Ontario Re-Visited ~ The Ten-Foot Rule
Do You Pass the Ten Foot Rule?
by Judi ‘Scoop’ McWilliams
Beyond the actual re-enacting, I became aware of just how important being true to the Period Clothing was. Period Clothing now means, to us modern folk, that something is โold fashioned, junkie or, just outdatedโ! Ask someone โฆ โwhereโd you get that outfit โฆ back in the 70โs?” and see what they say! Even the popular T.V. show โWhat Not to Wearโ challenges people on โoutdatedโ clothing. However, Period Clothing to a re-enactor is clothing belonging to a very specific historical period and it needs to be is Period Correct in its accuracy! Apparently the “educated spectator” can be quite the โjudgmentalโ! There are even terms used to demonstrate just how serious these “judgments” can be.
The funniest term I found was โthe ten-foot ruleโ. This is a measurement from ten feet away. If it looks period from that distance, you just might pass! Who knows, from afar, if it’s “leather or vinyl”, has “too many threads per inch in the weave” or is “hand-made or factory made in Taiwan”? Apparently, these โjudgmental” spectators have disparaging remarks and names given to them from the re-enactors. Names such as โthread countersโ and โgarb snarksโ. Itโs a nasty game that I choose to stay out of! For us, we choose to enjoy all the extreme efforts put forth by the re-enactors and take pleasure being โtransformed in timeโ!
Original historic โArt Sketchโ by Susan โShadowโ Caron
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