Here it is folks, the almost-finished product and the bare-bones documentation I slapped together for the Liverymen display this weekend. I'll put together a much healthier doco in the near future with more detail which will be put up on an official site. I'll link in when it's done and goes live. (ETA: Apologies if there is a vast amount of blank webpage before the table - I just couldn't seem to get rid of it even though the code looks fine.)
But for now...
Introduction:
In 1558, Princess Elizabeth inherited a country virtually on its knees. Through her prudent guidance, by the end of her reign in 1603, England had become not only an economically viable country, but also went through a period of renaissance - the arts flourished, trade was expanded, the world explored.
For the people of England, it was a time of change. The printing press was invented at this time, so information was easily disseminated leading to new ways of thought and great advances were made in the fields of navigation and astronomy. Trade also flourished which lead to the emergence of the middle classes where the wealth of merchants began to rival that of the nobility. As a consequence of this emergence, sumptuary laws were reinstated to delineate between the classes - aspirations to rise above your station were high and to be favoured by the Queen was a great honour, especially during this time period.
One to receive the Queen’s favour was Helena Snakenborg (1549-1635). A visitor to London in 1565 as a young maid to a Swedish princess, Helena attracted the attention of the elderly William Parr, Marchess of Northampton (1513-71) and was convinced to remain in England after her husband’s death by the Queen herself. Helena ended up one of Elizabeth’s closest friends and served her faithfully right up to the Queen’s death.
The portrait to inspire this project is said to be of Helena Snakenborg, a suggestion made by the late Dr. Gunnar Sjogren, a Swedish literary historian, in 1979.
Aim:
To reproduce, in style, the dress as seen in this post for the purposes of having something swanky to wear rather than my usual lower- to middle-class clothing.
Materials and Methods:
The fabric selections came almost entirely from my fabric stash (save for the silk organza) and are the type and colour of fabric found during the Elizabethan age, except for the polyester used in the outer petticoat. That was chosen for the linen look to the fabric and the fact I had a lot of it, rather than going out to buy more.
A summary of the various pieces of the entire ensemble as it should be worn, and their relative construction, are listed in Table 1. All garments were mainly constructed by machine and finished by hand, unless otherwise noted.
The shirt was cut using extant garments (Arnold 2008) as a guide. The under petticoat was a tube of linen pleated onto cotton tape to reduce bulk at the waist. The pattern for the partlet and over petticoat was devised by me using the drape-and-pin-until-it-looks-right method. The hose pattern was also devised using this same method, except it was draped on me by Mistress Marguerite. The bum pad was taken from a commercially available pattern because the design allows for the pad to always sit at the hips and altered to reduce the size of the padding. Rather than reinvent the wheel, the pattern shapes for the corset, farthingale and gown were taken from Hunnisett 1991. The sleeves of the gown were drafted by Mistress Marguerite in a two-piece construction similar to those seen in Arnold 1985.
Table 1: All of the pieces of the Elizabethan ensemble and their relative construction. Note items marked with an asterisk (*) denote garments made previous to this project but utilised due to time constraints, items marked with a plus (+) have yet to be either completed or made.
But for now...
Introduction:
In 1558, Princess Elizabeth inherited a country virtually on its knees. Through her prudent guidance, by the end of her reign in 1603, England had become not only an economically viable country, but also went through a period of renaissance - the arts flourished, trade was expanded, the world explored.
For the people of England, it was a time of change. The printing press was invented at this time, so information was easily disseminated leading to new ways of thought and great advances were made in the fields of navigation and astronomy. Trade also flourished which lead to the emergence of the middle classes where the wealth of merchants began to rival that of the nobility. As a consequence of this emergence, sumptuary laws were reinstated to delineate between the classes - aspirations to rise above your station were high and to be favoured by the Queen was a great honour, especially during this time period.
One to receive the Queen’s favour was Helena Snakenborg (1549-1635). A visitor to London in 1565 as a young maid to a Swedish princess, Helena attracted the attention of the elderly William Parr, Marchess of Northampton (1513-71) and was convinced to remain in England after her husband’s death by the Queen herself. Helena ended up one of Elizabeth’s closest friends and served her faithfully right up to the Queen’s death.
The portrait to inspire this project is said to be of Helena Snakenborg, a suggestion made by the late Dr. Gunnar Sjogren, a Swedish literary historian, in 1979.
Aim:
To reproduce, in style, the dress as seen in this post for the purposes of having something swanky to wear rather than my usual lower- to middle-class clothing.
Materials and Methods:
The fabric selections came almost entirely from my fabric stash (save for the silk organza) and are the type and colour of fabric found during the Elizabethan age, except for the polyester used in the outer petticoat. That was chosen for the linen look to the fabric and the fact I had a lot of it, rather than going out to buy more.
A summary of the various pieces of the entire ensemble as it should be worn, and their relative construction, are listed in Table 1. All garments were mainly constructed by machine and finished by hand, unless otherwise noted.
The shirt was cut using extant garments (Arnold 2008) as a guide. The under petticoat was a tube of linen pleated onto cotton tape to reduce bulk at the waist. The pattern for the partlet and over petticoat was devised by me using the drape-and-pin-until-it-looks-right method. The hose pattern was also devised using this same method, except it was draped on me by Mistress Marguerite. The bum pad was taken from a commercially available pattern because the design allows for the pad to always sit at the hips and altered to reduce the size of the padding. Rather than reinvent the wheel, the pattern shapes for the corset, farthingale and gown were taken from Hunnisett 1991. The sleeves of the gown were drafted by Mistress Marguerite in a two-piece construction similar to those seen in Arnold 1985.
