Questions about Orders and Returns
Please text or email us 24/7 or call(M-F, 11am-3pm central time, USA).
If you get our voicemail during our business hours we are helping other customers. In that event, or if you call after business hours PLEASE leave a message, speaking your name and phone number slowly. We will return you call within 3-5 business days.
For questions with allot of specifics(for example, what size and colors of a specific color do you have in stock?) we ask that you email or text us and we will respond within 3-5 business days. This will allow us to give you full, accurate and complete answer in the most timely fashion. It our mission to provide you with prompt, helpful customer service.
We ship all in stock items within 3-7 business days of when an order is placed. If you need expedited shipping or your order to arrive by a specific date please contact us BEFORE you place your order at our customer service email or text so we can be sure that we get your order to you in time for your special event.
Please note: because we process your order so quickly after we receive it, any order for in-stock items that is cancelled after it has been placed is subject to our 35% restocking fee. Any orders for items that are made as they are ordered we do not allow order cancellations. See more below about order changes.
Our online secure shopping cart takes all major credits cards. We also accept payment via Check. If you wish to pay by check please see below.
To pay by check please select this option from our online shopping cart during checkout. We will reply with an order confirmation email, including order total and instructions about where to send payment. All checks must be received within 14 business days of placing your order, or the order will be cancelled. Orders will be finalized as soon as we receive payment.
In the case of in-stock items(please see exceptions)we accept returns and exchanges within 30 days of the date you receive your order. Only products with tags attached, in packaging, folded, laced or buttoned and in new condition can be exchanged or returned for a refund within 30 days. Please return the products well packed and send them to us via a trackable shipping method. In the case of returns there will be a 35% restocking fee. For exchanges you will only be charged for additional shipping costs. In the case of an exchanges please contact us our customer service email or text so that we can confirm that we have the item you desire is in stock. Please send returned items to us at:
Revival Clothing
27 S. May Street
Aurora, IL 60506
…and include a note with your original order number (please note we cannot process returns without this information), if you are exchanging an item, what you would like in exchange, your personal information including email and phone number and in the case of exchanges a check in amount we quote you to cover the return shipping. See this table for return shipping charges. Please note the charges are based on the amount of the item(s) being exchanged.
Please note: because we generally process your order so quickly after we receive it and begin production, we may not be able to cancel it after it has been placed – for those situations any order cancelled after it has been placed but before it has been shipped are subject to our 35% restocking fee.
Return Exceptions:
- Custom orders and customized items such as Boots and Shoes with added Vibram Soles ARE NOT eligible for return or exchange.
- Rush orders, orders over $800, made to order items and custom orders are not eligible for return.
- All Digital Revival Clothing products, including patterns, are FINAL SALE and not eligible for discounts or refunds.
Shipping is determined by the amount of your order, where your order is shipped to and what shipping method you choose. You can find a chart of shipping fees here. A note about P.O. boxes – Federal Express will not deliver to P.O. boxes, so if your address uses a P.O. box please do not choose Fed Ex as your shipping method as we will have to ship your order via USPS Priority Mail.
Each style on our site has its own size chart listed on that individual style’s page. Scroll down to ‘SIZING’ and click on bar. For example, sizing for the Linen Kirtle can be found at the bottom of the Linen Kirtle page. Please note, we have our own sizing system so please go by the inches given for each size and style, not just the size name.
Items that are on back order, made to order or custom can take several weeks to complete. If you need your order sooner you can pay a rush charge(starting at $50 and calculated by the size and complexity of your order) to get your items to you as soon as possible, usually within 1-2 weeks. Rush orders are only available as our schedule permits and they are not eligible for return or exchange. Contact customer service with questions regarding any rush order – text or email us 24/7 or call(M-F, 11am-3pm central time, USA).
We offer you the option of a payment plan for orders totaling $300 or more. The payment plan consists of prearranged monthly installments. We will work with you to determine a monthly payment amount that works for you. Then we will send a paypal invoice each month, along with a statement of your total paid and balance owed. Any shipping fees will be added to the final payment. Once the total is paid off we send you your new clothes! – See more details here or contact us via text or email us 24/7 or call(M-F, 11am-3pm central time, USA).
