An Approximate Musketeer...

From the ostrich feathers on his hat to the soft leather of his boots, this gentleman shows off his taste in attire, and his financial ability to acquire it. Amusingly enough, given that I don't usually costume for historical accuracy, all major component parts of this outfit are actually natural materials, mostly silk, cotton, and leather.

Speaking of historical accuracy: I realise this sabre is almost three centuries too young, and bloody rusty at that, but it's better than no sabre, dammit, and I like showing off the fact that I have one lying around. :) The colours of the sash make him a somewhat Swedish officer; nevertheless he steadfastly refuses to be blond. Also, he's forgone the fashionable cadenettes or love-locks of the time, largely because I lost my Padawan braid a year ago, and finding a 'tache and beard in roughly my own hair colour was hard enough!

The gentleman from behind, showing off his wide collar with the lace border. This collar, unlike later models, is still a functional part of the shirt and not yet a separately-sold crescent-shaped piece of fabric. Also, this is where we realise that the coat is made of thick corduroy. That is because I bought it at a theatre surplus sale in Mainz years ago, and therefore had no choice in the material. It's very comfortable though! (And yes, those things on my heels are spurs. More on those later.)

Detail of the trousers - a sneaky and easy way of getting the floppy trouserlegs to fit into the not-so-floppy boots. Also, I don't think I need an excuse for liking lacings - and ribbons were just beginning to become a huge fashion statement at the time!

Did I mention I like lacings? Well, this is how I solved the old closure problem on the trousers. As is amply evident from the picture, I have a huge bottom and a relatively small waist, so they actually fit better this way too.

Detail of the boots. These were 1980s ones from a thrift shop. Taking the garish beadwork off and adding the cloverleaf-shaped leather patch on the front has turned them into semi-creditable 1640s ones. The spurs are of course blunt modern riding spurs, and therefore most likely to pass weapons controls at conventions!

Catering to my well-known gauntlet kink as well as my fondness for leatherwork: these smell as pretty as they look. Ordinary brown leather gloves augmented with half-open cuffs made from two kinds of leather, chiefly because I didn't have enough of either colour. The false seam in the middle was a rather decorative result of that.

The hat is a find off ebay, and notable for almost managing to be my size (which is hard if you have a head as big as mine :). Topped with the last two white ostrich feathers in all of Frankfurt and some leftover silk from the League of Shadows outfit, it's a rather nice imitation of a chapeau respondant, so named because its wide brim could be tipped and squooshed to reflect the wearer's moods. Of course, the little beard still needs trimming to make it look remotely real - this was a rush chop job to keep myself from looking like Ra's al Ghul. Actually, I look like my uncle Ralph now, which is a marginal improvement.