It is an understatement to say that these are not the best of day. Even though I am employed I still feel bad about the misfortune of others. Maybe it’s like the old Woody Allen line that went something like “I can’t be happy if I know that one person in the world is starving.” We have just finished a scream at the top of your lungs, divisive election that had a dearth of uplifting messages. No one was proclaiming that there would be a new morning in America. Bad economic times are a buzz kill and we are going through one of the worst.

I started wondering if there was something that can lift our national mood in the face of all of our problems. I am not smart enough to have any solutions to these problems so I was thinking about something more superficial. Something that would make people feel better just for a moment. As I was thinking about this I was watching the Vikings play the Bears and it made me wonder why people don’t dress as Vikings anymore. We have retro fashion periods but we never go as far back as the 1950’s. Vikings wore great stuff. Nice looking leather jerkins and tunics. If you ignore the hats with the horns on them they were very stylish.

Keeping football I started to go through the teams. My next thought was of the Dallas Cowboys and that’s when it hit me. The old West is the only bygone era where the fashion has survived. Just go to any country and western bar or on the streets of some cities and you will see cowboy attire from hats to boots to belts to great looking shirts and dresses. But why should this be the only era that we recognize?

My proposal is that we open out our fashion minds to eras long gone. Make retro fashion mean fashion from centuries ago, not just decades ago.

Back to the football teams. The Raiders and the Buccaneers = Pirates. Again very cool fashion (with the exception of the billowing pants). I know that pirates were thugs and thieves but their boots were great. Add to that their colorful shirts, ornate sashes, long gold embossed coats and black bandanas and you have a great fashion statement. People still wear bandanas today, but nothing like the intricately fashioned ones that pirates wore. I’m not a big fan of those three cornered hats, but that is just my taste.

Most football teams are named after animals. For fashion purposes that left the Steelers, Texans, Titans, Bills, Patriots, Chiefs, Packers, Saints, Redskins and 49ers. Lets eliminate the Chiefs and the Redskins. I have no desire to go there. For the Texans see discussion re cowboys. Steelers and Packers – just wear work clothes. 49ers – just dress really grubby. Patriots can mean a few things but how about Civil War uniforms? Saints and Titans- not sure what to do here and the Bills – no idea what they even are.

The problem with using football teams is that it leaves out some of our most fashionable eras. The Medieval and the Renaissance eras come to mind first. They even have fairs about the latter and it’s all about the fashion. If you have ever gone to a Renaissance Faire you would notice immediately that it would be nothing without the clothing. Damsels in long colorful gown, many with detailed embroidery and men in brocade or fur-lined capes. The boots aren’t as cool as the pirate boots, but serviceable nevertheless.

There was never a bright line between when Dark Age medieval times ended and the Renaissance started so there is an overlap. For this time period you can throw in gambesons, tunics and knights’ clothing (not the gangly metal armor, but the chainmail and the underclothing). Again the boots aren’t that great. Let’s just concede that the pirates had the best boots. And of course you might want to forget about the male tights. As with the Renaissance, the women’s’ are gowns are spectacular. Even the peasant clothing was interesting.

Hand in hand with these early fashion periods were the Crusades. While not a particularly happy time, the fashion was distinctive. Some of the greatest looking capes, robes and tunics ever were worn during this time. They were not colorful (mostly being white and red) but they were still a breathtaking fashion statement.

Recently a fashion style known as Steampunk.has caught on. It had its genesis in science fiction writing, but it is primarily a recycling of Victorian fashion. Steampunk fashion is usually black and not colorful but it has a really high “cool” factor with long black coats and dresses, black top hats, goggles (yes goggles) and finally some decent boots.

So here is my proposal – scratch casual Friday and replace it with a day for wearing historical fashion. Just because these eras have past doesn’t mean that their fashion should be consigned to Halloween, costume parties, or fairs or ignored altogether.

Imagine a day filled with women dressed in beautiful, colorful flowing gowns; men adorned with capes and embroidered coats; pirates and Vikings. Maybe, just maybe it would make us a little happier. It’s either that or have people dress as clowns which would be scary to Coulrophobics.

And let’s keep the cowboys. Cowboys are uniquely American

Side Note: This article is tongue- in-cheek. It is not intended in any way to make light of the economic suffering that is going it.

Author Bio: More information on Historical Clothing and Costumes is available from Unique Gifts and Decor where you will also find some wonderfulideas both for your own home and as gifts for others.

Category: Advice
Keywords: costumes, historical clothing, Renaissance, steampunk, Renaissance costumes