Phaedra de Vere

Photo
Ducal Challenge 2024
Information
Resides: Barony of Carolingia
Status: Active
Awards: Order of Precedence
Heraldry
Vert, a lily affronty between three lozenges argent and a bordure Or

Award & Office Badges

Introduction

Baroness Phaedra de Vere (she/her) started playing in the SCA in the Shire of Ravenslake in the Middle Kingdom in 2006, then moved to Atlantia in March 2011, and to the East Kingdom in July 2017.

She adores teaching historical fencing (specifically Fabris), making garb, creating crazy (but documentable!) hairpieces, and researching anything and everything she can get her hands on. She also makes portrait-inspired jewelry for her commission-based shop, The Gilded Thistle, which occasionally makes appearances at events as a merchant. She has a difficult time sitting still without working on something, so she's often found with embroidery, sewing, or some other craft in her hands.

Phaedra is a research junkie and spends an inordinate amount of time reading through articles on JSTOR, stalking resources in the Harvard-Yenching Library, and hunting up every little tidbit of information possible about her interests, especially courtesans of Tang Dynasty China. (Who would have expected that trying to find the cost of a high-rank courtesan's time would result in a rabbit hole including the Tang taxation system and the use/values of various fabrics as currency?) She's also happy to help anyone else find sources and materials for their own research. Feel free to ask!

Also known as "The Sandwich Fairy", she provides delicious sandwich lunches to many hungry souls and warms hands and hearts with hot drinks on cold days.

Persona

Phaedra's preferred/primary persona is a Tang Dynasty Chinese courtesan.

If it's a fighting or physical work day, she's most likely to be 16th Century English (fencing garb), 15th Century French (cotehardies or a fancy Burgundian gown known as "Big and Purple"), or ancient Greek (if it's especially hot).

Affiliations

Provost to Master Lucas Otto Gustav Oswald Stephen vom Schnecke (called Sir LOGOS), KSCA, OP, OD, OL, Middle Kingdom
Service Student/Flight Crew to Caoilfhionn inghean Fhaoláin (if you want to "talk to my peer" for whatever reason, she's the one to see)
Captain of the Company of Saint Jude
Non-melee member of the Carolingian Caliver Company
Member of Clan Faolach, Duchy Von Drachenklaue
Member of the Knowne World Courtesan's Guild and the Company of the Sable Domino
Owner of The Shiny Pants
Sandwich Fairy
Mischief Muse
Baroness of Bling
Towel Lady

Awards and Honors

Award of Arms, Middle Kingdom, Festival of Maidens, 2007
Companion of the Order of the Willow (embroidery), Middle Kingdom, 2008(?)
Holder of the Iron Ring of the Middle Kingdom (January 2010-April 2010)
Companion of the Order of the Silver Brooch, East Kingdom 50 Year Celebration, 2018
Companion of the Order of the Silver Wheel, East Kingdom Ethereal Court, July 2021
Winner, Early Period Category for Birka Garb Challenge: Mythology (Fenghuang/Phoenix), January 2022
Companion of the Order of the Silver Rapier, 100 Minutes War, November 2022
Winner, Early Period Category for Birka Garb Challenge: Mythological Creatures (Jiuweihu), January 2023
Baroness of the Court of Brennan IV and Caoilfhionn IV, Pennsic War, August 2023
Companion of the Order of the Maunche, Ducal Challenge, September 2024
Winner, Early Period Category for Birka Garb Challenge: The Four Humors (Sanguine/Blood), January 2025

Baronial Awards

Companion of the Order of the Daystar (service), Barony of Carolingia, September? 2021
Champion of Arts and Sciences, Barony of Carolingia, September 2022
Companion of the Order of the Moon (A&S), Barony of Carolingia, May 2024

Offices and Positions

Chronicler, Shire of Ravenslake, MK, 2007-2008
Minister of Arts & Sciences, Shire of Ravenslake, MK, 2008-2010
Bocce Ball Champion, Shire of Ravenslake, MK, 2009
Cooling Towel Lady/Caliver Hydration Station (not official, just stuff I do), 2017-
Retainer, Caoilfhionn III and Brennan III, 2017-2018
Queen's Guard, Caoilfhionn III, 2018
Clothier to the Crown, Caoilfhionn III and Brennan III, 2017-2018
Retainer, Ozurr I and Fortune I, 2018-2019
Retainer, Ryoukujin I and Indrakshi I, 2021-2022
Clothier to the Crown, Ryoukujin I and Indrakshi I, 2021-2022
Retainer, Mohammed I and Corotica I, 2022-2023
Retainer, Caoilfhionn IV and Brennan IV, 2022-2023
Deputy Royal Wardrobe Coordinator, Caoilfhionn IV and Brennan IV, 2022-2023
Retainer, Ryoukujin II and Indrakshi II, 2024-2025
Retainer, Donovan I and Meghanta II, 2025-

