harrystrulove

Hey there, I'm back from the Michigan Renaissance Festival and thought I'd blog about it, in case you're curious. This is the first year the festival has been open on a Friday, which is great for me since I work weekends. The weather was perfect, and since it's Friday, we didn't have to deal with HUGE crowds of people, as we normally would. We could actually walk and breathe without getting in anybody's way, lol!

It was mainly a lotta eating and shopping. We pigged out on Scotch eggs (hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage), potato skins, chocolate, and we raided the Monk's Bakery.

When I go to the festival every year, I can't help watching the other faire-goers and silently critiquing their outfits. I know it may seem catty or nosy, and I don't mean to be, but it's kind of unavoidable. One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the overwhelming number of women who wear costumes that only showcase their worst features. Like there was one girl there who was wearing one of those form-fitting leather lace-up vests, but it was cropped so that it showed her flabby gut hanging out. And all these fat women who come to the faire and wear revealing stuff... What the hell makes them think it's attractive to have their boobs practically popping out the top of their costume, and/or pushed up to their necks? That does NOT look good! And today, we saw a fat girl there, wearing what looked like a very long loin cloth that was cut so that you could clearly see her big fat hips and thighs jiggling like jelly when she walked. *shuddering* She looked like she'd forgotten to put on part of her costume or something. Did she not look in the mirror before leaving the house? Nobody wants to see that! Me and my family just looked at each other like OMG, what the hell was that? I know, I shouldn't talk like that, but it boggles the mind! I mean, I'm chubby and I would never dress like that, esp in public. I have pride, unlike some people

Another thing I don't understand is how/why some people at the festival get their time periods mixed up. Like, there was a vendor dressed as an ancient Roman soldier. What the hell does ancient Rome have to do with the Renaissance? The Roman empire fell hundreds of years before the Renaissance even began. And also, I don't get what pirates have to do with the Renaissance. I saw a guy who looked just like Captain Jack Sparrow, which was cool, but didn't Pirates of the Caribbean take place in the 18th century, after the Renaissance? And I saw another pirate who wore an 18th century style coat and a three-cornered hat. Um, I'm sorry to be anal, but that is NOT Renaissance. But, I'll forgive them bc, after all, today is Talk Like A Pirate Day, and so in that aspect they were dressed the part.

And the final thing that boggles my mind, is that some people show up to the festival looking like they're on their way to a Marilyn Manson concert or something. But I suppose they're more into "fantasy" dressing as opposed to "historically correct". Yeah, I know, I sound like the Fashion Police. But I can't help it; I'm a big Renaissance geek and I know my fashion history. So, I do have a tendency to think about shit like that when I go to RenFest.

One thing that really cracked me up was when this little girl there thought I was a princess. She kept trying to get her mom's attention. "Look, Mom! A princess!" I was standing in line waiting to buy a turkey drumstick. When it was almost my turn to order, the little girl pointed at me again and said, "Mom, the princess is right there!" The mom turned and looked at me, then laughed. And I just kinda smiled and shrugged.