This one’s been on my mind for a while. In fact, this portrait was one of my early inspirations for what became the 1580s gown. I love the stripes, of course, and I really love the high, closed doublet front (and I did go for that style in the other gown too). The little ruffs, the slashed rolls at the sleeve heads, even the row of buttons up the front — all are such great details. So very tempting. And again, stripes!
For reference, the original portrait is by Paolo Caliari of the Veronese era, dated about 1560-70, and titled “Portrait of a Lady with a Dog.” The actual portrait is in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, and I got the image from the fabulous Realm of Venus site. The picture on this page is my colorized version to simulate what I hope to make.<p>
The costume started coming together around my birthday. Tish gave me three yards of yummy black silk as a gift. Sarah said, ‘you could squeeze a kirtle out of that.’ Also for my birthday, my mom took me shopping. At Jo-Ann’s Fabrics, I saw some lovely burgundy tone-on-tone fabric in the decorator section. Nice weight, some kind of blend, but not totally synthetic, with a beautiful drape. So Mom bought me that, and *ta-da* I’ve got the start of my Veronese — but in the colors I adore.
Later on, I found an eBay seller making nifty ruffs for a great price. I ordered a full neck and wrist suit in black, edged in lace. Didn’t want to make that myself.
These bits are now languishing in a bin, waiting until I have time to make them into the gown itself. Ideally, this will be a new ensemble for the SCA 12th Night Coronation…
