Sefa or Sefi? Masculine Tunic & Braies
June 2022
As I started prepping for Lilies War 2022, I was looking for ways to stay cool and in early period garb at the same time. I already had two Roman outfits in the works, so wanted to add a different outfit to the rotation. I knew I'd likely be doing some rowing on the Fyrdraca, so having an outfit it'd be easy to be active in would also be helpful. I remembered seeing some of my friends dressed in what they described as "Roman boy" outfits at Gulf Wars, and I decided I'd try something similar! After looking at photos from the (very warm) Meridian 2022 Artsy Crown tournament to see what the masculine-presenting folks were wearing, I settled on a longish tunic and braies.
First I had to decide if I wanted a masculine persona to go with the garb. Did I want to be Sefi instead of Sefa sometimes? I have friends who have masculine personas, so put some serious consideration into the idea. Ultimately, though, I decided I'd keep my feminine persona Sefa while wearing a tunic & braies. What does history say about feminine-presenting women occasionally dressing in traditionally masculine clothes? I found some amazing articles on the topic, which I've shared here. The short answer is it was definitely uncommon, although it did happen. This is another project to file away as mostly anachronistic and more for my modern comfort than for historical accuracy.
I decided the outfit would have three parts:
•First, a basic lightweight linen undershirt - short-sleeved, due to the size of the fabric piece I'd be using.
•Second, braies. I decided learning how to make braies was a bit more than I could handle on the run-up to Lilies, so I outsourced those and ordered my braies from The Frisky Filly Bazar.
•Third and finally, a mid-weight masculine-styled linen tunic, just above knee length, with shortish sleeves.
Spoiler alert, here's the final three pieces!
Part I: Undershirt
I leaned heavily on a favorite of mine, Morgan Donner's Basic Medieval Underwear tutorial to help me get this ball rolling. I tried a lot of her recommended sewing techniques in the video for the first time, including: basting the full piece to ensure a good fit; rolling the neck to hem it; and using French seams to treat the seams. I ended up with, basically, a linen t-shirt. I like it, although next time I'd make the neck a bit smaller since the linen stretched some on the bias and hemming made it a little wider as well. Other than the rolled & whip-stitched neckline hem, this whole piece was machine-sewn.
Here's a closer look at the French seams in the itty gores I had to add at my hips. One of the challenges of this project was making masculine-type clothing fit my body but still be flattering and not too boxy.
Part II: Braies
I decided to outsource the braies to Fleeta at The Frisky Filly Bazar. I have yet to make braies or pants yet, but will definitely try it in the future! Fleeta was WONDERFUL, she made these to order for me. They even have pockets!
As previously mentioned, one of the challenges was making the pieces work with my not-so-straight body lines. When I sent Fleeta the measurements she asked for, I didn't think to add measurements for my thighs and booty. The first pair of braies absolutely did not fit, since my body does not go straight down from my waist! I messaged her and much to my surprise and delight she offered to make me a whole new pair, which arrived well in time for Lilies. I'm incredibly grateful!
Part III: Tunic
I have few pictures of my tunic in-progress, because I did all the major construction in two marathon sessions in the 36 hours before leaving for Lilies War.
The construction and hemming may have been finished, but all the seams were untreated!
And I wore it anyway.
I didn't finish getting the seams felled until after we got back from war, since I had to finish treating the seams before I washed it. Even my collar facing was poking out and flapping around the first time I wore it! I got the collar facing sewn down at Lilies, but in my haste did not think to fold the raw edge under, and it frayed quite a bit in the first wash as you can see in the gallery. I will definitely make sure to take care of that in the future.
The other side effect of wearing the tunic before the seams were treated was that it was markedly more fragile. I had several threads stretch and pop, particularly where the sleeves attached to the body of the tunic, which you can see here. It was easy enough to repair as I felled the seams with this lovely yellow linen thread, but good to remember for the future
And here I am, dressed in my masculine garb! It was even more comfortable than I had hoped, easy to row in, and I honestly threw the tunic on by itself several times when I was in camp and needed to pop out of the tent for a moment. I didn't wear the undershirt with the tunic, as it was so warm, but expect to get a lot of use out of it in the future. I'm really happy with how it turned out, especially as my first tunic! I feel ready to tackle "real" tunics for Gunnolf now, which is something I'll be working on later this year.
Sources and Additional Info
Heather Rose Jones' incredible paper on Cross-Dressing Women in the SCA
Renstore's article on Feminism, Fashion and Cross-Dressing in the Middle Ages
Morgan Donner's Basic Medieval Underwear tutorial
•••Here are links to the items in this post that I did not make:
Dark grey braies from The Frisky Filly Bazar, straw hat at from Hero's Haven at Gulf Wars, silver pendant by Torfin, black leather belt and ladies gilly shoes from Renboots
Gallery
