A Vendor’s Guide to Renaissance Fairs Part 4: Costumes
Hello, faire friend! If you’re reading this, then two things must be true: 1) you are a vendor who wants to sell your goods at renaissance fairs, and 2) you need a little help with your applications, your booth, product planning, and more. I’m happy to help!
In case you’d like to know more about me first - my name is Sara and I’m a leathercrafter who has been selling at local renaissance fairs in the northeast Georgia and South Carolina area since 2019. I literally picked the worst possible time to try to start a business, but it still worked out! In this series, I want to dive into my experiences as a renaissance fair vendor. Topics will include:
Costumes (this post)
Renaissance fairs are known for their costumes, and I have yet to attend one that didn’t require vendors to be in costume. I have collected quite the wardrobe over the past few years specifically so that I can have multiple options for my multi-day events. While costumes are supposed to be fun, I have found that they can also be a source of stress as well. What do you want to dress up as? Do you want to coordinate with your booth and branding, or do something more fun since you have the chance? What will the weather be like? Do you have comfortable shoes? All these things and more will be on your mind.
Weather
Before you consider anything else, consider the weather.
As someone who doesn’t handle hot weather well, I consider hot weather to be the more difficult one to dress for. Typically I will err on the side of less is more clothing-wise because I just can’t wear too many layers without risking heat stress. Generally I won’t wear a corset for hot summer events, opting instead for a bikini top worn underneath some kind of loose, sleeveless linen blouse. I’ve always worn bikini tops or sports bras exclusively during the summer for years because I sweat and I just find those two far more comfortable than a regular bra when sweaty. As a bonus, it’s generally a lot easier to dress up a bikini top than a regular bra, and if I do decide that my cleavage needs to breathe, the bikini top comes across as a lot more intentional. (Besides, you’ll see LOTS of cleavage at fair anyway.)
For bottoms, I’ll either wear a long, flowy skirt with biker shorts underneath for comfort, or I’ve found that belly dancing pants that have slits up the legs also work very well. They let in the breeze while also allowing you the comfort of having fabric in certain necessary areas to prevent chafing.
One more thing I discovered recently that I love to wear to events is my riding breeches. I also ride horses so I have quite a few pairs of breeches, which are basically just athletic leggings with silicone dots or shapes along where my body touches the saddle for extra grip. I’ve found that wearing these makes for a great base. They’re also really durable since they’re designed to be worn out riding, so I don’t have to worry about blowing out the inner thighs of a cheap pair of leggings while at a fair (true story). I have some that are super thin for summer and some with fleece lining for winter. I then pair them with my riding boots and the bottom half of my outfit is basically done.
For shoes, that’s really going to depend on how your feet handle different kinds of shoes. I’ve tried various types of shoes that other people swear by, but they end up making my feet feel like they’re going to explode. I could never do the super cute strappy sandals that I’ve seen a lot of people wear. Personally, I’ve had the most luck with Hey Dudes for summer events, and I have even managed to find a pair of light brown suede Hey Dudes that are just plain enough to blend in without throwing off the vibe like a pair of sneakers would. For winter, I have a pair of winter knee-high riding boots that are super comfortable and also really fit the vibe. If I’m being totally honest, I didn’t need them, they were 100% a want, but they fit so well with my plans for my costume that I couldn’t resist!
From there, it’s on to accessories. In the summer, I’ll keep my accessories to a minimum, typically sticking with a leather belt, belt pouch, decorative metal chain belt with suns, and my loop I keep a handful of my favorite trinkets on. Less truly is more when I’m sweating my butt off.
What’s most important as vendors is remembering that you’ll likely be in a very small, confined space, airflow may be at a premium depending on your location or the weather in general, and you do need to prioritize comfort since you’ll probably be doing a lot of bending, squatting, turning, etc. During hot summer months, most of the vendors I see are typically in very few layers, and quite often the men are without shirts at all.
A quick look down the path at CastleFaire. My partner is the one in black with the guitar. His costume includes several layers of long sleeve shirts & sweaters, a gambeson, two pairs of pants, tall boots, and a very not-in-theme beanie. It was so cold!
Since I tolerate cooler weather so much better, I find that it’s much easier to plan a costume, and I find these events to be more fun anyway. I only have two winter events currently, CastleFaire and Carolina Carnage. CastleFaire is on top of a mountain at a castle in Georgia, which is amazing fun but also brings its own set of challenges weather-wise. Both years we’ve attended it has rained, and last year it even snowed on Sunday, so I know I have to plan not only for a pretty good breeze but also for some kind of precipitation. Meanwhile, Carolina Carnage is held indoors so I get to dress warm but a little more comfortably.
Winter staple pieces I have include several corsets in cream and burgundy, a gambeson for when it’s too cold for words, and a vintage fur stole I found at a thrift store that I love so much. I don’t wear that one if it’s going to be really rainy, though, because I don’t want it to get ruined. I recently purchased an Icelandic sheep hide with fur longer than the length of my hand, so I’m very much looking forward to wearing that at CastleFaire this coming year.
From there, I layer. I’ll start with a Cabela’s brand hunting base layer shirt I found while thrifting, add a more theme-appropriate shirt on top, then a corset, then I’ll add some crocheted fingerless gloves that go up past my elbows, and finish it off with a cloak and a layer of fur on top of that. Truly, the fur does SO MUCH to keep me warm, it’s amazing. I don’t generally wear hats as my hair is often enough to get the job done, but I do have a fur hat that I’ll wear if it’s very cold, too.
