Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

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Hennig
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Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by Hennig »

Ok i might be in a loseing battle here ? but i want to get me wife to take part in what we do .
She goes to the public shows we are joint members in the SBG but , as a MOP she aint allowed accross the rope ect .
I must admit that she has said that she don't want to dress up as she called it but would still like to go to the shows with me :? , what can i do to make / persuade her into reenacting ? could anyone point me into the correct direction as into getting say civillian wear for her .
I am not pressuring her as that will turn her away totally , anyone in the same boat ? doh ! it would be nice to do a 2 day + event with her with me rarther then staying at home , some might like the idea of the other half there :roll: not me , we in the SBG have a very good crowd of women that are very fiendly and she wont feel left out ect , she knows some of them already , am i wasting my time ladies and gents ? or is it worth trying ?
Many thanks in advance of your answers no matter what they are :o :wink:


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holz21pz
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Re: Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by holz21pz »

Well, I'm not sure she can persuaded to just come out. What I have found is that she most likely needs a purpose. I am pretty lucky in that I found a way to combine some of the things my wife likes to do with reenacting. For example, my wife likes to cook and try new recipes. So a couple years back, I had the idea to have her come out to an event and cook for the unit. It was actually a field event (italian front) and she came with me. She made herself a simpe peasant type outfit and simply stayed in the rear and made dinner for the troops. It was hit. From there we looked into a uniform for her. We found her a place (which no longer is in business) that made her a Heeres Stabshelferin uniform. She didn't want to do the Blitzmadel thing because she had no interest in running radios.

Nowadays, she comes out to our big armor battles at a National Guard base and cooks a huge 3 course meal for 25-30 guys. She had a massive back surgery a few years back so she doesn't do any kind of field activities, which she is fine with. All the members love her meals and the formal dinner we have. So I guess the trick is to find a purpose for her, otherwise she will just be sitting there bored. She also likes to sew, so she does the occasional repair or insignia application for the guys. I'll add some pics later.
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Re: Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by Hennig »

Thanks for that sir , the only thing is that in the SBG there are a fair few ladies that take part in the public shows ect so most if not all the main things are being looked after by them , will speak to some and see what sort of thing she can do in the group that also she want to take part in ?



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dink
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Re: Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by dink »

Ladies in SBG would be the best place, I'm pretty sure at least one of those, will have been in the same place as your Mrs ;) . They would also be able to define exactly what areas they cover all ready , meaning you could see if any might interest your Mrs, or if theres an area that isn't covered that might interest her ;) .

Maybes get her into researching or even collecting first rather than the push for the dressing up ;) , ie little steps to get the interest started. Reasoning behind that being that its always a lot more fun if you're doing something your interested in, than merely tagging along ;)

For dressing up, Civi or Uniform ? The biggest thing with either is feeling a prize plum when you start out :lol: (I may look like one too but I'd request noone says it :lol: ). But if your surrounded by others dressed the same/similar and within the theme ethos, its suddenly not as obvious as it is being dressed in modern clothes. Simple civi outfit would at least mean she can at least be allowed nearer you.

If she's not wanting to step out with the SBG ladies, there is always Lou's group FRAU, but I would have thought the SBG ladies are a better starting point ;)

Can be of any help let me know
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Re: Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by Hennig »

Dink your a STAR :wink: 8) might well need some advice in the near future from you if you don't mind :wink:




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Re: Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by Casbah Rock »

good luck mike ! I am just glad that alison tolerates me dressing up as as an Waffen SS soldier but i think hell would have to freeze over before i persuaded her to dress up as a helferin ;)
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Re: Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by Wolfie »

Mike, there are lots of retro clothing stores based in the USA.

If you're in London, check out Radio Days for authentic clothing. The shop is in Waterloo. A former girlfriend managed to get a complete outfit for a SBG unit dinner about 6 years ago.

I'll ask my wife for some retro reproduction clothing (US based) company URLs for you and see what I can get.
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Re: Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by Hennig »

Seb , yep hell would need to freeze for you mate :cry: but i might and thats a little might one day if taken gently one step at a time get her there :wink: 8) Heres hoping lol :lol: :wink:

Wolfie , many thanks for your time in finding out them web sites ect , i will keep all info for future ref :wink: 8)




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Re: Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by dink »

So if I hear you hollar I'll scarper ? nah just kidding, as said if I can be any help, the offers there.

On the buying of civi clothing stuff, don't forget Max (aka Crossofiron) am sure she will post in due course when she see's this, but I'll mention her in the meantime.

Repro clothing side (ie making your own civi stuff) again if she's going to work along side the sbg ladies, they would be a good place to start. Know they have a couple of seamstresses in their midst, so if your Mrs can sew its an advantage, but if she doesn't they will, I'm sure help her learn how to, or maybes even make an ensemble ?

Little steps and you never know, she could end up being more into the hobby than yourself :shock:

Casbah, you almost sound happy about that :lol:
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Re: Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by Hennig »

Thanks Dink for the offer :wink: , that would be a turnaround would it not her more into the scene then me lol :shock: :lol: and you might be right with casbah :|


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Re: Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by Casbah Rock »

dink wrote:Casbah, you almost sound happy about that :lol:
dont know about sounding happy but definitely safer ! :)
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Re: Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by Wolfie »

OK, I asked the Mrs, but she says the sites she knows are more 50's orientated.

However, she did say you could have a butchers on eBay.

Oh, one more thing, take her to the public shows and have a look at the sellers that have vintage clothing for the female civilian re-enactors.

Sorry we couldn't be more useful. :(
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Re: Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by dink »

Vintage clothing fairs are good if she's a gurlie gurl, its like extending and finding a whole new excuse for shopping :lol: Could be an idea to look for a local one ? She may get inspired from seeing vast amounts of clothes and shoes :lol: don't forget your wallet though :lol: Added bonus of that is you don't need to dress up ;)

Same with militaria fairs, lots have civilian clothing stalls, again no need to dress up.

As wolfie said Ebay is ok for patterns, she'll need to work on her measured size rather than her dress size for original patterns (average dress size in 2008 is 6 times bigger than it was in the 1940s, ie. I'm a 12 now but in vintage pattern sizing I'm an 18)
Couple of websites for patterns (if nowt else give you an idea of whats out there if you can find it ;) )
http://www.sensibility.com/vintageimages/1940s/ same website also has a swing dress pattern on it, its been in my favs for ages, not tried it but never know might be of use to someone http://www.sensibility.com/pattern/swinghelp.htm
http://www.alanascherishedtreasures.com ... tField=sku
Ever fancies a dirndl theres a folkwear pattern for it
http://www.folkwear.com/123.html
Used this store for the vintage vogue patterns http://www.habithat.co.uk/index.php/cPath/31_42 but the sizes are odd when the stuffs made up so need to be adapted more on a made to measure basis than strictly to the pattern ;)
http://www.pastpatterns.com/1940.html
http://vintagesewing.info/1940s.html more a guide of how it was done, details uploaded from original books
http://www.costumegallery.com/1940.htm

Will stop there :lol:
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Re: Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by Hennig »

Many thanks to Wolfie and Dink for the much needed info , will look later when home from work :wink:


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Re: Trying to get the wife into reenacting ?

Post by Katherina Schulze »

Am I correct in thinking that a lot of these patterns are American, would it matter if they were to be worn in German reenactment, as I can't find anything German!
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