RE: [h-cost] Closure on June gown
In the end, the pattern I used is much more like a working gown that a fitted, multi-seamed gown. In fact, it's only got the two side seams, with the width of the skirt built in. (I started with a mundane tunic pattern where you lay the piece on the fold. Then I pin one pin at the center top then swing the bottom corner way out away from the center.) The only curve is a little nip at the side seam waist. It was easy, I can do it myself in the middle of the night, and it's easy to adjust. I also just have too much tummy and too little bosom for a Medieval Fitted Gown to look anything but dumpy on me. (That's the Elizabethan in me, squeaking complaint.) I'll do pictures as soon as it's done. So except for the richness of the blue, and the fineness of the wool, it would probably pass for a house servant's dress. I prefer to think of it as Her Ladyship supervising the spring cleaning at the manor house. Thanks for all the notes. MaggiRos --- Robin Netherton [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I consider the image to be romanticized for reasons other than color. In particular, this is the only image I have seen of a peasant wearing a tightly fitted dress, a style popular among the upper class and moneyed middle class. Although it would be physically possible to do fieldwork in this sort of gown, it would be an unlikely choice, and not economically viable for women of this class for a variety of reasons. Such a dress is more expensive to make; it would not hold up as well to hard work as would a looser dress with fewer curved seams and less stress on the seams, and thus would need replacement sooner; and it is not as easily passed down to other wearers as a less fitted dress. --Robi ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
RE: [h-cost] Closure on June gown
Years ago, new to reenacting, I made one of these, too. My skill level was much lower then. I basically made a t-tunic and made sure to make it too small, so the front opening was necessary. I no longer have the thing but I do remember that it was easy to make and the lacing did all the fitting for me and I lent it to other women who were different sizes and it still worked. If I recall, I didn't have a lot of fabric and was able to make a dress with a pretty decent amount of skirt (gores). And I do know that I didn't have a lot of scrap left over, so it was a pretty efficient use of material. Now, what I made was a glorified T-tunic. And I understand that this might not have been the approach a peasant woman of the day would have taken. But the look was achievable by at least one method of simple cutting not that far removed from the looser peasant approach to clothing construction. I don't doubt the June scene is somewhat idyllic. But I don't think that means such dresses were never worn at all by peasants. Astrida ** Astrida Schaeffer, Assistant Director The Art Gallery University of New Hampshire Paul Creative Arts Center 30 College Road Durham, NH 03824 (603) 862-0310 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fax: (603) 862-2191 ** ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
RE: [h-cost] Closure on June gown
On Tue, 17 Apr 2007, Schaeffer, Astrida wrote: ... Now, what I made was a glorified T-tunic. And I understand that this might not have been the approach a peasant woman of the day would have taken. But the look was achievable by at least one method of simple cutting not that far removed from the looser peasant approach to clothing construction. I don't doubt the June scene is somewhat idyllic. But I don't think that means such dresses were never worn at all by peasants. I think there's a long scale between unfitted and highly fitted; it's not an either-or situation. The style that I was suggesting was unlikely to be routinely worn by peasants is the highly fitted, bust-elevating, body-manipulating type. (Note I say unlikely and routinely here; I wouldn't say never, but it's not a logical choice, and it's not supported by the evidence from the period.) The Limbourgs painted the June fieldworker in the same manner and with the same silhouette as they painted noblewomen; it's sort of a stock figure for them. This is the characteristic I find suspect when assessing the realism of the image. More realistically, you can get some gown shaping, as opposed to tight fitting, by doing exactly as you described above. If you're young, perky, and lucky, you may have something of the fashionable silhouette all on your own without the dress doing it for you, and a shaped dress will approximate the look. If you aren't young and perky, you'll need the dress to do more work, and that's where you get into the higher-class tailoring of the highly fitted dress. --Robin ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
RE: [h-cost] Closure on June gown
If you're young, perky, and lucky, you may have something of the fashionable silhouette all on your own without the dress doing it for you, and a shaped dress will approximate the look. If you aren't young and perky, you'll need the dress to do more work, and that's where you get into the higher-class tailoring of the highly fitted dress. Considering that I was in my early 20s, that may be why it worked! ; ) I should try the experiment again on my early 40s, post-baby body A ** Astrida Schaeffer, Assistant Director The Art Gallery University of New Hampshire Paul Creative Arts Center 30 College Road Durham, NH 03824 (603) 862-0310 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fax: (603) 862-2191 ** ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
[h-cost] Re: 18th century theatrical costumes.
