My First 17th century Kirtle & Gown
Last November, I was invited to attend a Renaissance-themed party here in Virginia. While I had a full year to put together an outfit, I was unsure which era of the Renaissance I was most interested in (given that there were plenty that spanned from the 14th to the 17th centuries all over Europe and the Americas; not to mention the Stuart period in England and America that lasted from 1603-1714). It dawned on me that given the area of Virginia that I live in, there are historic places that I could really pull from, such as Historic Jamestown, Henricus Historical Park in Chester, and Bacon's Castle in Surry. With this little history lesson being said, this period could work well. It would be flexible enough for a Renaissance festival and a future 17th-century historic event. While I do not have many pictures from the party, the event occurred at the very beautiful Virginia House in Richmond. I had only been to Agecroft Hall, its next-door neighbor, but my goodness, the grounds were ...