I’ve had this fabric earmarked for Leonard’s 16th-century suit for ages, and I finally bit the bullet and commissioned Jenn to make it for me. After all, she’s the pro, having made countless gorgeous such suits for fellas in the Court of St. George. We had a great time planning the design and during the fittings, making sure my vision came to life just as planned.
Inspired by period portraits like these:
In addition to the purple patterned silk, I had a solid silk that matched quite well, and for the black piping and lining, I had the skirt of an old gown that I’d cut up for yardage. Reduce, reuse, recycle! The only trimmings so far are the black skull buttons on the front of the doublet and black silk buttons on the sleeves. At a later point, I can add beading and such.
I made Sir Leonard a jeweled collar of state using an Avon pendant from eBay and a bunch of ouches from Truly Hats, plus a miniature of a past lady love to alternate with, as well as a pearl earring.
Leonard needed a jaunty purple beard to match my purple hair. I used a human hair beard in grey and dyed with Overtone Purple for Brown Hair just because that’s what I had around, but I’m sure there are plenty of probably cheaper ways to dye. The final beard was trimmed down to a goatee and mustache.
The hat is one I made years ago, just added new feathers. The plummy shoes are custom-made by Hubley Leatherworks.
I wore the suit with my Bella Donna group around Venice and on a lovely gondola ride at Carnevale!
I also wore this suit at the Jamestown Fashioned in History Conference for the party on the pier.
