Historical Timekeepers Authenticity Guide Lines In the best interest of the hobby and to better improve our own personal personas, it is important that we all strive to be as authentic as we can during the open hours of any event we attend. We are not advocating the institution of stitch counting, but to be aware of how you look and how the camp presents itself to the public and to other re-enactors. It is important to be aware of 1860's customs and etiquette while we are presenting ourselves to the public. Remember, that when spectators see us, they are under the assumption that we are a correct representation of the time period. So to better our personas and our camp atmosphere, we would like to suggest the following guidelines to be followed while at the event during the hours that any event is open. For the Ladies: You are looked upon by many as the representative of the genteel lady of the time. And although Scarlet may be the only concept the public has of what a lady of the 1860's should look like, there are some basic guide lines that should strive to follow. By the end of your first year as a member of the Historical Timekeepers, the appropriate underpinnings should be purchased or made. Primarily appropriate pantelets, stockings, footwear, and hoop skirt/corded petticoat. Stockings may be purchased from any number of sutlers, including the striped stockings. A suggested place to purchase solid stockings in black, cream and white, that do not require garters is from Ghost Forge.  Boots can be something as simple as ankle boots from Wal-Mart or Goodwill, but do not go with the boots that have large chunky heels or soles to them. These are not even close to being period correct. Pantelets should be white cotton and should come down to the ankles or slightly above. If you so choose, they can be period correct (aka: crochless) but do not have to be. An investment in flannel panelets for the spring and fall events is advisable, since they will keep you warmer then long johns alone. Blue jeans and other similar types of clothing are not acceptable under your hoops.. Tennis shoes, unless medically necessary, are not appropriate under your skirts. They are seen and people do comment on them as not being correct. Please be aware of this. Period correct dress is required during event hours, including correct accessories. Please keep all wrist watches out of site during event hours. Please keep them in your reticule or a basket, hidden from view. Period appropriate jewelry is also required. Broaches should be appropriate to the time as well as ear bobs and necklaces. Chatelaines are not required, but they are an interesting piece to have and to talk about and are a great way to show off your time piece. Please keep in mind that people also look at your hair and make-up. None of use like to go without some of our modern amenities, but the period look was for women to have their hair parted down the middle and pulled to the back. Not all of us have a hair cut that allows us to achieve this look without really changing our looks. Try to use a hair net and incorporate a false hair piece in it, that color matches your own hair, or a hair piece that blends in. The head should be covered at all times with either a bonnet, hat or day cap. As for make-up, most women of the time wore no make up what so ever, but many of us do not like to go without. Remember the complection was white and fare. If you are to use make up, keep the blush very light, keep the foundation paler then what you would normally wear to give that period correct look, and keep eye make up to a minimal If eyeliner is to be used, go with brown instead of any color or black. If excessive make up is worn you may be mistaken as a hussy. We don’t want that unless that is to be your eventual persona. Another area to be very aware of is your nails. Nail polish was not yet available, and women were judged by their hands. If you do wear acrylic nails, please change your polish to a soft french polish for the weekend. Leave your color at home for the 21st century. If you need to wear color, please purchase a nice pair of kid gloves or some sort of cotton glove to wear to camouflage the color. Believe me, these are things that people see and comment to others on. Not just re-enactors but the general public as well see these things and comment on them to others. Your attire should match the type of person you are trying to represent. A laundress would not wear a big fancy hoop skirt and under sleeves to do laundry in. And a woman who portrays someone of money would not normally wear a raggedy dress. Please keep that in mind when putting your persona together. To corset or not to corset, that is the question. The appropriate silhouette of the 1860's was a small waist and wide shoulders. This can only be achieved with a corset. They can be pricey, so be sure you buy from a reputable and reliable sulter and make sure that it is fitted to you and feels good when wearing it. There is nothing worse then having an ill fitting corset on all day and being miserable. One sutler we’d recommend would be the Civil War Lady. Theirs run upwards of $200 but are made by period correct patterns. A modern day corset made of nylon and plastic