1.1 The aim of the Tailors, Haberdashers and Mercers Guild of Lochac is to advance the study and practice of the making of garments and their related arts in Europe and the Known World prior to 1600AD.

1.2 The secondary aim of the Guild is to recreate as closely as possible the medieval or renaissance guilds responsible for garment making and related crafts and encourages research and activities towards this end.

1.3 The Guild shall endeavour to encourage all who are interested in garment making. Membership is voluntary and information shall be freely available regardless of membership.

2. Categories

2.1 The Guild shall promote all facets of period tailoring and sewing which can be demonstrated to have been known and performed in Europe and the Known World before 1600AD. This includes but is not limited to the following areas (which may overlap):

* garment cut and construction
* materials and colours, appropriate to chosen period
* trims and embellishment, appropriate to chosen period
* closures and fixtures eg. buttons, button holes, lacings, hook and eye, appropriate to chosen period
* undergarments, appropriate to chosen period
* accessories not encompassed by other Companies or Guilds, appropriate to chosen period

2.2 Any categories can be added to the list in 2.1 if it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the masters of the Guild that it was known and practiced in Europe and the Known World before 1600AD.

2.3 The Guild will also promote the research of techniques and designs typically used in Europe and the Known World before 1600AD.

3. The Structure of the Guild

3.1 The Guild of Tailors of Lochac aims to base its structure and activities on those of the European guilds of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, where this is practical and desirable.

3.2 Anyone may become a member of the Guild by expressing interest either in person or via e-mail to an officer of the Guild. Members providing an e-mail address will receive the Guild newsletter by e-mail. Otherwise, they may have hard copies of the newsletter sent to them by paying a small annual fee to cover printing and postage costs. Guild activities are not limited to members.

3.3 Members may also advance through a series of ranks within the Guild if they wish. The ranks are Apprentice Tailor, Journeyman Tailor and Master Tailor. (Note that the terms Journeyman and Master are based on period practice and do not indicate that women may not hold these ranks. Women were both journeyman and master Tailors in the Middle Ages.) To avoid confusion with members of the order of the Laurel and their apprentices or journeymen, these terms should only be used with the term 'Tailor' after them, and should not be used as a title.

3.3.1 Apprentice Tailor

To become an apprentice Tailor a member of the Guild must have submitted a finished and garment in period style or technique with a basic level of documentation to the masters of the Guild and have gained their approval.

3.3.2 Journeyman Tailor

A journeyman Tailor will have submitted to the masters of the Guild and had approved three garments of journeyman level, with documentation, in different period styles or techniques, with appropriate presentation or accessories to make a complete outfit. The range of garments expected is outlined in clause 3.3.4. Journeyman Tailors may judge competitions in any of the categories in which they have been deemed proficient.

3.3.3 Master Tailor

This level shall be attained when a majority of the current masters of the Guild are agreed that a candidate has produced a masterwork in garment-making or an equivalent body of work, usually not less than five pieces of documented garments in different period styles or techniques, with appropriate presentation or accessories to make a complete outfit, of a high standard of artisanry. The range of garments expected is outlined in clause 3.3.4. They should also be familiar with a broad range of the styles and techniques of garment making of the period pre-1600 and should be able to impart their knowledge to others. Any member of the Guild who has been awarded a Laurel primarily for costuming or costuming research will automatically be considered a Master Tailor.

3.3.4 Range of garments

Members of the Guild seeking ranking to Journeyman or Master level may develop their body of work in the several ways. This includes but is not limited to:
* A generalist Tailor portfolio - garments relevant to a diverse range of places and/or times.
* A locale specialist portfolio - garments specialising in a particular place and/or time, demonstrating knowledge of around 100 years and 4 or 5 distinct styles of development within that locale. In this case, the masters of the Guild would expect to see significant differences in the garments presented for ranking and clear evidence of an in-depth knowledge of the chosen specialisation, beyond that expected of a generalist. For example, garments may include those worn by different classes or occupational groups, seasonal garments, surcoats, etc. or showing mastery of different types of materials, such as furs, leather trims, etc, as appropriate to the specialisation and a demonstrated understanding of the context in which the speciality exists, eg. adjacent geographical regions of development of the style in the proceeding time period.
* A research specialist portfolio - a body of work which includes significant components of in-depth, published research, as well as implementation of that research in the making of some (but not necessarily 3 for Journeyman or 5 for Master) researched garments and/or samplers as appropriate.

