My husband, Dmitri, started playing in the SCA when he was 16 and thus has a very specific style and the base of a persona.
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| Scott's Shuby...or Opashen? |
He is a Rus, and thus our attempts at building his wardrobe revolve around the Russian styling - though, this seamstress is still really new and therefore my pieces are not "professional" and come with much trial and error. It doesn't help that I'm also a jack of all trades and a master of none, I'd rather try 30 things than really master any.
For example, his shuby (or shuba) sort of ended up merging with the opashen - though when I created it I didn't realize it was called either of these. I only called it a coat. I was following the
Mordak Pack, but I think I did something wrong as when I made it for him the sides were HUGE, we ended up removing two panels completely to give it a slightly more fitted look, though it "skirts out" pretty well.
According to
Sofia la Rus, the shuby "was open-down-the-front, with wide sleeves narrowing to the hand. There existed also folding/collapsing sleeves (to be pushed up on the forearms). The length of the shuba depended on the style - it could be just a little lower than the knee or long almost to the heel. The collar was fur, in various styles. It was generally a loose garment, but some versions were fitted." The opashen on the other hand, was "formal/dressy special-occasion clothing of cloak-like type. The opashen' was sewn from smooth woolen cloth (sukno). It could have a satin (atlas) turn-down collar trimmed with river pearls on its edge. Lengthwise along the flap of the opashen’ are sewn sixteen pairs of horizontal loops and buttons. Buttons were cast of brass, pear-shaped. Sleeves were long (as long as the hem!) and narrow, with holes in the sleeves near the armholes through which the hands could pass."
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| Mordak |
It was only after creating this piece did I start seeing examples online of other people's creations. Frankly, I'm pleased with what we got, especially considering that my husband is a very hot man. He simply radiates heat, and with his desire to wear the coat in the middle of summer to hot events, making it in thinner fabric than the examples I've found, which tend to be lined with heavy fabrics or furs, and created with heavy brocades.
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| Close up of Pearls and Buttons |
In the spirit of Rus styling we added pearls to the front of the coat, and buttons. We edged it with velvet as well, but it was a very soft velvet and had some mild difficulties staying stiff and closed, so I added a few little cheater clasps to make it functional. I know this isn't the way a real seamstress would do it - but sometimes function is more important than realism... Some day maybe I'll make garb that's both gorgeous and historically accurate, but for now I'll be happy with putting my hard work into it and attempting at historical accuracy, which is the true spirit of the SCA...at least to me.
According to Sofia la Rus, the shuby "was open-down-the-front, with wide sleeves narrowing to the hand. There existed also folding/collapsing sleeves (to be pushed up on the forearms). The length of the shuba depended on the style - it could be just a little lower than the knee or long almost to the heel. The collar was fur, in various styles. It was generally a loose garment, but some versions were fitted." The opashen on the other hand, was "formal/dressy special-occasion clothing of cloak-like type. The opashen' was sewn from smooth woolen cloth (sukno). It could have a satin (atlas) turn-down collar trimmed with river pearls on its edge. Lengthwise along the flap of the opashen’ are sewn sixteen pairs of horizontal loops and buttons. Buttons were cast of brass, pear-shaped. Sleeves were long (as long as the hem!) and narrow, with holes in the sleeves near the armholes through which the hands could pass."
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