boning will not hold up and will not breath like a proper cotton one. Remember you do get what you pay for. For our men: The men are not immune from the critiquing eyes of spectators and fellow re-enactors alike. There are a few basics that you should follow as well when coming out and participating at an event. By the end of your first year with us, you should have in your wardrobe an appropriate pair of wool or jean cloth pants. If going with the Goodwill pants, please remove all belt loops and add buttons for suspenders, and remember to purchase them at least two sizes bigger then what you normally would wear. Belts were not worn, but braces were. Pants should have all leg creases pressed out and no pleats Jean cloth or railroad pants are appropriate and can be purchased from any number of sutlers, including Fall Creek Sutlery, Castle Keep, Gentlemen’s Emporium, and other such mercantile. Shirts should be cotton and should have appropriate looking buttons. Wood was often used by the working class, but so were glass, pearl, and metal. If your buttons look like plastic to you, they will to others as well. For the civilian gentleman, please find some sort of neck tie, such as a cravat, bow tie (not a modern one as we think of) or string tie (simple black silk tie that was about 1" wide and tied at the neck in a bow). A waist coat (vest) is imperative to have, even the working class did not go without it. It was inappropriate to show your braces (suspenders) to a woman, even your wife. Braces were considered underware, and should not be seen. A good pair of suspenders should be included in your wardrobe instead of any modern belts. A hat was always worn out in public, whether it be a top hat or derby, your head should be covered as well. To further your look, a frock coat or sack coat is a good thing to have in your wardrobe. Made of wool it can be great for protecting yourself from the elements. Black was the most formal of colors, but tan, brown and navy are also very acceptable. Plaids, paisleys, and small geometrics were very popular for waist coats, pants and coats. Please make sure that they are all made of natural materials Cotton, wool and silk should be used. Accessories for the gentleman were just as important. A dark pair of cloves for day wear and white for night was usually the rule of thumb. These can be cotton or kid leather. Most men of the higher and middle classes also carried with them a walking stick. These should not be the type that have the sword within the handle as these can be dangerous. An appropriate timepiece is also an essential. It was worn either fastened to the pants or waist coat, or carried in a small pocket found on the inside of the waist coat. A simple thing as a period billfold should be included in your accessory list. It was not appropriate to have lumps and bumps in the back of your pants, so the wallet should be kept in the breast pocket of the coat or in your front pocket. They were usually small and tied with leather. A time period style billfold can be purchased from Dick Rohan"s mercantile. Shoes are one of the most seen items of a men’s ensemble. The cost can be high for a fine quality pair of boots or brogans, so if you are going with a modern version, please make sure they resemble period correct footwear. No big chunky soles, construction boots, tennis shoes, or cowboy boots. An inexpensive pair of brogans can be purchased from Crescent City Sutlery for about $65. These are Mexican made, but are very reasonably priced and easy to get at Boscobel. Black square toed boots are also very appropriate as well as black dress shoes without the wing tip effect. Yes, believe it or not people notice these things. They also notice socks. White tube socks should be avoided. Wool socks in a natural color were worn most, but black dress socks will work as well. Please try to avoid the athletic socks, again unless it is for medical purposes. Shirts were worn buttoned up to the neck and buttoned at the wrists. Laborers were usually the ones that rolled their sleeves, but it was more common to find them down. It was to protect the skin from the elements. Cream or white cotton or muslin is great, but remember they used plaids, checks and paisleys as well. Colors were matched with patterns and patterns were put together with other prints as well. Color abounded. So keep that in mind. That it was not unheard of to see a paisley shirt teamed up with a plaid vest. Breast pockets were seen but mostly on the left side, over the heart. When using shirts from Goodwill, it is recommended that you remove any tags from the outside that would show a name brand, remove the little loop off the back off the shirt, about midway down the back, and also the collar should be removed and sewn back up to form a short rounded neck line then the modern day collar. Please ask how to modify these shirts if you have any questions on the technique. Most of our military men know what is expected of them when in those camps, and we will not impede on those standards. The military usually holds their men to high standards, and thus they are correct in their appearance. Kids in camp: Let us keep a few things in mind when dressing kids. Boys wore pants and knickers