Standards - Clothing for Children

All children's clothing should adhere to the rules of under the basic clothing standards

As a general rule, children after they began walking wore smaller versions of what their parents did, with a few modifications.

Infants:

Children under the age of one are seen wearing linen shirts and or swaddled and wrapped with bands. No method of collecting waste has been seen yet, but for us, modern diapers are fully acceptable. – Swaddled is to wrap or bind in bandages as in the picture to the right.

Once they begin to walk, boys and girls begin to wear clothing that mimics their parents and other adults, but with special changes to accommodate their quickly growing bodies.

Boys:

Braies: Underwear. They should be made of white linen. The style in the 15th century where like briefs or very short boxers to avoid visible lines in the hosen.

Shirt: A shirt should be made of white linen. It should be made in a tunic fashion with a gusset under the arm.

Hosen: Hosen need to be made of four-shed twill wool or a higher count weave. Twill wools were used in period because they have greater stretch on the bias and enough give not to rip when worn. Tabby does not have the stretch needed and should not be used. Boy’s hosen will be single legged and will not be joined.

Doublet: Only older boys, young teens should be wearing a doublet, if they are younger, the boys will just wear a gown over their shirt.

The doublet may be made of tabby or twill weave wool. A doublet should also be set-in lined with white linen. We want all doublets to have ball shoulders and they should lace shut with points in the front. The arms should button close at the wrist with one or two buttons. The waist where the body and the peplums meet should be at a man’s natural waste (usually at the bellybutton) not at the modern waist at the hips. The peplum should end at the hips or one inch below. Point holes to tie up your hosen should be no higher than two inches from the bottom of the peplums. One inch is preferred. We use the Flemish and French look for our doublets look because the few existing pieces of art from England look the same. German and Italian styles differ greatly.

Gown: A gown may be made of tabby or twill weave wool. A gown could have a white linen lining, but for a soldier it is not required. Wool repels rain but if a linen lining gets wet you will get wet. Gowns should be no longer than mid- thigh length and should be pleated at least 3 times on each of the four panels. The sleeves should be long enough to fit over the ball shoulders of the doublet and could be slit in the front and in the back as seen in period art, if you wish. A gown can also be fur lined, squirrel being most common in the 15th century.

Hat: All boys wore hats. The various types worn depend up on position and station. An acorn hat may be made of tabby or twill weave wool, and it should have a linen lining. The acorn hat looks much like a fez but is not as stiff or rounded. Common man and noble wore it alike. This is the only kind of hat we want to be worn by men lower than the gentlemen rank in the group. Additionally, there are felted wool bowlers and chaperones for higher stations.

Belt: The belt should be made of durable leather such as a 6oz or higher vegetable tanned leather. It needs to be able to hold up to the weight of a dagger or purse on it without stretching or folding. The belt fittings should be period in design and made of brass, bronze, or copper for they made up 80% of all belt finds and thus are the most common materials used. The most common style was a D ring buckle held on by a brass plate with a brass plate end. 

Shoes: Shoes should be made in a style seen in art of the 15th century or from examples of shoes from that era. We prefer a brown color or finish to black. Please no bright colors and only use colors you can prove existed. Shoes should be made of a thick bottom and thinner leather on the upper part. The upper should not be more than 4 oz. leather and should be malleable. Vegetable-tan or oak-tan leather will work best and chrome-tan leather should be avoided. Shoes must be constructed as a turn shoe with the proper split hold, also known as a top stitch and have a rand.

Girls:

Chemise: Your underwear should be white linen. This will be long sleeved and will absorb your body oils to prevent the soiling of your gown. The standard construction we use have body panels, attached sleeves, gores & gussets. This maybe constructed via machine, but the neckline and wrists must be finished by hand using linen thread.

Stockings: Need to be made of a three-shed twill wool or higher count. Tabby is also acceptable. Stockings are worn over the feet and calves, under shoes and tied at the knee with garters. These are fitted to the foot and calf and extend just above knee. The construction is done with a two or three piece pattern in one of two foot styles. The two piece pattern contains a calf and top of foot piece and a bottom and side of foot piece where the three piece pattern consists of a separate foot, top of foot and calf.

Garters: Are tied under the knee to support your stockings. These should be out of woven silk, wool, or linen via finger loop braids or inkle loom weaving. They will not be seen by the general public so a strip of wool or linen will work in the interim.

Gown: A gown may be made of tabby or twill wool. Wool repels rain and keeps you dry. Gowns hems should be above the ground, but not higher than the ankles; this prevents the fabric from getting dirty and muddy and then getting the rest of your outfit dirty. This long sleeved gown laces up the front, beginning below the bellybutton. This has wider lacing to allow growth in the woman. Even young teens are wearing this style. Methods of lacing are either hand-done eyelets or small brass rings.

Overgown: This may be in the style of the boys gown as described above.

Head Covering: There are a few options here. The first is in a turban style. A white linen wrap is used to cover the head. This is approximately 24” by 36”, or any size that works to wrap your head in a turban format. The second is a hood. This should be made of unlined wool and sewn together, depending on the style

Shoes: Although they are barely visible under women’s dresses, shoes should be made in a style like seen in art of the 15th century or from an example of shoes from that era. We prefer a brown color or finish to black. Please no bright colors like red or gold, and only use colors you can prove existed. Shoes should be made of a thick bottom and thinner leather on the upper part. The upper should not be more than 4 oz. leather and should be malleable. Vegetable tan or oak tan leather will work best and chrome tan leather should be avoided. Shoes must at least be constructed as a turn shoe with the proper split hold, also known as a top stitch and have a rand.