I'd say the major point was conspicuous consumption. I think they are
very impressive looking especialy the ones where the pleats are
alternating colors and sometimes have two colors stacked on top of each
other. I am thinking mostly of the miliatary bases in this case, but I
think I remember one woman's gown with alternating colors. (Oddly
enough, as I recall it was it a book on the Elizabethan time period).
These to me, are a clear indicator of one of the ways the organ pipe
pleats are made. If you can find the pictures of the military bases (I
have them somewhere, I will look for those too), they show that the
pleats are actually seams sewing the triangular "gores" together To hold
the shape of the pleats they ran a tape along the back in several
places. I wouldn't be surprised if they were stuffed in some cases.
Sg
Kathryn Parke wrote:
This is fascinating -- thank you! It seems rather impractical, though -- does
it provide extra warmth, perhaps, having all that extra fabric? Or was it just
one more conspicuous consumption thing, do you suppose? I can certainly see
how the men would appreciate looking that much more bulked-up -- I'm thinking
of Henry VIII's enormous silhouette -- but I'd think the weight alone would
make it far less comfortable than other styles.
KP
_______________________________________________
h-costume mailing list
[email protected]
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
