The research I did was for the middle to almost the end of Henry VIII's reign, roughly from the 1520s-1545. I did not get into the specific fashions of Edward or Mary's reigns. While some speculated that Jane Seymour's portrait showed a farthingale (to me it showed a smooth front with too much hidden by sleeves to know for sure either way), or that Catherine of Aragon brought the Spanish farthingale to court, the records seemed to support that farthingales in England were not used by the English court until Elizabeth gets hers in 1545 as noted in the tailors record. Admittedly, the records are incomplete. But this seems to fit the general images of the time period. Henry VIII died in 1547, so during the majority of his reign women didn't use farthingales. Also, the style of sleeves seems to shift to larger, grander designs once the farthingale gains prominence.
As to the early part of Henry's reign, it is possible to slightly modify Margo's pattern to fit that part of the reign. For those who want to use a farthingale, Margo's Underpinnings pattern already has one included, and it is based on Alcega's design. On a non-research related note but from one of my own experiences, it is my hope to get people away from using a farthingale at Henrician events, as it is a fall-back undergarment that everyone seems to wear for convenience, aesthetics, and for other reasons. While I don't know the specific reasons Margo didn't include it anyway (she could have), I hope that in not having one, people will come to understand that farthingales are not required under every Henrician gown. While this may be a given for those who already understand the fashions of the time period, most people don't have this basic understanding, at least among those I've worked with... and that included myself some time back. Kimiko --- On Sun, 6/14/09, Elizabeth Walpole <[email protected]> wrote: > Is there a farthingale pattern? That > seems to be the only significant thing > missing, you've got all the accessories and the underwear > except for a > farthingale and possibly petticoats. It doesn't seem like a > complete package > without a farthingale, as you can't get the proper > 1540s-50s upper class > silhouette without one. > Elizabeth _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
