Gatekeeper
Sr Member
Re: musketeer reference material/and how the costume is turning out
Great costumes, guys! Makes me want to break out my old 17th century kit and mod it a bit...
A couple of things I'd recommend for a nice tweak of a musketeer outfit: first off, the boots. Bucket top boots were intended for military and mercenary people - they are riding boots, and the tops were unfolded and pulled up to the mid-thigh when on horseback. When dismounted, tops were folded in the familiar "pirate" fashion. During the 30 Years War (1618-1648), bucket top boots became fashionable, and gentlemen sported them in the cities and drawing rooms.
Cavaliers/musketeers wore spurs with the boots. They were attached with leather straps that went through a butterfly-shaped piece of leather in the front. The shape of spur leathers changed through the centuries, but kept the general butterfly shape. In the 1620's, spur leathers were big, covering a part of the lower boot top, reaching almost down to the toe.
17th C spurs are reminiscent of some Old West spurs, especially the ones from Texas/Mexico (big, spikey rowels). They point downwards.
Ditto on the matchlock musket, by the way - they were the mainstay of the time. Flintlocks became more and more common during the latter half of the century. As for the pistols, the early 1600's way to go is the wheel-lock, though nice replicas are few and far between.
Musketeers as such existed for centuries. Though if one strives to replicate the Dumas musketeer, I'd recommend to look at late Renaissance/early Baroque fashion. The doublet, with slight alterations, was used from the late 1500's to about 1650. After that, mens' fashion changed considerably; military accessories, such as the high boots, were shunned and the doublet was considered somewhat archaic. Instead, men began wearing shoes and long coats. The rapier gave way for the shorter dress swords. The reaction towards military-style clothing had a natural reason - by the end of the Thirty Years War, huge parts of Europe was burned, looted and generally laid waste - people wanted to move on, forget the atrocities and continue living peacefully (we all know how well that went...).
If one is interested in achieving accuracy, I'd recommend to check out some of the English Civil War reenactor sites. Plenty of nice stuff to be found there. Also, check out the Dutch painters - Gerhard ter Borch, Frans Hals, Rembrand too, for that matter - for great depictions of period clothing.
As for movie reference, the Richard Lester movies from the 70's (The Three Musketeers & The Four Musketeers) are very authentic, wardrobe-wise. Also, they're great swashbuckler flicks!
Great costumes, guys! Makes me want to break out my old 17th century kit and mod it a bit...
A couple of things I'd recommend for a nice tweak of a musketeer outfit: first off, the boots. Bucket top boots were intended for military and mercenary people - they are riding boots, and the tops were unfolded and pulled up to the mid-thigh when on horseback. When dismounted, tops were folded in the familiar "pirate" fashion. During the 30 Years War (1618-1648), bucket top boots became fashionable, and gentlemen sported them in the cities and drawing rooms.
Cavaliers/musketeers wore spurs with the boots. They were attached with leather straps that went through a butterfly-shaped piece of leather in the front. The shape of spur leathers changed through the centuries, but kept the general butterfly shape. In the 1620's, spur leathers were big, covering a part of the lower boot top, reaching almost down to the toe.
17th C spurs are reminiscent of some Old West spurs, especially the ones from Texas/Mexico (big, spikey rowels). They point downwards.
Ditto on the matchlock musket, by the way - they were the mainstay of the time. Flintlocks became more and more common during the latter half of the century. As for the pistols, the early 1600's way to go is the wheel-lock, though nice replicas are few and far between.
Musketeers as such existed for centuries. Though if one strives to replicate the Dumas musketeer, I'd recommend to look at late Renaissance/early Baroque fashion. The doublet, with slight alterations, was used from the late 1500's to about 1650. After that, mens' fashion changed considerably; military accessories, such as the high boots, were shunned and the doublet was considered somewhat archaic. Instead, men began wearing shoes and long coats. The rapier gave way for the shorter dress swords. The reaction towards military-style clothing had a natural reason - by the end of the Thirty Years War, huge parts of Europe was burned, looted and generally laid waste - people wanted to move on, forget the atrocities and continue living peacefully (we all know how well that went...).
If one is interested in achieving accuracy, I'd recommend to check out some of the English Civil War reenactor sites. Plenty of nice stuff to be found there. Also, check out the Dutch painters - Gerhard ter Borch, Frans Hals, Rembrand too, for that matter - for great depictions of period clothing.
As for movie reference, the Richard Lester movies from the 70's (The Three Musketeers & The Four Musketeers) are very authentic, wardrobe-wise. Also, they're great swashbuckler flicks!
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