When it comes to mens costumes, despite my best attempts, I have yet to convince my dear partner to don a kilt. Someday… Until that day comes, I have found him a few pairs of linen shorts in different colors along with some pretty generic linen shirts. These work perfectly for summer faires because they’re loose, I chose light colors, and natural fabric is so much better for hot weather so he’s a lot more comfortable. For the winter, I’ve gotten him a gambeson and a pair of tall boots as key pieces, then he tends to layer up with some normal clothes with a long sleeve tunic on top and a pair of sweatpants I found that really don’t look like sweatpants at all when layered under the gambeson and boots. He’s comfy and he’s happy. At least, as happy as one can be when fighting with the wind, rain, and snow.
Should you coordinate with your booth/branding?
In this outfit, I’m wearing my burgundy breeches and brown riding boots, bikini top, sleeveless linen shirt, a cheap corset from Amazon, a gold belt with suns, a plain leather belt, pouch, and some necklaces, bracelets, and rings. My sister is wearing a pink floral Selkie dress and far too many of my accessories to name! We were also required to wear our vendor passes for this event.
When it comes to coordinating with your booth, branding, and products, I do think this is something you should strive to do as it really lends to the whole experience. What this looks like can be very different depending on your branding, too. In my case, my eventual goal is to have some key pieces of armor I’ve made that I wear along with my burgundy breeches, boots, and a pretty basic beige linen top. This way I’m able to wear various leather elements I’ve made and advertise my wares. I also plan on making my partner a full set of armor that he can wear to winter fairs and just choose pieces from for summer fairs. Right now, I have the base down and a corset-style utility belt I’ve made that I still need to make some modifications to, and this is my primary event outfit. I also have a secondary event outfit for when I’m doing demonstrations that is a simple linen dress dyed a goldenrod color with a burgundy apron on top. This outfit is what I wore to Carolina Carnage last year and it worked so well.
When I was first planning out my costume, I started by just looking to see what was available. Are there pants in my colors? What about shirts? Skirts, dresses, and corsets? I did end up buying myself several corsets and skirts before I shifted towards the breeches and boots aesthetic, so now I mostly use those on my mannequin and change up which color of which item is on her depending on what leather items I want to put on her.
After I nailed down what was out there, I started planning. For me, this consisted of pinning cute outfits to Pinterest and making notes on specific parts of those outfits that I wanted to replicate. There were a few key pieces I knew I wanted, so I did splurge on those. Key pieces included the fur stole once I found it along with several corsets from Corset Story. I’ve purchased from there twice now, and every corset I’ve gotten has been amazing quality and just so, so comfortable. If I didn’t live where it’s so hot 9 months out of the year, I’d probably wear corsets way more often because I personally much prefer them to literally anything else. They also force me to have good posture during the day, which helps keep my back from hurting. I’ve noticed that on days when I don’t wear corsets at events, I’m in a lot more pain afterward than when I do.
Once I had my base down — breeches, boots, corset, and a linen top — and then figured out the leather bits I wanted to wear, then it was time to accessorize. This is my favorite part! Accessories change depending on the event and the weather, but I have a little collection of rings and some vintage necklaces that I’ll wear with various pieces. I have a cute gold belt I got from Amazon (actually two that I put together) with suns on them that matches my branding too. Of course, I’ll also add layers for colder events as well. The accessorizing is the fun part!
Depending on what your branding is, you may be able to really lean into it.
As an example, my blacksmith friend is very into his Scottish ancestry, so he has a Scottish great kilt and the whole outfit to go with it. He also purchased a proper women’s outfit for his wife. They’re expecting a little girl here soon so I’m fully expecting an over the top Scottish baby outfit too.
If your branding is more earthy, you could easily go for a fairy look, and there are so many varieties of fairies out there. If your branding is on the darker side, maybe some kind of warrior, a dark elf, or a witch/wizard. For more ethereal branding, you could lean into a Lord of the Rings-inspired elf design or go for more of a sorcerer look.
If your branding doesn’t lean too heavily towards a certain theme, which many products don’t, you can literally never go wrong with a basic medieval maiden/peasant look but lean way into it.
As you’re planning your costume, another thing to consider may be what costumes you don’t see very often. As an example, while you can’t go wrong with pirates, it is a very easy costume to put together and as a result is pretty oversaturated. As vendors, I think we should strive to do something a bit different. If your booth is more nautical-themed and you want to do a pirate, there’s nothing wrong with that and I think you should! But if your booth doesn’t lean into the piratey vibes, I’d say to see if you can come up with something a bit more fun and interesting. One costume that’s always stood out to me is my friends at Dragon Eye Arts. Matt will wear a full suit of plate armor at some events, and it’s always a HUGE hit!
What do you WANT to dress up as?
This is the most important part. Only take my advice above IF you want to. If you want to dress up as a pirate? DO IT. You want to wear a basic fairy costume you got on Amazon? Wear it. Don’t let me tell you what to do because, ultimately, as long as you’re comfy, dressed for the weather, and meeting any specific rules your fair has, that’s all that matters.
That’s all for this series! I hope that this has helped to prepare you for an amazing time as a renaissance fair vendor! If you have any questions, my DMs on Instagram or TikTok are always open and I love to chat about renaissance fairs!
If you enjoyed this series, make sure to follow me on Insta or TikTok for more content, or subscribe to my email list and I’ll let you know whenever I put out a new blog post! I’m hoping to interview some fellow vendors and maybe share their setups so keep an eye out for that. I’ll also try to write little recap posts about each of my events.
See you soon!
