Between the Renaissance Faires, the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism), LARP (Live Action Role Playing), various Civil War re-enactments, and the costume cons, the demand for historical clothing is on the rise. The question most people ask when looking for "garb" or historical clothing is what will be right for me.
First, are you doing a "historical" re-creation or are you into "fantastical" role playing? The differences can easily be blurred depending on how much time and effort you want to put into your character or persona.
For fantastical role playing, almost anything goes depending on your group. Lord of the Rings outfits are very popular right now and work well for various characters. Most people tend towards using what I call historical materials with modern cuts. Live Action groups tend to have the ideal clothing as being medieval or renaissancish. They aren't exactly what was worn during those time periods, but have the "feel" of those time periods.
For ladies, Fantastical characters can go from looking like Arwen from Lord of the Rings to Gwenavier from King Arthur to wearing a bodice with 3/4 sleeved puffy shirt and a circle skirt with a lacy handkerchief skirt over it. It's really what ever you want!
For gentlemen, Fantastical characters can look like any of the male characters from Lord of the Rings to a Roman Soldier to wearing nothing more than a tunic and a belt. Again, it's whatever you want.
For the historical recreations or re-enactments, it really depends on how strict the group is. Some groups want everything done exactly as in their specific period, down to hand sewing the clothing! This tends to only be true for the hard core American Civil War and Rev War re-enactors.
SCA: The SCA is a bit more strict than your local renn faire or LARP. You cannot go walking around like Xena for the most part. Most people either attempt to buy or make their own historical clothing. According to the SCA website, the time period they are re-creating is between 900-1600. This is a HUGE amount of time and gives you a lot of leeway in what you can wear. There is a somewhat unspoken "10 foot" rule in the SCA; if you can't tell it's not period from 10 feet, it's okay.
900-1200: Early Middle Ages. This tends to be the "layers" period. Ladies wore long tunics with shorter over tunics. Men tend to wear the shorter tunics. This of course varies by geographic area and by specific time. There are plenty of other types of garb that can be worn from this period, like the Viking Apron dress.
1200-1400: Late Middle Ages and start of the Gothic period. The cotehardi and hoppeland both show up in this time. The flamboyant hats that most people associate with the middles ages and the surcoats (gates of hell) show up around this time as well. Basically, when you think "medieval" this is typically what most people picture.
1400-1500: Renaissance. Although some may argue with the dates (these are just approximent!) this was about the time of the start of the Italian Renaissance. Towards the end of this time is when the underbust dresses made popular by the movie Ever After appear. The farthengale(hoop skirt) makes it's first appearance in the 1480's in Spain which makes the skirts "puff" out. The gowns themselves tend to have more shape to them and fashion changes quickly.
Men's outfits get shorter during this period. This is about the time that the velvet doublets start to make their appearance.
1550-1550: Tudor. Think Henry the VIII and Anne Boylen. You have the fur coats, the jerkins and doublets (tight fitting vests), tons of embroidery, velvet gowns and wonderful jewelry.
1550-1600: Elizabethan. Ruffs, lace, and amazing amounts of silks. The fatheringale goes from a conical shape to the wheel shape towards the end. Partlets are popular towards the start and end of the period. Starch is discovered! Men wore peascod bellys which were, essentially, fake beer bellies and codpieces.
Revolutionary War Reenactments: Rev War Reenactments tend to be more strict in their dress code than the SCA. Whereas the SCA has the "10 feet" rule, the Rev War doesn't. There is some leeway still however. I have yet to hear of anyone getting upset about the use of metal or cable ties as boning in a corset or gown. I have heard of some scary stories about the buttonholes looking a certain way, but I'm not sure about those.
1770-1790: Again, approximate dates for the clothing. This was a HUGE transition period in clothing. You can get away with anything from the full Panniers to the more simple later Empire styles. For men, you'll most likely be required to wear a uniform of some sort. The pants tend to be mid calf with buttons. The shirts are simple with buttons at the wrist most of the time. For more formal occasions, men might add a waistcoat and a frock coat.
Civil War Reenactments: These are by far the most well known reenactments. Some groups within this era are strict. Very very strict. However, not all are. Most just want "close enough" to the period clothing. There have been many confirmed reports of "stitch counters". Stitch counters are people who will actually count the amount of stitches in a buttonhole and demand it be corrected if the stitches are off by even one. Oh yes, these people exist. I've seen them lurking and ready to pounce their poor victims. They are the fashion police of the reenactment world.
Ladies: Gone with the wind is fine but more "humble" clothing is probably better. Plaids are great and calicos are normally pretty safe for patterned fabrics in gowns.
Gentlemen: Uniforms! Wool coats! Scarves! Pants were very tailored and yes, like that episode in CSI:, men did sometimes wear corsets.
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