Please note: because we process your order so quickly after we receive it, any order changed or cancelled more than 24 hours after it has been placed is subject to a 35% restocking fee.
Care and Feeding of Revival Clothing
Dry clean only.
Dry clean only.
We recommend that your silk Revival Clothing be dry cleaned so that their shape and color will be best maintained. One method that works well, but takes a little research to find, is to use a bulk dry cleaner. In general, this method is quite a bit less expensive than standard dry cleaning (usually charged by the pound instead of the piece). This type of cleaning is more affordable because they pay less attention to details like pressing – which is often unnecessary – usually most of the wrinkles in your garb will come out when hung up.
If you would rather wash them at home we recommend using the gentle cycle and use Woolite’s special detergent for dark colors (to reduce fading and bleeding) with cold water in the gentle cycle in the washer and hang dry. While this is the best at home cleaning option it will produce more fading and wear and tear on the clothes over time than dry cleaning. Silk dyes are particularly susceptible to bleed and fade when washed.
While our civilian linen garments are machine washable in COLD water on GENTLE settings(separate colors and expect a small amount of shrinkage initially) washing and especially drying by machine is very hard on clothing.
Linen is a very strong but brittle fiber and repeated machine drying will weaken the cloth. Every time you clean off the lint screen on your dryer those are bits of your clothes that have been worn away during the process. So, repeated machine drying will weaken the cloth and everyone is familiar with how color fades in the washer. So using this method of cleaning you can expect a fair amount of fading and wear and tear on your garb over time in that it will hold its shape less well with age. Your linen clothes will last longer if you choose to dry clean them or at least hang them to dry and avoid machine drying.
There will also be a small amount of shrinkage when washed initially. Our linen is not ‘pre-shrunk’ or ‘pre-washed’ but does go through a process called ‘softening’ – which reduces the amount of shrinkage you can expect.
For best longevity linen gambesons, pourpoints and arming cap should to be dry cleaned. These items a constructed in a very detailed manner, with padding and quilting and machine washing and drying will break down the linen fibers and cotton batting they are padded with and will wear out the garment prematurely. It will also accelerate the aging of the garment by fading the color.
With our linen garments, there will also be a small amount of shrinkage when washed initially. Our linen is not ‘pre-shrunk’ or ‘pre-washed’ but does go through a process called ‘softening’ – which reduces the amount of shrinkage you can expect. After the subsequents washings they might feel tight, like a pair of jeans, but will stretch out and loosen after a bit when worn.
The cotton used in our basic cotton gambesons is not pre-washed but under goes a heat treated process which reduces the shrinkage. Please note – there will still be some shrinkage and cotton, more than linen, will shrink and fade in the wash. Machine washing and drying cotton garments will accelerate this process as well as weaken the fibers as described above.
If you must wash them – wash on gentle cycle in COLD on the GENTLE setting and hang to dry. The dryer is the most destructive part of the wash cycle. The same aspect of it that makes garments soft is breaking down the fibers and will prematurely weaken and age them.
Because of the many yards of fabric use in our Gowns and Houpplelandes we do not recommend machine washing them as this can affect how they hang and cause them to loose their shape over time.
Our Doublets and Cotehardies are shaped and constructed and can be damaged, stretched and loose their tailored shape if machine washed. Think of them like medieval ‘suit coats’ – a dressy garment you wouldn’t want to loose its tailored shape in the washer
Questions about Arming Clothes
When we first introduced our gambesons we included pre sew-on points but we found that everyone needs the point positioned specific to how the garments fits and the design of their particular armor. Since this needs to be customized to an individual we now leave the placing of points up to the customer. We do recommend that if you wish to attache them that you do so by stichin a small square of leather to the gambeson, over the point – stitching around the edge and through the center in an ‘X’ pattern.
In fact we are not sure how leg harness was supported. Both illustrations and existing garments leave this question open to debate. We did quite a bit of protoyping a gambeson that also supported leg harness by pointing and we did not arrive at a satisfactory solution. We had much better fitting, more comfortable results from a separate garment based on illusrtations from the early 15th c. – our pourpoint, or arming vest.
