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Raspberry Silk Venetian Courtesan Gown

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Trystan

At the Valhalla Renaissance Faire, I wore the completed & “proper” version of my Venetian courtesan gown, this one made in a luscious raspberry-colored silk damask that I’d hunted for months to find (& oi, it wasn’t cheap! but sooooo pretty!). Sarah made the gown, same pattern she designed for the tourney version, & I made the sleeves & also hemmed & trimmed the gown. I used gold lace that Kendra found in the New York garment district to edge the bodice, then topped that with a bit of raspberry satin ribbon (from Jo-Ann’s of all places). Atop that, I added freshwater pearls & glass garnet-colored beads in a cross formation. The sleeve cuffs are trimmed with the gold lace as well, & the sleeves tie on with raspberry velvet cording (also from Jo-Ann’s, where I found the matching velvet ribbon to bind the hem, oh lucky day!).

This will be my official renfaire gown with Bella Donna this year, & I’m quite pleased with it. I still need to figure out better hair — the half wig I’m wearing in most of these photos is too heavy & warm, & the horns I tried to remake didn’t work out. Sarah styled my hair the second day of faire (seen in the pix where I’m sitting in the Queen’s chair) but I can’t rely on that. But the next faire’s aren’t until fall, so I have time.

merry courtesan at court
merry courtesan at court
Trystan sits in the Queen's chair!
Trystan sits in the Queen’s chair!
new gown closeup
new gown closeup
Venetian courtesan gown back
Venetian courtesan gown back
back of Venetian gown
back of Venetian gown
new courtesan gown
new courtesan gown
front view of new Venetian gown
front view of new Venetian gown

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Posted in 16th Century | Tags: finished costume, made by Sarah, raspberry Venetian gown, trim trim trim, Venetian courtesan | 2 Comments
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2 thoughts on “Raspberry Silk Venetian Courtesan Gown”

  1. Sarah Lorraine says:
    June 8, 2012 at 9:38 am

    You know I don’t mind doing your hairs in the morning. It took all of 10 minutes, if that. And, if I don’t say so myself, the results were pretty darn nice. 😉

    Besides, the less overheating and headaches, the better.

    • Trystan says:
      June 8, 2012 at 11:31 am

      Awwww, thanks. I don’t want to impose, but I really did like how you styled my hair on Sunday — very pretty & comfortable too!

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