The Attack Laurel goes OFF on unsolicited costume opinions. I like her!
If you are in the SCA and have NOT heard of the "Attack Laurel," you, my friend, are missing out.
She's an extreme costumer with deep intelligence, huge talent and a very good way with words. Oh, and also bright red hair, should you go for that sort of thing. And what many of us do at events pisses her off! In fact, if you've ever walked up to someone at an SCA event and started nitpicking thier non-period or modernish clothing, please, please read her LiveJournal post titled
Your opinion? What makes you think I want it? (rated PG for some swearing...)
Yeah, I know some of you are sooo busy right now, and you'll come back to read it later, etc, etc. So I'll quote a couple things here that are the most important takeaways from todays lesson:
"There is never any reason to walk up to someone and offer them unsolicited criticism on their clothes. No, not ever."
"It's rude. It's uncool. It's mean. It's not classy. And, most importantly, it is all pain and absolutely no gain for the person on whom you inflict your opinion. They will not be at all grateful that you appeared, as if from nowhere, just to tell them their outfit sucks. They will be hurt, confused, and think poorly of you, and by extension, the SCA."
"People who do not know me think I'm really demanding about authenticity in everyone around me, but I'm not. The only person I can hold to any standard is myself." (emphasis mine, because THAT is important advice, SCA or not)
"Don't harsh someone's squee. It doesn't make you look superior, it makes you look petty. It doesn't impress the Laurels, it shows us that you have a remarkable lack of peer-like qualities. It doesn't teach your target something useful, it teaches them that you're an asshole."
Again, I implore you to read the whole article/rant at the link above. I think this should be required reading for anyone in the SCA, newbie and old-timers alike.
Oh, and Attack Laurel? I think I love you. In a totally extreme costumer kind of way, of course.
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