Please note that silk is a warm fabric. I believe that if you line your garment with silk you may be insulating it. If your area is prone to heat then you may not wish to line in silk. Nor would you wish to have silk next to the body in heat as it tend to cling to the body from the sweat it produces. I do not think that corsets were used in England at this time but I am not 100% sure. If there was a corset, it would have been made of linen or linen and wool. but I think the support is mainly from the kirtle. For gowns where you can not see a chemise, it has been surmised that the person is wearing a smock which is like a slip that is not gathered at the neck but is cut to be just under the kirtle and dress neckline. http://www.margospatterns.com/mainframe.htm go to "Under Pinnings" pattern, click on it. Go to "Two styles of smock, w/partlet" click. It is the first smock that I am talking about but not tapered in the sleeves so that you can gather them into a cuff. I believe that this may be a possibility with this dress from indication of the shift/chemise cuff gathering. The gathering is not extensive but indicative of a straight sleeve lightly gathered. As far as I know the kirtle from this period does not have short sleeves but this doesn't mean there wasn't some with short sleeves. Does your source for short sleeve kirtles state where one can find the it? I would be interested. Hope all this makes sense. De Recovering from bronchitis so brain not quite pass first gear.
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