[Sca-cooks] OT Authenticity Police: since we're castigating extremists ...

[Bronwynmgn at aol.com]

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In a message dated 9/18/2001 12:46:20 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
tsersen at nni.com writes:


> I was sitting
> on the steps outside Cooper's Store this Pennsic watching people go by.
> By far the majority ranged from fantasy garb to very poorly made
> not-very-period stuff.

The things you have to realize about Pennsic are:
1. A lot of people who go to Pennsic aren't SCA.  They are from other groups
who think Pennsic is fun, or just go to Pennsic and aren't involved in other
groups at all.
2.  A lot of people, including those otherwise minded towards more
authenticity, think of Pennsic as a place to dress down, where authenticity
isn't as important, or where it's too hot to attempt to dress authentically
(especially during the day), or where they don't want to ruin their authentic
stuff by dragging it through the dust/mud, or cooking in  it, or washing
dishes in it, or whatever.  Otherwise authentic people have "field garb",
also known as "old grubbies", that they only wear at Pennsic.
3. Most people, ingrained with the modern usage of wearing a garment one day
and then being able to wash it (especially if it's hot), simply don't have
enough authentic stuff for Pennsic, so end up wearing older, less authentic
things to round out their supply, or throwing together quick, unauthentic
things right before Pennsic so as to have "enough clothes".

My feeling is, the people who wore this stuff originally did their daily work
in it (which is why I don't choose "court garb" for daily Pennsic wear), and
it is quite simple to take a wooden rack to air things on so that they can at
least be worn for several days, or to either do hand laundry or make a run to
the laundromat (or give things to someone who is making a town run).  My
"field garb" is still authentic, it's just unadorned linen or wool, not
embroidered or trimmed or with elaborate sleeves or headdresses. But lots of
people equate "authentic" and "court garb", and the only authentic stuf they
have is stuff they don't want to ruin.

Brangwayna Morgan