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Period Attire - Pride in our Period Attire and our Goal of Continual Improvement?
State Park Policy is to pursue excellence (conformance) in personal interpretive presentations to the public. Foremost among these efforts is our appearance in period attire. All clothing and accessories worn in public must be approved by the Period Attire Committee. Please make sure your period attire is updated to the conformance standards set by this committee. The four levels of conformance are:
1. Halloween or Party level - Costumes concocted from thrift store offerings - ok at 30 yards but disappointing at closer range. This level includes period attire that is not appropriate for a frontier town, such as clothing worn by characters of a historical era outside the 1821 to 1872 interpretive time frame or by a person of the wrong chronological age. This level has no place in the Park.
2. Partially Correct level -Some clothing items Ok but others such shoes, eyeglasses, hair, and other accessories not correct. Personal presentation and knowledge of history is minimal. The occasional foam cup, wristwatch, sunglasses, lipstick etc is also typical. It is recognized that it can take some time before a complete presentation can be assembled, but too many of us have stopped the improvement process and are still at this level.
3. Complete Conformance level - All items worn are approved and a moderately good personal presentation and knowledge of history is evident. The average park visitor will accept this level as realistic and interesting. We should all strive to this level.
4. Competitive level - There are no upper bounds of conformance at this level. First person presentations are typical, and period clothing goes beyond the visible. At this level, the expert should be satisfied that all necessary measures have been taken to insure a complete presentation. This level is certainly encouraged but optional for the average staff person or docent.
The State is currently in the process of requiring that it's employees and its concessionaires adhere to these standards. It is only proper that we as docents conform as well. The best way to avoid being caught in the situation where you must purchase expensive items to complete your chartacter's presentaion is to be counseled by a knowledgeable person prior to the selection of a character to portray. Some portrayals, such as military personnel, can eventually be very expensive, and probably should not be undertaken unless the individual is reasonably sure they can afford it. We are currently providing a $60.00 subsidy for costumes for new employees and docents.
Remember that when you appear in period clothing, your are an exhibit, a walking museum. Just as we would want our museum buildings to house museum quality exhibits, we should expect the same of our presentations. It is certainly true that we as vounteers seek to have a good time in our activities. However, when fun is the only goal, it is quickly reached and improvement stops. It is usually better to have the pursuit of excellence as our primary goal and find fun naturally along the way.
In 2004, BOOT plans to sponsor a Period Attire Workshop, given by Saundra Ros Altman, creator of Past Patterns. A date in the later part of the year is yet to be determined. What this website for further details.