XIII Century Surcoat “Prince Gilderoy”

Woolen gardcorps style coat lined in linen

Every prince learns at a young age how to dress for travel with class and elegance. Prince Gilderoy always understood better than most that one must protect their fine clothing from dirt and wear, whilst also remaining well put together. After all – what is the point in wearing finery at home, if you don’t know how to compose an outfit for visits to other castles and cities?

The Gardcorps was a popular item among nobles, often described as a ‘travelling coat” in the XIII and XIV century. The purpose of a traveling coat was to protect the finger underclothes from dust, sun, and other environmental facts, whilst also keeping the wearer warm, comfortable, and of course, fashionable. The most common fabric used in reproduction is wool, which is what we have also used here. Wool is hardy, attractive, water repellent, as well as comfortable. Lined with fine linen, the wool isn’t too scratchy next to your skin and the whole garment is very pleasant to wear. If you’re wondering how this differs from a cloak, the answer is simple: this is much more fashionable. One of the main features of this coat is the sleeves. Though they may appear to be regular sleeves at first, they actually feature a slit under the arm that makes them incredibly easy to put on and take off, without removing the coat itself. This is a great feature in variable weather, as you can easily hide from the elements when it is cold, and bring your arms out when you begin to heat up, letting the empty sleeves fall to your sides. The ends of the tapered sleeves also include a small slit at the wrist, to give you a little bit more movement. Our traveling coat features a rounded neckline, as well as a riding split up the front and back, which makes this coat much easier to wear whilst riding a horse. The other function of these slits is that they make it much easier to move in, so you are free to lunge and do footwork without your robe getting in the way. To make this item look more historical (and to add some subtle decoration), many seams have been decorated with what appears to be hand stitching. This causes the seams to sit flat, and for the wool to sit nice and crisply next to the linen at the hems. This hand stitching can be found down the middle of the garment (including the riding split), the cuffs of the arms at the wrist, and around the shoulders. Combined with the quality of the materials, this hand finishing really causes the coat to stand out in a classy, understated way.

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