Where do you go to get nice robes for a Marcher monk? The simple brown ones. I’ve had a browse online and I’m having difficulty spotting the flimsy Halloween costume monk robes from the decent quality kit.
In the past, I’ve ordered from Wot a Load of Cassocks - who have always delivered well-sized products in a quick turnaround but don’t feel like the best quality items.
Could this from LARP Warriors work? Being open-fronted means it’s easier to work with if I put armour on and take to the battlefield. Plus, I don’t know how tall the model is but it doesn’t reach the floor on him so hopefully I wouldn’t have to take up much fabric to avoid trailing it in the mud! (I have short legs for a man of average height so I am used to having to hem things)
For the price of that one you could actually make one of really high quality. It’s a relatively easy thing to make and there are enough patterns available for it. It’s only like to cost you about £10-£15 more and then you have it made from high quality wools. Would be a perfect fit and last a lot longer.
My first thought would be Velvet Glove: http://www.velvet-glove.co.uk/index.php?page=14
Wool robes there are from £47 (more if you want extras like a hood or lining, or cheaper with short sleeves or no sleeves).
They are made to order, so you can get your preferred size/length and style. They always (or at least usually) have a shop-tent at Empire events too, so I imagine you could collect it there rather than paying for postage.
The Epic Armoury one that you pointed out being resold by LARP Warriors looks quite nice but is cotton… and if you want cotton then getting one made by Velvet Glove would be cheaper (about half the price) and at least as good.
Come to think of it, I have a plain brown hoodless cotton open-fronted robe from Velvet Glove that I’m not using… could sell it to you if you like, but I think you’d do better to get a woollen one (and maybe a separate hood/mantle to go with it.
Note: I play a marcher Friar.
While wool robes are more accurate, they have several drawbacks.
If they get wet, they stay wet and heavy! (and can also shrink) and in the summer you will get hot.
I have a robe from Larp Fashion which, while a lot more expensive, is a lot more loose fitting allowing more movement on the battlefield. I can also wear armour underneath it.
As for length, if it is too long, just hitch more material above the belt to shorten it (I tend to do this for a battle)
You can see me in this robe here
That one from Larp Fashion does look good in the two pictures, but seems to cost more than it should… compare to http://wotaloadofcassocks.co.uk/2016/wool-monk-costume.html or to the Velvet Glove prices (and they’d make you a looser-skirted one if you wanted, just as would any other costumier who makes things to order).
As for cotton vs. wool, sometimes you’ll want the warmth and sometimes you won’t. As for what they’re like in the wet, in my experience cotton is the worst for soaking up the water and being wet and cold and heavy (for a given thickness of cloth; of course it’s different if you compare thin cotton to thick wool).
Fair point about wool being more liable to shrinking, unless the cloth has been pre-shrunk before it was made into a garment.
Hi there…It all comes down to price, if you are willing to pay the price for a higher end costume you get the quality…I own wot a load of cassocks and every piece is made here in the UK with British Fabrics, we have many different price structures from £30 to £125, quality is reflective in the price you are willing to pay…If you give us a ring on 01978 661046 or email us info@wotaloadofcassocks.co.uk we can sort you out a costume that should fit your needs, but again it is all about the budget that you are working from
Kind regards
Apra Roberts
Mine are from Rosemary Warner and made of linen, which is cooler in the summer than cotton and washes/dries faster than wool. Picture is here. It’s mid-weight stuff, you could go heavier if you wanted a look more like wool robes.
I made a chasuble to go over the top, which is both another warm layer and a classic Marcher look.
Just to add another option into the mix, if you’re still weighing up choices, it might be worth having a look at Rooh London. While they’re not LARP-specific, they do a small range of historically inspired pieces and natural-fibre robes that can work surprisingly well with Marcher kit, especially if you’re going for that lived-in, monkish aesthetic without looking like you’ve just walked out of a Halloween aisle. Their stuff tends to be more fashion-forward than purely functional, but the quality of fabric and finish is a step above most costume-level gear.
I picked up a loose-cut cotton robe from them last year (was originally for a theatre project) and ended up repurposing it for my Marcher healer at Empire. It layered well over a padded jack, didn’t drag in the mud, and has held up nicely after a few washes and wet weekends. It’s not wool, granted, but it didn’t look too out of place when weathered a bit, and the breathability was actually a bonus in warmer events.
That said, if you can sew or know someone who does, the suggestion to go the DIY route in wool is spot on. Nothing beats custom-fit when you’re kneeling, running, or scrambling over rough ground mid-combat.