The sleeve length on your gambeson will vary based on you shoulder width and arm length, but in general the sleeves on the gambeson are very generous. On an average person the sleeve should go down past the wrist to about the middle of the back of the hand. This length is based on the historical models and serves a few useful purposes. The longer sleeve adds extra padding to the wrist area. If you wear vambraces over your gambeson it also helps protect your wrist from the end of the vambrace and keeps it from biting into the wrist, especially when you turn the gambeson sleeve back over the end of your vambrace. We’ve included a button at the wrist so you can also roll the sleeve back for this reason and in order to accommodate a shorter arm lengths.
For best longevity linen gambesons, pourpoints and arming cap should to be dry cleaned. These items a constructed in a very detailed manner, with padding and quilting and machine washing and drying will break down the linen fibers and cotton batting they are padded with and will wear out the garment prematurely. It will also accelerate the aging of the garment by fading the color.
With our linen garments, there will also be a small amount of shrinkage when washed initially. Our linen is not ‘pre-shrunk’ or ‘pre-washed’ but does go through a process called ‘softening’ – which reduces the amount of shrinkage you can expect. After the subsequents washings they might feel tight, like a pair of jeans, but will stretch out and loosen after a bit when worn.
The cotton used in our basic cotton gambesons is not pre-washed but under goes a heat treated process which reduces the shrinkage. Please note – there will still be some shrinkage and cotton, more than linen, will shrink and fade in the wash. Machine washing and drying cotton garments will accelerate this process as well as weaken the fibers as described above.
If you must wash them – wash on gentle cycle in COLD on the GENTLE setting and hang to dry. The dryer is the most destructive part of the wash cycle. The same aspect of it that makes garments soft is breaking down the fibers and will prematurely weaken and age them.
Privacy & Security
We have the utmost respect for your privacy and the security of your information. We know that when you choose to shop with us you are giving us your trust and we work hard to live up to that.
Sensitive personal information contained in orders placed on the Website are encrypted using 128-bit secure sockets layer (SSL) technology.* In order for SSL security to work, you must use an SSL enabled browser. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet or any wireless network can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal Information, you acknowledge that; there are security and privacy limitations of the internet which are beyond our control, the security, integrity, and privacy of any and all information and data exchanged between you and us through the website cannot be guaranteed. If you still have concerns about ordering electronically, feel free to call or text 708-502-5907, M-F 11am-3pm central time to place your order over the phone. Please note that email is not encrypted and is not considered a secure means of transmitting credit card numbers. We will never ask for sensitive information via email.
*Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is a technology used by vendors to ensure the security of online business. It negotiates and employs the essential functions of mutual authentication, data encryption and data integrity for secure transactions.
We offer those who sign-up for our email list tidbits on historical happenings and fashion, exclusive offers, reminders about events you can find us at, advanced notice of sales, new styles, and other news. Email addresses collected at our website are used internally. If you would like to unsubscribe from our email list, contact us (newsletter@revivalclothing.com). We will remove your name from our email list within a reasonable period of time. Please recognize that you may receive another email before we are able to remove you.
We may periodically update this privacy and security policy for new, unanticipated uses not previously disclosed. Any changes made will be posted here. By visiting our website you agree to accept any changes made to this policy. Feel free to contact us with any questions about our Privacy & Security Policy.
Revival Clothing / Historica / HEMAwear
27 S. May Street
Aurora, Illinois 60506
A word about our historically based styles and 'authentic' patterns...
Because there are very few surviving examples of medieval clothing our work must of necessity be interpretive. Working from museum fragments, illuminations, paintings, and written references we strive to combine elements common to a given style into a new garment that could be representative of the period while also being affordable and resulting in a good fit. At the bottom of each catalog page is a selection of references we used in designing that style. When we have altered a design for reasons of fit, cost or function, these elements are noted in the text on the catalog page for each of our designs. Finally, we test each piece for function, durability and comfort.