[Ansteorra] I need HELP with garb, people. I am soooo frustrated.

[rachel luce]

   So I've finally sat down and done some research and
I  want to Make New Garb! Specifically Byzantine, from
the middle centuries (@900-1000 C.E)of the Empire. 
Then I started  designing the outfits and I realized
that there are three problems with the research I've
done. 
   One, for tunicas, all of the examples cited in
books and  on-line are *Coptic* tunicas and from the
early Byzantine period -200-500 C.E. Two, several of
the books and websites make the claim that tunicas,
the tunica taleris, and dalmaticas were primarily
white or cream with the color provided by the clavii
and segmentae. That seems like an overgeneralisation
considering that the Byzantines were known for their
textiles. Plus I HATE white and I'm fat, so don't look
good in it anyway. Can I use colored fabrics like
yellow, blue, red, green, brown and still be accurate?
I looked at some Byzantine illuminated manuscripts and
some mosaics and they show a plethora of color in the
clothing. BUT those sources were picturing court life
and the lives of the saints so.... 
  And three is that a lot of the descriptions for the
clothing is pretty vague not to mention conflicting.
For instance some sources say the paludamentum is for
men only, another that the Empress also wore one and
yet another that the paludamentum is the "Byzantine
style cloak worn throughout the empire." I've got the
same problem with the lorum. 
  And several sources freely admit that almost all of
the extant clothing we've got are Noble class and
better. I want to make seeral outfits for everyday
wear. What elements other than the superhumeral need
to be left out? 

Can anybody suggest images, books, etc? Here's a list
of what I've currently got.

"Fashion in History, Western Dress from Prehistoric to
Present." Marybelle S. Bigelow
"20,000 Years of Fashion." Francois Boucher
"Ancient Greek Roman & Byzantine Costume." Mary G.
Houston
"Everyday life in Byzantium." Tamara Rice
"Byzantium: the Bridge from antiquity to thte middle
ages."  Micheal Angold
"Byzantium." Tamara Rice

 These were used for images in mosaics and
manuscripts.
"European Enamels." Isa Belli Barsali
"Ivories of the West." Massimo Carra
"Songs of Glory, Medieval Art from 900 to 1500."
Oklahomoa Museum of Art. 
"The making of the past: Rome and Byzantium." Clive
Foss and Paul Magdalino
"Great Ages of Man: Byzantium" Phillip Sherrard


		
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