At the start of this week, Sarah dropped off my new Venetian courtesan gown. This is the “real” version, in the expensive silk damask, as opposed to the tourney version in cotton damask. I need to hem & trim the gown & make the sleeves. The first two tasks are pretty straightforward, but the sleeves
Some time ago, my good friend Sarah collected some historical images documenting 16th-century women wearing crowns, because it often seems like a rare thing. We see queens & female nobility of earlier eras decked in towering regalia, but crowns / coronets / tiaras / diadems & the like almost go out of fashion for the
I haven’t been able to sew for weeks now due to an eye infection that’s limiting the fine, detail vision in my right eye. So I’ve made minimal progress on the actual Flemish gown — I did pleat the skirt & try to sew it to the bodice, but it kind of looks like monkeys
The heart-shaped cap most famously worn by Mary Queen of Scots goes by many names and its construction has been up for debate. The style was not just worn by this queen — it was common among upper-class women of the late 16th century in England and France. While modern costumers may know it as
The Flemish gown research has become an excuse to make funny hats. YAY!!!! Because there are few things I love more than wearing crazy things on my head. First, I thought, oh sure, I’ll need some nice little linen cap. Then it looked like maybe a new type of wired cap a la Netherlands (because,
And not just because I’ve had a head cold for the past week (yeah, Flemish, not phlem-ish, har har). I started a little sewing this weekend. Kendra gave me an old project of hers, when I bought a bunch of wool from her last year. It was originally her 1560s nuremburg dress from ages ago,
Aka, finally a new 12th Night gown, aka Trystan wants a black dress, or more properly, a 1560s Medici-inspired Florentine gown. But the impetus for this gown is that one of my best friends in the whole world, Sarah Lorraine, was offered membership in the Order of the Laurel in the Society for Creative Anachronism.
I have an itch to revamp the Veronese overgown in time for Folsom Renaissance Faire, since it looks like the Chateau Rose will be attending in one form or another. And if I can’t have an actual new gown, the next best thing is to remake an old one. My idea is to make it
In one of my insomniac moments last night, I fantasized about making a new black 1570s gown to wear to Much Ado About Sebastapol. *sigh* There are many things stacked against that happening, the biggest being I’m critically low on time, and second, I’d need a new pattern draft, ideally fitted by someone better than
This article is an accompaniment to a lecture and demonstration class I taught at the SCA West Kingdom’s Collegium Occidentalis XLV in November 2010 and at Costume College in July 2011. It’s intended as a practical lesson in how to recreate the look of upper-class hair fashions of late 16th-century England. The first half of
By Lady Violet Ruthvene in the SCA This is an accompaniment to a lecture and demonstration class I taught at the Province of Southern Shores’ Newcomers Tourney in May 2011. This is intended as a guide to help those starting out in the Society for Creative Anachronism to improve their costumes in easy, budget-friendly
I’ve been debating about the structure of the bodice for La Junesse. Basically, whether to put it over a corset or not. The inspiration gown is prob. 1580s-90s and so is my SCA persona. Now, I have a feeling I will veer away significantly from that picture — my gown will be pink, it will
I was perusing my links of “random costumes I dig,” as one does, and what rises to the top but this pretty pink dress, aka, La jeunesse painted by Santi di Tito in the late 16th century, I’d guess 1580s-90s. Omg, that is exactly what I need to cure my ‘not feeling pretty in anything
While the sewing is on hold, the research continues! I just returned from the U.K. where I finally got to see both portraits in person — and, wow, they are totally different! It’s not merely a difference in image reproduction. The originals may show the same person in the same pose and gown, but the
For once (or maybe twice) in my life, I’m drawing something of a blank when it comes to trim patterns. Maybe because the outfit is outside of my usual style or maybe because I’ve been cranking through a bunch of other costumes recently. So, I’m looking to the LJ hivemind, you’re my only hope! I