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 โ€œold fashioned, junkie or, just outdatedโ€! Ask someone โ€ฆ โ€œwhereโ€™d you get that outfit โ€ฆ back in the 70โ€™s?” and see what they say! Even the popular T.V. show โ€œWhat Not to Wearโ€ challenges people on โ€œoutdatedโ€ 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 โ€œjudgmentalโ€! There are even terms used to demonstrate just how serious these “judgments” can be.

The funniest term I found was โ€œthe 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 โ€œjudgmental” spectators have disparaging remarks and names given to them from the re-enactors. Names such as โ€œthread countersโ€ and โ€œgarb snarksโ€. Itโ€™s 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 โ€œtransformed in timeโ€!

Original historic โ€œArt Sketchโ€ by Susan โ€˜Shadowโ€™ Caron

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