From time to time I get a wild hair up my butt and go racing off after yet another historical clothing style. This is my page of notes on sites I’ve found useful.

Medieval Northern Europe

Modern Patterns and Sewing Help

http://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/empire-wiki/The_Marches_costumes

How to Draft a Sleeve Sloper

On Fitting Sleeves

Vikings

Kaftans – A review of the two types of coats worn by male Vikings, with references to garments from related cultures.


China

Pre-20th century Chinese clothing offers its own research challenges. There’s plenty of material available, but due to a lack of interest, almost none of it is in English apart from studies of dragon robes. (You can learn anything you want about Qing dragon robes.) On top of that, China, like much of Europe, has romanticized the clothes of past eras, leading to movie depictions of questionable accuracy and–more problematically–modernized versions of historical garments that are worn as ceremonial garb. It’s tough to find details about historical construction when the same garments are still being made today to “traditional” patterns that probably don’t date back farther than the 1800’s.

Historical Surveys

Chinese Clothing, by Mei Hua

SCA Garb: China

Modern Hanfu

The Toronto Guqin Society’s blog covers not only guqin music, but how to make and wear hanfu.