In all cases, the majority decision of the current Masters will determine whether the body of work meets the requirements of the Guild rank and they may use their discretion as they deem appropriate.

3.3.5 Guildmaster

The Guildmaster of the Guild will be elected by a majority of master Tailors from among their number at each Rowany Festival. There is no restriction on consecutive terms, however it would generally be expected that the office would change at least every two years.

3.3.6 Ranking

It is not necessary for anyone to be ranked to be able to participate in Guild activities, apart from judging the competitions. Competition entries are not automatically considered to be submissions for ranking.

3.3.7 Changes to Guild ranks will only occur at Crown events, Guild events or the Rowany Festival. If distance is a problem, then photographic evidence of work is acceptable, but members should send the actual work where possible.

3.3.8 The Guild badge may be worn by all members. The Guild badge is (To Be Decided) registered to the Kingdom of Lochac on (date).

4. Competitions

The Guild will hold no more than four competitions each year at any of the four Kingdom Crown Tournament or Coronation events. The categories for the competitions will be set by the Guildmaster, after consultation with Guild members (as far as is practicable) and announced a year in advance.

4.1 Categories for the competitions may include any technique or style approved by the Guild. They may also include categories of garment making (e.g. underpinnings, headwear) or test other skills such as garment making from a period pattern, or focus on the garment making of a particular time or place. A competition category may also focus on research rather than practical work. Members of the Guild are encouraged to suggest categories for future competitions.

4.2 Each entry in a competition will be judged and awarded a score. Points will be awarded for documentation, use of sources, technique, use of materials and presentation as they pertain to the period style of the piece. Written documentation is preferred to oral. At the judges' discretion, entries to a competition may be spilt into groupings of apprentice, journeyman and/or master level entries, where appropriate, with winners for each category chosen.

4.3 The minimum number of entries for a competition to be held is three.

4.4 Documentation is not mandatory for competition entries, but including it will result in a higher score for the entry.

4.5 If three or four competitions have been held in a year, the person who has accumulated most points over the period of the year will be named as the Guild/Company Champion for the year. Members may enter more than once for each competition, but only the marks from their highest scoring piece will be entered towards the Championship.

4.6 It is not necessary to enter every competition in a year to be competitive for the Championship. It is possible that someone who has entered a few high scoring pieces will accumulate a higher score than someone who has entered a larger number of pieces which have scored less well.

5. Annual Meeting and Duties

5.1 A general review of the Guild shall be conducted at the Rowany Festival each year.

5.2 A report on the Guild for the previous year compiled by the Guildmaster shall be presented to the King and Queen of Lochac via the Lochac Minister of Arts by Midwinter Coronation.

5.3 Each reign, the Guild shall make a presentation such as a garment, accessory, trim or item of regalia to the King and Queen. The item or items being presented must be inspected and approved by the Guildmaster or his/her representative before presentation.

5.4 The Masters of the Guild should regularly review the ranking standards of the Guild to ensure consistency and quality.

6. Guild Officers

6.1 Guildmaster (The title of Guildmaster reflects period practice and may be held by a man or a woman.)

Duties include the organisation of panel to examine the work of applicants to the various Guild rankings; organising the Guild competitions; liaising with the Lochac Minister of Arts on the costuming category of the Lochac Arts and Sciences Championship Competition; keeping a current list of members and their ranks; reporting on the above points and other Guild activities to the Lochac Minister of Arts; and preparing a final report for inclusion in the MoA/S Doomsday Report. The Guildmaster may delegate some of these responsibilities to a deputy, as they deem appropriate.

6.2 Guild Chronicler: To be responsible for the Guild publication. This position may be held by the Guild Web Minister if appropriate.

6.3 Guild Web Minister: To be responsible for the maintenance of the Guild's web page. This position may be held by the Guild Chronicler if appropriate.

6.3 Guild Patron: A member of the peerage, preferably royal peerage, with an interest in fostering garment making in Lochac, willing to donate prizes for competitions.

7. Guild Ordinances

7.1 Any change in these ordinances may be made by the majority of master Tailors. Any member of the Guild may present evidence for a change to the ordinances. A majority is defined as over 50% of the active master Tailors (ie. not counting any master Tailors who may have, in effect, retired from the Guild or SCA in general).

End Draft Ordinances