upon being potty trained. But in today’s day of modern amenities, it is hard not to put our little boys into pants when it is cold, rainy or just way too buggy. When putting them into their little dresses, and wearing diapers, please make sure they have some sort of pantalets on to hide any modern diaper. Spectators and re-enactors see this right away and will comment on modern diapers. Our younger gentlemen can be outfitted very easily by acquiring dress pants and a dress shirt, preferably in cotton, from Goodwill and either making a simple vest or buying one and away he goes. Black dress shoes are adequate for footwear, and although boys of all ages tended to wear either heavy wool socks or stockings, white cotton socks will pass just fine for our little men. And although most pants of the time were button fly, it is very hard for children under the age of 6 to have to work those buttons. Go with a zipper for now and work them up to the button fly as they get older. Little girls were often mirror images of their mothers, and will need a little extra care to dress, but a fine jumper style dress with trim on it will work. Patterns abound for both little girls and boys, put remember no zippers on the dresses. Little black shoes or ankle boots, without any kind of decoration or zippers, is fine footwear for little girls. Tights, as long as they don’t have very noticeable seams is great for leg wear. Or leave their legs bare in the summer time. Flannel pantalets for the cooler events is highly recommended. More and more little girls love to have their nails painted like mom, but again, please keep the color off at events. People do notice things like that. And for hair, use ribbons in conjunction with invisible rubber bands to put their hair up. Please stay away from the fun hair jewelry, like plastic hair barrettes and feathery clips, which can be used only after hours. As for their precious little toys and fun things they can’t leave at home, make sure they are camouflaged during the day. Sippy cups should be either put away during the day, or placed into canvas bags with draw strings. Bottles as well, should be concealed during open hours of any event. And it’s very easy to hide these things where people will not notice them. Bouncy chairs can be concealed with slip covers or a good blanket wrapped around them. Wooden playpens are perfect for keeping little ones safe from the fire and all the activity of the day. Toys should be time appropriate, wood being a good choice. Although there are plenty of kids that play with the plastic sutler toys this seems to be fine. Most people do not worry too much about the kids toys, but will comment on very modern looking toys for sure. So keep Barbie and GI Joe locked away for the day. Stuffed animals as well were not as they are today, and should be kept hidden for nap time and bed. Around the campsite: The supply tent is available to use to store coolers, plastic items, and other modern conveniences in and out of site and should be shut at all times. All plastic wear should be removed from tables in the camp area during the day when the event is open. Modern soda cans should also be out of site of the general public and should be kept in the supply tent. Period dishes, cups, silverware and napkins will be available for use in the supply tent to avoid having soda cans and plastic bottles out in plain site. Flash lights can be used after hours but should be out of site during the day. If things can not be concealed within your tent, then the tent should be closed to the public during open hours. It can be opened when the public has gone for the day. People look at our camp as a representation of life during the 1860's and we need to keep that in mind when preparing our camp. Make sure that all modern tags are removed from rugs, lanterns and table clothes. Make sure that all area rugs have an old world feel. Re-enactors love to take pictures, but try to conceal cameras during the day in either a period appropriate case, in a reticule or basket, or in a canvas bag. Please make sure it is covered up while not in use in camp. Again, it is one of those things that people notice. The use of tobacco was wide spread during the war, but cigarettes were not what they are today. Filters were not in use and most cigarettes were hand wrapped. Cigars were more appropriate, as were pipes. Most women did not smoke much in public, unless they were of the lower class. If you need to smoke, please be considerate of others, but also be aware of what they did use at the time. For references on smoking products I would encourage you to look at "Everyday Life During the Civil War" by Michael J. Varhola. It’s a great book that covers the topic. In closing: We are here to represent life during the war between the states and should strive to be as accurate as we can. It will often take years to achieve the "perfect" set up and the best look, but with help from others and plenty of research, it can be achieved for a very reasonable price. And we should all work to help everyone within the Historical Timekeepers to become as accurate as we can to the 1860's and to do it in a polite manner and to never be condescending to anyone. Be helpful and not hurtful!