The town of Gettysburg is full of reenactors, marking the 150th anniversary of the famous battle.
The price Civil War reenactors pay to live like it’s 1863 is more expensive than you think.
When you add up clothing costs, travel, and food expenses — you have quite the bill.
But it’s all worth it to history buffs who want to pay their respects and have a little fun too.
“Two pieces under here..” explains Lynda Pannell.
Lynda Pannell’s specialized 19th century dresses are as authentic as it gets.
“Fixings underneath this is all made of silk,” says Pannell, the owner of The Colonels Lady Civil War Attire.
She tries to put a basic day dress in a customer’s hand for under 200 dollars.
That’s cheap in the reenactment world, but then again that’s just the dress!
“Of course you have all the underpinnings the hoops the broaches and anything else they want to add,” says Pannell.
The store has sold more items in the past 6 weeks than they ever have before.
Pannell says the items she’s been selling a lot of have been accessories.
Accessorizing is a big deal for Civil War buffs… even for men.
“A lot of these people put a lot of money in, some of these guns a few thousand dollars,” says reenactor, Tommy Thunder.
Tommy Thunder’s costume rang in at 200 dollars, something he’s bragging about.
But the people he’s met from around the globe have had to dump money into travel on top of an expensive wardrobe.
“I met a lot of interesting people from all over and they talked about how much it took to get here,” says Thunder.
It’s a big cost especially coming from overseas.
But people pay it anyway for the experience…
“I`m sold I`m sold it`s a blast,” says Thunder.
..Of what some compare to Christmas.
“It helps you to be a part of the period and I think that`s what a lot of us strive to do,” says Pannell.
Lynda Pannell says the idea to make Civil War clothing started when she visited Gettysburg for the 135th anniversary and couldn’t find anything that fit her and her daughter.
Now her business has grown exponentially.