Last year at Monmouth, Maine we had a shooter show up in "period dress". He is a reenactor and the whole outfit was hand sewn. Here's my question. There is a period reenactor who has a Redcoat uniform. I would like thoughts about this qualifying as period dress. This guy would not be offended by Redcoat targets. He knows his history.
(Humorous comments allowed, but this is a serious question.)
When someone asks about attending free with 'period dress', I ask them if they wouldn't mind giving a 10 minute presentation on what their 'costume' represents, and who would have worn it. If a legitimate reenactor, such as your red coat, they may even get pressed into service further, and even better if they can do so 'in character'.
I prefer to get them on the phone, so that I can explain the flow of the event as I have it planned, so that they may choose appropriate attire. IE: Wearing formal evening wear from the 1770's probably wouldn't work best for use at an Appleseed, unless they planned to wear 21st century clothing and then appear in character later, say at lunchtime.
I would love to have a Red Coat available at the event, especially if his sense of humor allowed some good-natured ribbing >:D
In my personal opinion, yes, any period dress should qualify. A reenactor cannot easily reenact unless both sides are adequately represented. As children we learn that it takes both cowboys AND Indians to play Cowboys and Indians.
However, there's more. Since "the whole outfit was hand sewn", this reenactor obviously put some serious thought into the costume. It might be worth asking that shooter for their comments and for the reasons behind the choice.
In a way, this question is not truly separate from such other questions as who is welcome at an Appleseed. Some of us have, at times, expressed the desire to exclude those not of like mind. But when we fight for Essential Liberty, are we not also ultimately fighting for the rights and freedoms of those Americans whose beliefs and lifestyles we might personally despise? Liberty, by definition, either applies to all of us, or to none of us.
How do we even define the two sides? How many false dichotomies shall we suffer? How many Redcoats either defected and became Americans, or else were wounded and cared for by the colonists, ultimately also becoming Americans? The colonists were British. The Redcoats were British. I don't see any conflict in the choice of period dress, as long as the shooter "knows his history" and is truly a reenactor, rather than simply a cheapskate.