This black silk robe a la francaise is about 80% hand-sewn, more than I ever intended. I've retrimmed it 4x now!
Recreating the pink portrait of Mary Queen of Scots had long been a dream, & I finally did it for my birthday.
My drag alter-ego is Leonard Autie, hairdresser to Marie Antoinette. He sometimes gets a new suit for Carnevale.
If you’ve looked around my website or seen me at SCA events, you might have noticed I’m really fond of 16th-century clothing. And I don’t go much earlier than this era. In fact, I often joke that 1530 is “early period” for me (when, in SCA circles, “early period” means Norse, Viking, even Roman garb).
Are we really almost there? Yep, the last few challenges are in sight. I started this after Costume College last year & intend to wrap it up with CoCo this year, because the theme will be accessories. I’m also teaching three accessories classes at Costume College: History of Purses (from about the 10th c. to
Here’s a little bling from the accessory files for February’s challenge… Jen of Suburban Pagan made a sparkly Regency necklace in the rivière or collet style. Gorgeous! SaharaZaraMorocco of Shoes First, Then Corset shows us two renaissance girdles, both beautiful! I have an 18th-century style portrait-miniature necklace for sale. It’s a historical style, but I
You all know about Kendra’s book on 18th-century hair/wig-styling, right? You’ve signed-up for the pre-sale, right? Because it only lasts till the end of January, & if she doesn’t hit the goal, then we won’t get all the fabulous authentic historic images we need, & she’ll have to cut out something crucially important that you
Here is my 1590s gown made of white silk, inspired by various portraits of Queen Elizabeth I’s maids of honor. I wore it at 12th Night 2014.
Research and Theories: Linen caps and coifs are a well-known part of the Elizabethan wardrobe for women and even men. In their simplest form, plain linen caps were worn at all levels of society, often as a protective layer between the hair and a hat or even as a nightcap. Many women’s embroidered coifs survive
Or as I tend to think of it: Fancy Man Bags! Because the discerning Elizabethan gent needed a sassy little purse to carry his hankie or a few coins in. Women seemed to hide pockets & such in their voluminous skirts, while the men showed off their goods, ehem, with highly decorated purses that were
One of my favorite styles of 16th-century headgear is the tall crowned hat. It was first worn by men starting around the 1570s mostly in England, the Low Countries, & Spain. Women soon adopted the style, particularly when worn with high-necked doublet-style bodices. This fashion was hugely popular, which lead to criticism by the early
12th Night inches closer, & so do my various projects. I think my crazy wheel farthingale gown will be a go. I got the bodice & skirt attached, so it’s a real dress now. Still needs that weird tuck at the farthingale edge, plus hemming, & all the multitudes of accessories (ruff! wig! shoe rosettes!
Ok, so I failed on December’s challenges — blame cancer & trying to get my life back together after chemo. Blah blah blah, sick of excuses & sick of being sick! But that’s mostly behind me now, so onward & upward. We’ll take a month off from accessorizing & start the new year with all
By Lady Violet Ruthvene in the SCA This is an accompaniment to a lecture class I taught at the West Kingdom Collegium in November 2013. The goal is to help people in the Society for Creative Anachronism create largess — the small gifts that royalty give to their subjects, such as to welcome visitors, to thank
You’d think I would have made one of these by now, given that “Elizabethan” is my One True Costuming Love & late 16th-century lowland Scots is my SCA persona. But no, I’ve yet to make the ever-practical English fitted gown. So it’s about time. You’ve seen all the period images before, but I’ve added a
The Accessory Challenge isn’t dead — sorry for not posting about it for the past, oh, month, but this last round of chemo was kinda brutal & I didn’t feel like sitting upright & staring at the computer for any length of time (tho’ yeah, I did have a day or two where I could
So I made a new shift (for the better neckline), a wheel farthingale, a giant bum pad to bolster it up, and a corded petticoat to go over the whole thing & smooth out the lines on top plus give a nice little kick to the hem. I guess I’m committed to making the gown
Making lemonade out of lemons — since my hair fell out from chemo, this seems like a good time to go for one of those freaky-cool shaved-forehead styles that has popped up in various points of history. Go big or go home! At first, I though of Burgundian 1470s. It’s a period I don’t know
