by Tiffany Turner

Created on: July 03, 2008

More on What You Cannot Wear to A Renaissance Faire

A Renaissance Faire is a place to live your fantasy and get away from the real world. Often when visiting a faire, people want to get into the spirit and wear costumes to live their fantasy. Most often the categories of what not to wear and to wear are divided. For a visitor or tourists, as the Ren. Folk refer to people that pay the fee at the gate, there is no costume code. If a person wants to come to Renaissance Faire and pays the gate fee, you can be what you wish. I've seen wizards, fairies, knights, full armored leather warriors, and pirates working the front gate at a local Ren. Faire. At the Renaissance Faire, there can be no holds barred. The people that work at the Ren. Faire, or Rennie, have a costume code, and that tends to be the difference.

For the tourist, there are dress codes only that follow what is excepted by our society. Nothing that is too revealing should be worn. Weapons worn should be peace tied. This means that anyone having a weapon with a blade, be it axe or sword, should have it tied in the sheath by a leather cord or twine. This is mostly for safety reasons since most Ren. Faires sell alcohol. Most likely if you are safe, the drunken fool behind you grabbing for your weapon may not be.

The only other thing that really governs dress code for anyone paying the front gate fee would be your imagination. I have seen some really interesting costumes while working the front gate. Sometimes the tourists with no limits can come up with the best costume. So be you pirate, princess, warrior or fool, a Renaissance Faire is fun for everyone if you come with an open mind.

Also, Renaissance Faires can be different time periods. With the popularity of the show "The Tudors", many Ren. Faires have Henry VIII as King over the faire. That is an earlier period than the Elizabethan Faires that started the Ren. Faire movement. Plus, there are now Pirate Faires and even Fairy/Fantasy Faires appearing on the Faire Circuits. Even some Elizabethan Faires are expanding their years to allow more forms of characters such as Shakespeare conversing with Leonardo DaVinci. It all helps foster the living history that Ren. Faires sprung from in Southern California in the late 1960s.

Lastly, the Ren. Folk that are part of the acting guilds that work the faires have costume requirements. As does all that work in the vendor booths. It is what gives the Renaissance Faire its charm. Some people work on gathering items for their costumes for years. Each year a tourist can work on their costume by visiting all the different vendors. If you want to know how to dress, look and ask the people that work there. Most likely they bought the item from a vendor in the faire. The "Rennies" are the best gauge to how to dress or not to dress at faire.

Remember, when trying to figure what not to wear to a Ren. Faire, ask yourself, what have I not been this year? Transform yourself and have fun. That is what it's all about. And remember, if you didn't come to the gate and participate, there would be no faire. It's the experience of faire that makes it worth it. So, let yourself live your biggest fantasy, and explore it at a Renaissance Faire.

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