Another CoCo has come and gone, and we survived! Well, except for some epically awful concrud, wherein most everyone I know came down with a nasty headcold immediately after Costume College. While I rarely, if ever, make elaborate new costumes for CoCo, I still have a blast attending for two reasons: I love teaching classes
I’ve only been wanting to make this gown for a decade. No lie — my first blog post about it was in 2009, and I’ve loved the portrait for longer. So for my birthday this year, I planned a fancy dress party where I would be the queen, wearing this dress, surrounded by my ‘court’
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
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
It is begun! I cut the pink taffeta, spray-basted it to some white twill for body, and sewed all the side seams of the bodice. Then I started hand-sewing on the trim. Have to start with trim over the seam lines, you see, then work out in 1.5″ spacing. I’m not actually doing the exact
I’ve loved this dress since I first saw the portrait in a book, sometime in the early 1990s. It’s the classic refutation of “pink is not period” for renaissance faire or SCA. It’s super-girly. It’s fantastic! It’s very Pretty Pretty Princess! This has been my dream gown, and dammit, I’m going to make it. So