold up well under washing and beware of fragile decorations that might not survive your laundry equipment.
Color. I haven't researched what colors of dyes may have actually existed during the Medieval and Renaissance eras, so I can't advise you on that. But one consideration is to choose colors that will be easy to see in your dance environment. For example, at SCA events, people often enjoy dancing around the campfires at night. Costumes in red, orange, and black would be difficult to see in such lighting, so you might consider colors that would be more visible by firelight.

Acknowledgements

This article originally appeared on the Suite101 web site, in the Middle Eastern Dance category, on May 31, 2002.