drydem | (no subject)

one of the weird things about time travel movie things is the ease with which people obtain clothes in medieval periods, generally peasant clothes. This ease is problematic given the history of clothing in Europe. In Europe, especially pre-Renaissance, there was not an extensive clothing market, especially for peasants. Clothing was either produced on demand by tailors for the rich or at home by peasants for themselves/their families. Your average peasant was likely to own maybe two sets of clothes, wearing the same thing every day, with maybe a cloak(aka a thick piece of cloth) for colder weather. So, where are these fictional time travelers getting their clothing? They can't get it at a store, because there are no clothing stores. Stealing it from a peasant involves catching them naked at some point, which is rare, or beating them up and taking their clothes. It may be a minor thing to nitpick, but it's an anachronism.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I suppose people could trade peasants for clothing... after all, we wear on our fingers and in our ears/nose/wherever little bits of steel, silver, and gold, as well as small jewels. Any or all of those things could have a great deal of bartering power. Who knows, maybe a tailor sufficiently intrigued by the strange-clothed visitors would be willing to do some cheap custom work or be willing to trade out clothing outgrown/unwanted by their particular patrons.

And there's always the Church...?

I suppose people could trade peasants for clothing...

Okay, I totally read that wrong at first. ("But don't they have enough peasants as it is? Why would they need more? Sure, it's more cheap labor, but it's also another mouth to feed. . . ")