<< I'm doing some research on the german "Cranach" dress style. I would love to hear thoughts, ideas, websites etc. for a. Bodice: attached or not, b. is there a band of fabric from shoulder to shoulder at the back that is edited out of most paintings (But is often seen in the German housebook for example). c. closure in the side front? d. corset or no?>>
Ooh boy, can o worms here we come;) Seriously this style of dress is not as easily understood as many because we have to rely so much on artwork of the time, which as anyone knows is not an infallable method of understanding fine detail;) That said, there is a lot we can say about the Saxon court style based on paintings and woodcuts. Closure: I have never seen any example of back fastening, nor indeed a centre back seam in any of the artwork I've seen*. At least not prior to the take up of Spanish influenced dress of the later part of the century. Closed front bodices probaly closed up the side, and not side back. Again I have never seen evidence of side back seams in any of the paintings of German (or Swiss, or Austrian etc) women. Nor woodcuts either. Side seams are nearly invisible to us due to arms usually hiding that area. So it's mostly conjecture at this point. The open fronted bodices with lacing are probably fastened using the lacing and either hooks and eyes at the top or pins to keep the bust section in place. As for where the skirt fastens... either at the side front where the front of the bodice ends or at centre front. The Mary of Hungary dress which is contemporary with this style (and resembles it in a very toned down manner) appears to fasten at the centre front of the skirt. There is a centre front seam, so it makes sense to have the fastening there. Attachment of skirt: yes, sewn to the bodice. There are a few paintings where it seems that the gurads of the bodice extend over the skirt, but I'd like to see the paintings in person to see if there is a reason for it (restoration etc) Band: I honestly have no idea what you are referring to here. (Use of terms issue here rather than what we are seeing?) There are no bands edited out of paintings (restored? Omitted by the painter?) that I have heard of. The only bands I can think of in the Master of the House Book appear on the front of male and female garments. They are more like lacing rather than bands as well. There is the brustfleck which is worn on somehting that is widely argued about;) The decorative band that sits on top of the (usually) white section above the lacing at the front is what I am referring to. Corsets: well..... there is a woodcut that shows somehting that looks awfully like a (softly) boned garment like that worn by Eleanora di Toledo. It hooks up the font and shows equidistant vertical lines, as one would see in boning channels. However the garment is rather soft, so obviously not boned with anything rigid. It may even be simply quilted. In Textiler Hausrat there is mention of Mieder (translated as corsets) but as I don't have the book so I can't say how early this term is used, or if it's a term used by the author (the book is in German.) There are also examples in painting of what appear to be sleeveless bodices (hard to find the skirts so it's hard to say if it's just a bodice or a full length undergarment.) I've tried a pair of bodies, kirtles and a few self-supporting German dresses. I prefer the ease of a single layer (self supporting) but find it hard to adjust down when I stretch the dress with wear;) Or fom weight loss, which happens at each event longer than a day. I'm also heading into later period and am having to work out a few odd layers of a regional style dress;) I would heartily recommend underskirts if you don't go for a kirtle type garment, the skirts in Saxon Court dresses tend to have a fair bit of flair at the hem which do need some support. michaela de bruce http://costumes.glittersweet.com http://frazzledfrau.glittersweet.com * I have seen a tapestry (well photo of one) that shows funky back lacing, but it appears ot be decorative rather than finctional. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.12.4/142 - Release Date: 18/10/2005 _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