This may be too late to be of any use to you (1799-1849) but the New York Public Library has a nice collection of theater cards showing actors in their costumes: http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/explore/dgexplore.cfm?topic=artscollection=PennyPlainsandTwopencol_id=152 The costumes don't look like regular clothes of the time - they are very exaggerated and over-the-top. Janet Great - I enjoyed browsing through these. To my eyes, the women's costumes look very much influenced by the current fashions of the1830s, which always do strike me as over-the-top. The historical and exotic costumes are pretty fanciful, but the numerous sailor characters are wearing pretty much what sailors of the time would have worn, at least for best. Kate Bunting Librarian and 17th century reenactor ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] lifetime antique/vintage costume dispersement
Fran, I have just returned from the Auction hall. After telling me that the first day things would not be on line to see, I have just spent the last 7 hours photographing a goodly number of clothing that will be offered on the 28th. My instructions were to select some of the quality pieces that would be representative of the offerings for Day One. So, done! I hope you were able to bring up a picture listing of some of the assessories that will be featured on the 28th. Cheers, kathleen - Original Message - From: Lavolta Press [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Historical Costume [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 10:34 PM Subject: Re: [h-cost] lifetime antique/vintage costume dispersement I could never bring myself to part with my stuff . . . Thanks. Fran LLOYD MITCHELL wrote: Fran - That will be fine, and thanks! Kathleen - Original Message - From: Lavolta Press [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Historical Costume [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 9:36 PM Subject: Re: [h-cost] lifetime antique/vintage costume dispersement Thanks! Is it OK if I pass this email on to another list where I mentioned the auction? Thanks, Fran ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] lifetime antique/vintage costume dispersement
Thanks for taking the time! I'll go look. Fran LLOYD MITCHELL wrote: Fran, I have just returned from the Auction hall. After telling me that the first day things would not be on line to see, I have just spent the last 7 hours photographing a goodly number of clothing that will be offered on the 28th. My instructions were to select some of the quality pieces that would be representative of the offerings for Day One. So, done! I hope you were able to bring up a picture listing of some of the assessories that will be featured on the 28th. Cheers, kathleen - Original Message - From: Lavolta Press [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Historical Costume [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 10:34 PM Subject: Re: [h-cost] lifetime antique/vintage costume dispersement I could never bring myself to part with my stuff . . . Thanks. Fran LLOYD MITCHELL wrote: Fran - That will be fine, and thanks! Kathleen - Original Message - From: Lavolta Press [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Historical Costume [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 9:36 PM Subject: Re: [h-cost] lifetime antique/vintage costume dispersement Thanks! Is it OK if I pass this email on to another list where I mentioned the auction? Thanks, Fran ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
[h-cost] Cavalier/Roundhead Lady Spies
Hello ! While I was researching recently for an essay about local effects of the English Civil War, I came across this item in The English Civil war: A People's History by Diane Purkiss, (page 282). Messengers, scouts and spies, including 'certain adventurous women' concealing secret dispatches in their voluminous skirts, passed to and fro, often using High Wycombe as their base. (High Wycombe - where I live - was about half way, (about 30 miles each way), between the royal court at Oxford and Parliamentary London, and had lots of inns and major markets.) This piece about the 'adventurous women' has excited my curiosity, so that I'd love to know how they might have hidden their dispatches. Unfortunately I've no idea what women were wearing at the time. Would they have sewn them into a hem? Tucked them into some sort of hip padding? Inside a lining? The author doesn't footnote her source, so I've no way of following up the story, but if anyone recognises it, I'd dearly love to know about that, too. From the context, it seems to refer to about 1643. Yours gratefully, Linda Walton, (of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, U.K.) ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
RE: [h-cost] 18th century theatre costumes
Interesting that they costumed George IV, (r. 1820-1830), in quasi Elizabethan garb. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of JAMES OGILVIE Sent: Monday, April 16, 2007 7:13 PM To: Historical Costume Subject: Re: [h-cost] 18th century theatre costumes This may be too late to be of any use to you (1799-1849) but the New York Public Library has a nice collection of theater cards showing actors in their costumes: http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/explore/dgexplore.cfm?topic=arts; collection=PennyPlainsandTwopencol_id=152 The costumes don't look like regular clothes of the time - they are very exaggerated and over-the-top. Janet ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