Table 1: All of the pieces of the Elizabethan ensemble and their relative construction. Note items marked with an asterisk (*) denote garments made previous to this project but utilised due to time constraints, items marked with a plus (+) have yet to be either completed or made.
| Shift (chemise) | Pre-made* from off-white linen. Item cut as per period extant examples as seen in Arnold 2008. Major seams sewn by machine with all finishing done by hand. |
| Hose | Hand sewn white linen using silk thread. Item cut as per a period example from Arnold 2001. |
| Shoes | Modern shoes as bought from William’s several years ago. (Not displayed.) |
| Petticoat | Red linen knife pleated onto cotton tape to reduce bulk at the waist. Side seams and finishing done by hand. (Not displayed.) |
| Farthingale+ | Navy blue linen with orange satin channels supporting metal hoop boning from Hunnisett 1991. |
| Corset | Pre-made* from brocade outer, 12oz. canvas interlining and linen lining. All machine sewn. Stiffened with metal boning. |
| Bum Pad | Pre-made* from cotton using the ‘Shakespeare In Love’ pattern from Simplicity. Padded with polyester fibre-fill. |
| Petticoat (over farthingale) | Linen-look polyester, knife pleated onto cotton tape to reduce bulk. Hand sewn hem. |
| Partlet | Hand sewn white silk organza. Ties with grosgrain tape under the arms. Ruff cartridge pleated utilising the selvedge. Closes with hooks and hand sewn loops. |
| Gown | Orange silk dupion. Bodice and skirt made separately then sewn together at the back only to allow the front bodice point to sit easily. Bodice made of three piece construction, with an orange cotton lining and white coutil interlining. Bodice finished with bias-bound cotton piping. Skirt knife and roll-pleated to achieve a period silhouette and to fit all of the fabric into the waistband. Sleeve caps lined with white cotton, outer of white silk organza and panes and details of orange silk dupion lined with orange cotton. Each pane finished and whip stitched together. Finished sleeve caps were whip stitched to the bodice. Cut work on the orange silk velvet+ was facilitated using Fray Stop sparingly on the underside, cutting out the pattern with a blade, couching the gold jap into place with silk thread and hem stitching all the pieces onto the bodice and sleeve cap. |
| Sleeves | Off-white silk dupion lined with linen. Two piece construction as per extant examples as seen in Arnold 1985. |
| Sleeve Ruffs+ | Hand sewn white silk organza cartridge pleated onto a wristband. |
| Headwear | Off-white silk coif, lined with linen. Embellished with gold findings and garnet beads underneath a soft cap of black cotton velveteen+. |
| Jewellery | Neck chain is from a length of chain of unknown content bought from eBay eons ago. Girdle is mostly pearls with a period reproduction pomander (on loan from Mistress Gabrielle.) |
Results and Conclusions:
Nothing fell apart when it was worn at Rowany Yule 2009 and people complimented the dress so it must have worked.
Overall, I’m very pleased and proud of the result. I would have been happier if the ensemble was finished in its entirety, however familial concerns and a personal mid-year slump put the kibosh on those plans and I had to make do with what I had and what I could borrow.
There really isn’t anything I would change or do differently when I make something like this again (believe me, I will!). I have been in love with this style since my first big event (First Coronation, Canberra, 2002) and I’m pleased to have finally got off my behind and made it.
Future Directions:
Still to finish is the all-important cut velvet work with gold couching, and I meed to make a soft cap from black cotton velveteen, the farthingale and the sleeve ruffs.
Acknowledgements:
His Majesty Gabriel for the challenge, Lady Caterina Sansovino for some drop-dead hemming, Mistress Hunydd verch Maddyn Duy for the gift of the most perfect colour of silk velvet and for her infinite patience showing a non-embroiderer embroidery, and Mistress Gabrielle della Santa Croce for the loan of a beautiful girdle. Last but certainly not least, I’d like to thank Mistress Marguerite de Rada y Silva for being a wonderful mentor to her oftentimes slack apprentice.
Select Bibliography:
- Arnold, Janet. 2008. “Patterns of Fashion 4: The Cut and Construction of Linen Shirts, Smocks, Neckwear, Headwear and Accessories for Men and Women C. 1540-1660.” Costume and Fashion Press, UK.
- Arnold, Janet. 1985. “Patterns of Fashion: The Cut and Construction of Clothes for Men and Women C1560-1620.” Drama Publishers, Great Britain.
- Arnold, Janet. 2001. “Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'D.” Quite Specific Media Group Ltd, UK.
- Hunnisett, Jean. 1991. “Period Costume for Stage & Screen: Patterns for Women's Dress 1500-1800.” Players Press, US.
- Rowse, A.L. 1973. “The England of Elizabeth.” Cardinal Books, UK.
- Master of the Countess of Warwick. A Young Lady Aged 21, 1569. Tate Gallery, London. (http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=1497&searchid=18273&tabview=work) Updated May 2007. Accessed August 2009.
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