I had my first Metis event last weekend at Fort Walsh in the Cyprus Hills and I can legitimately say that it was the best re-enactment I've been to yet! It was pretty damn hot all weekend (around 35-40 C) but every second was worth it. I was in a bit of a funk last week and I'm still at the point where I'd give everything I own to be back there. There'll be more details in an up-coming journal entry. For more information on the Metis as a cultural group and the time-period itself, have a gander at: [link] if you're interested.

SO! This is what I wore all weekend. It's the abridged "Summer Version" of my Metis Bourgeois kit - essentially, something that a person of upper-class Metis status would have worn during the summer months if he was out buffalo hunting or, in this case, stirring up trouble with the North-West Mounted Police. Fort Walsh, a national historic site of Canada ( [link] ), mainly deals with the 1870s so this outfit was slightly outdated for that time-period, being from the 1810s/1820s. But there's nothing to indicate that these earlier styles of clothing would NOT have been worn into the 1870s.

I made the shirt specifically for this event out of 100% Cotton (some kind of fancy stuff, not just regular broadcloth), using the JP Ryan 18th Century Shirt Pattern. You can't see much of the pants, but they were made using Butterick's "Making History" pattern, #3648. I used a type of corduroy for them and the weave was so tight, the needle would barely go through it. They've got the proper 'fall-front' too, which can't be seen here, unfortunately. The leggings or mitasses made a previous appearance in the "1820s Metis Bourgeois" shots but the moccasins are new, made from the "Fringed Boot Kit" from Tandy Leather. I had to modify their design slightly because the seams needed to be on the inside, rather than the outside. I also spent 14+ hours beading the toe flaps, which are just slightly visible in the picture. The sash was bought two years ago from the Metis Resource Center in Winnipeg. I made a fire-bag as well, but you can't see that unfortunately... there seriously needs to be more pictures of this at one point... I'll put more info up about that once you can actually see it.

Lastly, I'm carrying an 1884 Enfield Revolver and an 1862 Snider Cavalry Carbine. I used the latter during the skirmishes because the firing pin on the former considerately wonked out early in the weekend.

N.B.: This has been submitted under "Clothing" rather than "Costumes" just because I don't feel it fits in with the sort of stuff you see when you're browsing the "Costume" category. This is not designed to portray a specified character and it would have seen everyday use within a historical context.