Event Staff

Co-Autocrat, Middle Kingdom Academy of Defense (MKAoD), 2010(?)
Class Coordinator, multiple events in the Middle Kingdom hosted by the Shire of Ravenslake
Shadow Judge, East Kingdom A&S Championships, 2021
Waterbearer/Cooling Towel Brigade/Fighter Support at many, many events
Teacher at multiple events in the Middle Kingdom, Atlantia, Pennsic, and anywhere else she can get people to hold still and let her teach them stuff

Major Projects

Garb

The Big Red Dress of Doom--Tang Dynasty Chinese garb with accompanying jewelry; red and black cotton with brocade; completed February 2010

Fencing Doublet--16th Century doublet, based on an extant doublet in Spain; grey cotton twill with black velvet stripes and linen mini-ruff; completed early 2010

Big & Purple--Burgundian style gown c.1460s England; purple cotton velveteen, red silk dupioni, cream silk dupioni, cream fake fur; completed 2016-2017

The Spite Dress--Tang Dynasty style gown made for Birka 2018 Garb Challenge; called the Spite Dress because I was new to the kingdom and asked what the Birka challenge was and someone was snotty with me for not already knowing, so I made the dress in two weeks and entered to spite the jerk

Clothing Caoilfhionn inghean Fhaoláin III for Consorts' Tea--Tang Dynasty style gown made for Caoilfhionn III for the Pennsic 50 Consorts' Tea; she wanted to promote non-European styles to the other royals and show off my garb research, so we went as Extra as possible (knowing that some of it is incorrect/modern construction for wearability)

The Phoenix Gown--Tang Dynasty style gown with accompanying jewelry; blue and red cotton; completed for Pennsic 2019, won Best in Early Period at Birka 2020: Mythology Garb Challenge

Dressing Remy Delamontagne de Gascogne, 2021?--two sets of linen shirts, doublets, and pants in Cavalier (1630s) style; blue silk taffeta sash made for his MoD elevation in 2017

Jiuweihu--A nine-tailed fox spirit in a Tang Dynasty style gown, won Best in Early Period at Birka 2023: Mythological Creatures Garb Challenge

Shot Silk Tang Court Gown--My first silk Tang gown, with green/blue Vietnamese tissue taffeta silk, backed with cotton for structure; made for Court for Pennsic 2023

Sanguine/Blood Gown--Tang Dynasty style personification of Blood, won Best in Early Period for Birka Garb Challenge 2025: The Four Humors; I'm still really sad that the planned beading didn't work out

Headgear

Harry--Tang Dynasty style court wig with accompanying jewelry; completed April? 2011

Gertrude--Tang Dynasty style court wig with accompanying jewelry; completed February 2014

Steve the Wig--Tang Dynasty style court wig with accompanying jewelry; completed for Pennsic 2017

Phae--Tang Dynasty style wig made Nov 2020 for Mistress Ouyang's Laurel elevation

Big Red Boqta--Mongolian boqta (hat) made for Lada Monguligin for her stepping down as Viceregent of Ostgardr in September 2022. I've been vexing royals in court with complex headgear for years now; time to get other people in on the fun!

Lestat--Tang Dynasty style wig with accompanying jewelry, made for Birka Garb Challenge 2025: The Four Humours

Embroidery

Midrealm Bronze Ring Badge with Midlands Dragon embroidery for a fighting tabard--My very first embroidery, made with chain stitch and a bit of satin stitch for Master Alexander de Seton; completed 2008? It passed the armor punch test on its own even before I sewed it to the tabard.

Lion of Ansteorra Badge embroidery--My second ever embroidery project

Pelican in Her Piety--Made using split stitch for Marie la Fauconniere's Pelican elevation cloak, 2014

Carolingian Caliver patch embroidery--Insignia patch for the Carolingian Calivers unit cassock; I actually made two of these--one for Brennan mac Fearghus for Pennsic 50 and one for myself (I haven't finished my cassock yet)

Lotus embroidery--Splendor silk using split stitch; made to go on the chest of one of my Chinese gowns, I've forgotten where I put it, so it'll show up at some point in the future when I've found it again

Rose embroidery for Corotica--Silk and wool applique rose for Corotica merkka Senebelenae's Rose Elevation cloak; cloak itself made by Amalie von Hohensee; April 2023

Blub-Blub embroidery for Tang-style undergown--Two Chinese bubble-eye goldfish (I call this type of fish "blub blubs"--it just popped out one day and it stuck) embroidered using split stitch with Splendor silk thread, 2023?

