Medieval groom's attire ideas

kerbohl

Hello everyone!  My FI and I are trying to narrow down what he might be able to wear for our winter 2013 wedding.  We are both medieval enthusiasts, and are having a medieval themed wedding.  However, I have not bought a medieval dress (I'm doing my thesis on medieval fashion, and if I wanted a historically accurate dress I'd have to make it myself, and I really didn't have the time).  So I am not wearing something specifically medieval, and neither are my bridesmaids.
However, my FI would like to wear something medieval.  But it has to be something that looks formal and serious for the church ceremony, and we probably don't have the money for two outfits for him.  Any suggestions for something that is sort of medieval but also more formal?  We'd thought a nice doublet, but it is hard to get them in our colours of white and light blue.  I'd thought a nice vest over a "medieval" shirt, but opinion of others seems to be that this isn't formal enough. 
Thanks for any opinions or ideas!

kerbohl

Oops - I did mean winter 2014 wedding, not 2013 . . .

HobokensFury

IMO if the you and the BMs are wearing modern attire it's going to look off if the groom is wearing medieval attire.  It's going to look very costumey. Maybe you could compromise? Wear a modern suit for the ceremony and the medieval attire for the reception?

itzMS

ITA with Hoboken.

TBH, I was scared to even click on this thread to read it. I'm all for having a hobby and/or being enthusiastic about whatever...but a wedding calls for proper attire.

Attire that could be interpretted as a costume is better suited for a costume party, play, or a reinactment.

Especially since you'll be in a church, you should both respect that with proper attire.

bunni727

How about wearing modern formal attire, and then adding a fun medieval hat & sword for some pictures? It'd still incorporate your interests without losing formality in the ceremony or breaking the bank with two full outfits.

Peledreamsofrain

Unfortunately period appropriate costuming that doesn't look cheap gets pricey very quickly.  That's why I always made my own when I worked in a Renaissance faire.

If you have a sewing machine, it really doesn't take all that long to create what you are talking about.  Mideival attire isn't that complex to begin with, and you could easily add very nice trim to a simple belted tunic for your groom.  The time expense would come if you were dressing yourself and your bridesmaids as well.  Though there are always shortcuts you could take (ie buy bodysuits for the girls instead of actually constructing undergarments with tight sleeves.  Nobody is going to see their undergarments, so those don't have to be period).

While the whole costume wedding idea doesn't work for me personally, I see no problem with people doing it when it means something very personal to them.

RamonaFlowers

This is going to sound kind of unbelievable ... but I've actually been to a wedding where the groom/groomsmen went with a "medieval" attire (Gauzy tunics and black slacks) with coordinating vests while the bride and bridesmaids went with "modern" clothing due to time/budget constraints.

While I would never in a million years say it to the couples' face, because I love them and it made them so happy: holy crap, it looked like a hot mess. If you cut their wedding photos right down the center, they didn't even look like they belonged at the same wedding.

If you are dead set against a medieval dress for whatever reason (Time or budget), then find another way to incorporate the "medieval" thing into the wedding-be it a cake topper or something with the music, whatever ... but please, have everybody in the wedding wear clothing that's from the same "era".

kerbohl

Peledreamsofrain, I like your idea of trim on a belted tunic with trim - that could work really well!  I make my own medieval dresses, but I've never done men's attire, so I was a bit reluctant to think about that option, but what you suggested didn't sound too hard.

  I get what people are saying about the costumy attire, but I think FI is really excited about having attire with medieval aspects (not just having aspects of the reception being medieval), so I don't want to shut down something he wants to do so badly.  I've mentioned the wearing formal attire in the church, and he does not seem to be on board,and it's his wedding as much as mine, so if we find something that doesn't scream "costume" then that'll be nice.  Unfortunately he's been looking at all the wedding websites with people who went all out and had everyone as well as guests in medieval costumes . . .

monkeysip

A friend of mine was also really into medieval and renaissance history, and she made her and her husband's attire.  It's wasn't exactly accurate, and it was more renaissance/elizabethan than medieval, but they both looked really good.  Not cheap at all, and not goofy looking.  They were still costumes, obviously, but tasteful and professional looking.  So I really don't think it's a bad idea, BUT I really wouldn't do it if you're not going to wear a medieval dress as well. 

Like I said, it was more renaissance/elizabethan, but he wore black pants, gold vest and bowtie, plus a great brocade jacket.  I think you could simplify this and do more of a simple tux, but with an interesting vest underneath or small medieval accents.

kerbohl

Hmmm, I like the idea of a brocade jacket . . . that sounds pretty cool.  If I wasn't overseas for seven months of the wedding planning, I would be more than down for making my own medieval dress - sometimes it sucks to be doing school while planning a wedding!

Peledreamsofrain

What monkeysip is describing is what most people actually do for 'medieval' weddings.  Kind of a mishmash of period appropriate stuff, and some Renaissance stuff (because let's face it, they had fun clothes).

However, in your particular situation, you may want to stick to true Midieval garb, because it's a LOT less complex, and therefore less time-consuming for you to make. 

For example, a belted tunic is essentially just a really long shirt, but you can add nice trim and toggles/buttons to make it look upper class/formal:



The Renaissance equivalent of the above outfit is at least 3 to 4 seperate peices of clothing (they loved LOVED layers).  This would triple to quadruple your sewing.  Yes it would look amazing, but it would be a giant pain in the tush.

The same principle is in play with women's clothing as well.  A Midieval dress is just a really simple flowy gown that is also very commonly belted or girdled.  Depending on the time-period (or more likely your preference) you can have close-fitted sleeves, or bell sleeves.:


The Renaissance version of the above outfit has no less than 4 and can have as many as 8 seperate pieces to it.  The period appropriate Renaissance dress that I made took me a year to sew.  Again in your case, I don't think that would be good for your sanity in the slightest.

kerbohl

Thanks for the suggestions, and the picture!  I'll show my FI and see what he thinks of doing something like that.