All too often, when the term Byzantine and the Eastern Roman Empire are brought up in re-enactment and recreationist contexts, especially in a clothing context, we think opulence and splendour. We think “guess I’ll have to mortgage my house” or “time to rob the bank to afford this look.” I’m here to say that no, … Continue reading Broke Byzantine: making a sartorial riot happen on a budget
clothing
Making Choices; or why Konstantia wore one outfit over another
Seriously. This is pretty close to what we had. I live just north of the green circle. Calontir Coronation was this weekend, and as is often the risk with midwestern kingdoms in January, we had the prediction of some pretty heinous weather. So not kidding - we had a winter storm warning issued that morning … Continue reading Making Choices; or why Konstantia wore one outfit over another
Experimental Archaeology and Social Media
So, it's been another week of a post being shared on That Social Media Site of purported 14th century Byzantine garments as they make the rounds. . . again. They're beautiful, well-crafted, and the photos look like they've been taken from a museum of sorts. The fabric looks right, and there's plenty of bling. So, … Continue reading Experimental Archaeology and Social Media
Survey of Byzantine Clothing Class
At Clothier's Seminar, hosted by the Shire of Cúm an Iolair, I had the opportunity to teach a class on Byzantine clothing from about the 6th century to about the 14th century. This will eventually be a series of posts at some point, but until then, please enjoy my handout (with a very large thank … Continue reading Survey of Byzantine Clothing Class
And after you ditch the donut. . . the bling!
My Byzanbestie, Anna of Anna's New Rome, just made a post about how anachronistic and frankly, terrible, the fabric donut is with Byzantine clothing. You can read about it here, with this another part of our collaboration. (TAG TEAM GO!) Of course, this led down the rabbit hole of what to do to further ornament … Continue reading And after you ditch the donut. . . the bling!
Puzzling Out the Procession of the Martyrs
The Procession of the Virgin Martyrs is an incredible piece of art from 6th century Ravenna (see also the mosaic of Theodora with Attendants, also located in Ravenna and completed during the reign of Justinian and Theodora). Created with thousands of tesserae (or glass or stone tiles), this piece of artwork completed during the reign … Continue reading Puzzling Out the Procession of the Martyrs
Project Disco Ball; or how to really bling an outfit
Remember this outfit? It's what I wore when I stepped down from being Principal Herald and I love it still. Except it's not blingy enough for my liking. So, enter Project Disco Ball. Bezants are little metal bits that are sewn to clothing. They're also called paillettes, but the main idea are bits of metal … Continue reading Project Disco Ball; or how to really bling an outfit
Sailing Northward
The upcoming reign in Calontir is a Norse one, and I've been assisting a bit in researching largesse items. I've also been working on some other items, so come along with me on what I've been doing so far. First thing up is researching small token items that Her Highness could give out. After putting … Continue reading Sailing Northward
konstantia kaloethina 
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