At 15:19 05/05/2006, you wrote:
Dear all
I am making a suit for a friend, based on the 1630s engravings by
Bosse - doublet and breeches, since he already has a shirt and
another friend is making his collar and cuffs.
What I can't work out is the waist of the breeches: in Historical
Costume in Detail, the development seems to be from points laced
through the doublet to the outside, forming decorative bows (which
remain after their functional job is gone) to using solid metal
hooks on the inside of the doublet.
None of this sits with the informal wear shown in Bosse, where the
breeches are shown sitting at the natural waist or below the paunch
since the doublet is generally worn open from mid-chest. Would they
be gathered onto a solid waistband and then buttoned (as the flies
were buttoned) or was there a 'drawstring' type option?
Bucknell shows both styles, from the very wide 'bag' breeches to the
narrower 'spanish' breeches, as being fastened to the doublet lining
- but wouldn't that give (being blunt) the wearer a bit of a wedgy,
especially since they are required for fencing?
I hope that someone who has worn or made a pair before has some
feedback on their comfort - it's not a style I've ever worn myself
and I ain't fond of modern trousers either! :-)
Thanks again - it's nice to be doing something different and a new
type of research..
Katherine S.
There are good clear patterns in "Cut of Men's Clothes" by Norah
Waugh, and in "Patterns of Fashion 1560-1620" by Janet Arnold. You
will find the Arnold the most helpful I think.
(You can lace the breeches to the doublet on the inside, without the
bows showing on the outside, or you can make hooks and bars to join
them If your friend is planning on being particularly energetic, a
theatre trick worth noting is to sew the hooks on so they hang from a
short piece of elastic, sewing them to the doublet, and sew the bars
to the breeches - it allows a bit more ease than sewing everything on tight.)
Suzi
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