Highguard Clothes

New Players
#1

This is a topic made because of some advice from another topic (so credit to: IWillGetThingsRong )

but I need some advice on cheep clothes to get for Highgurd, battle and none battle armour may also be useful along with robes.

also are capes/cloaks good for Unconquered

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#2

Basic kit that will make you look Highborn is a white or black shirt, black trousers, a black or white tabard (or group colours once joined) and a hood.

As far as cheap options go check charity shops. Plain trousers are easy to find, Linen good for summer event. A plain shirt in a medieval sort of style may take a little more looking but they still turn pretty regularly, especially if you check the rails for the other gender also.

The tabard you can make if you have any sewing ability at all (can thread a needle), or a friend who can. it’s basically a rectangle with a head hole in the middle. Drill cotton is pretty easy to get from most craft places, and you will only need a metre of fabric to do it.

For the hood you can use a large plain scarf, look for the wide, thin wool ones, probably in black or white, drape that round you neck and shoulders and have a fold to pull up to cover your head. Again charity shops have them all the time. Or also not that complicated to make.

That will get you in character and recogniseable as Highborn.

There are many traders who will do new larp styled shirts on site for less than ÂŁ20, and a fair choice for tabards/surcoats also.

Spend your money on your boots. they need to be ankle supporting, waterproof and comfortable for several miles of walking.

You will probably also benefit from a leather looking belt (charity shop), with a belt pouch if you can (ÂŁ10 from traders), and possibly a shoulder bag (charity shop).

Cloaks are fine for unconquered. Probably not on the battlefield as you’ll get tangled up, but around Anvil fine and definitely in the evening. Black or any other dark shade will do (navy, dark grey, brown or green). Cheapest option is a blanket, and a big safety pin hidden in the folds. Army surplus usually has good options.

Armour is more complicated. 2nd hand is cheaper, several facebook groups for that, but for the first few events you’re probably better asking to borrow. Several of us have more kit than we could possibly wear and with a bit of notice will be happy to put a set in with the general packing.

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#3

This is a decent hooded robey thing that I wore in black as an unconquered battle mage, you should get some decent use out of it. I wore it with simple trousers and a white hero shirt and that was costume enough for me outside battles.

Battle mages are also cheaper to armour as you can get away with bracers, a big hero belt with some runes on it and a circlet. Then try and borrow a staff until you can afford it.

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#4

I would recommend a Kurta or Kaftan as an alternative to a generic larp shirt. They’re long, can have long sleeves, and kurtas in particular have high collars which i’m told is very highguard. You can also pick these items up fairly cheaply online.

One word of advice though: Be very careful with sizing as most of the vendors for this type of clothing are asian, and they use very different size categories to the UK. Check size charts and make sure which size label matches your chest width.

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#5

Anything on this page, plus a wide tube of fabric as a cowl. Even if you can’t sew a hem, just sew flip one end of a wide strip of fabric together, sew it along, and call it a day.

My favourite places for kit on a budget are charity shops, Decathlon, army surplus (belts and other leather bits), hippy shirt stalls, Indian or middle eastern clothing stores (cheap polyester or cotton tunics!) and workwear outfitters.

So including boots, you could get your entire Highguard outfit for just under ÂŁ40. Stick an old jumper or fleece under there for warmth, and if you buy it loose enough, you can wear a cagoule under in case of rain.

Bonus Stuff:

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