Miscellaneous

The Camera Fan--Tang Dynasty style hand fan with a gold medallion appliqued on the front, a hole cut in the center, and elastic bands sewn onto the back to hold a smartphone camera exactly in place to get photos/video through the hole without the modern equipment showing

My current BIG project is working with Classical Chinese specialist to get the Bei Li Zhi (Anecdotes of the Northern Ward) translated into English for the first time. It's a Tang Dynasty document that goes into details of the lives of the courtesans in Chang'an, the capital city, and their clients. I'm really excited! (As of July 2025)

Gallery

Embroidered for a fencing tabard for Master Alexander de Seton of the Midrealm (It's still in use and in perfect condition, I'm told!) 2007-2008
Lion of Ansteorra badge embroidery 2007
Pelican embroidery for Marie la Fauconniere 2014
The Big Red Dress of Doom, my first Tang Dynasty garb 2009
Teaching fencing at a sword demo in Washington, DC 2013
Harry, my first Tang Dynasty wig late 2009
Gertrude 1.0, 2014
Big & Purple, the Burgundian gown (plus fancy accessory squire), October 2016
Big & Purple 2.0, with split skirt upgrade, September 2017
Steve the wig, plus phoenix crown, Pennsic 2017 (Yes, I can document this style.)
Steve the wig from the rear, plus golden phoenix pin, Pennsic 2017
Sitting around at an Atlantian event, July 2016
The Spite Dress, Birka 2018
The Phoenix Gown, front, Birka 2020
The Phoenix Gown, back, Birka 2020
Phae the wig, freshly constructed, November 2020
Mistress Ouyang wearing Phae for her Laurel elevation
A jiuweihu--nine-tailed fox spirit--at Birka 2023
Yet unnamed new wig and Tang Dynasty gown at Birka 2023
1630s Cavalier gown, based on a portrait of Queen Henrietta Maria 2017
Incognito in a 15th century fuzzy gray and red cotehardie and faux fur capelet
The camera fan
Mongolian boqta
They're so cute!
Rose applique for Corotica's Rose Elevation cloak
Green/blue shot silk Tang gown for Pennsic 2023 Court
Slate blue doublet with silver trim
Fancy blue cotton velveteen doublet and pants with silver metal trim
Blue silk taffeta Cavalier officer's sash, made for Remy's MoD elevation 2017; eventually, he'll learn how to tie it
Two Chinese bubble-eye goldfish embroidered using split stitch with Splendor silk thread, 2023?
Sanguine/blood gown and Lestat, made for Birka 2025
Lestat the wig from the back, made for Birka 2025 Blood outfit, an extreme drama queen
Caoilfhionn's Consorts' Tea Gown, Hairpiece, and Hair Doodads 2018
Embroidered patch for the Carolingian Calivers unit; I made two of these
This will eventually go on one of my dresses when I figure out where I put it

Classes

China (mostly Tang Dynasty):

Chinese History in SCA Period: Han to Ming Dynasty (basic history and which dynasty was when)
Tang Dynasty History 101
Tang Dynasty Courtesans 101
Tang Dynasty Drinking Games
Women in Power during the Tang Dynasty
Wives, Concubines, Courtesans, Slaves (which is which in Tang China?)
Imperial Household/Harem Structure in the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty Women's Clothing (early, middle, late, and variants)
Faking It: Making Hairpieces
How to Make the Parts for Making Complex Hairpieces
So You're Interested in a Chinese Persona (choices, considerations, and potential pitfalls)
Cultural Appropriation vs. Cultural Appreciation (discussion, tips for avoiding appropriation, and positive ways to handle negative feedback)

Historical Fencing:

Fabris 101: Stick Your Butt Out and Kill Someone
Fabris 102: Sword and Dagger
Fix My Fabris (Troubleshooting)

Her A&S (and general project) blog can be found at Sartorial Dominance Displays, and she's happy to nerd out and hold discussions with anyone who shows interest and will hold still long enough. :)

In Case of Court

Phaedra de Vere is pronounced Fay-dra de Veer (rhymes with "peer/queer/deer/here").

Advance warning that being called into court might be a thing would be GREATLY appreciated due to social anxiety about being dressed properly (gotta stick with my EXTRA brand!). I don't need to know what it's for, just a warning that it's likely to be a thing.

Please notify Caoilfhionn inghean Fhaoláin, Thomas of Effingham, Catelin Straquhin, and Remy Delamontagne de Gascogne. They'll know who needs to be contacted.

I would absolutely love a scroll made by Konstantia Kaloethina (Rachel Decker, lives in Calontir), Camille des Jardins, Lily Morgaine, Christiana Crane, Collette d’Avignon, or Audrye Beneyt, if they're able and willing. I have a ridiculous love of SHINY and EXTRA, and I'd love a European jeweled-border book of hours style scroll that's gilded to the nines (I will happily pay for the gilding--I know it's expensive). Please do not feel obligated to make anything Chinese themed!

Also important: please, please, please do not use faux hand/faux Chinese calligraphy. If you do a Chinese-themed scroll, my strong preference is to have it translated to actual Chinese and then either add an English translation in a nice Latin font underneath (if there's room) or on a separate piece of paper/parchment/whatever that can then be mounted and displayed next to the scroll, much like they do in museums with information plaques.