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 breathtaking and ideal for many photographic opportunities. It's been 8 months since I last posted on my Blogspot (truth be told, I forgot I had it until I was cleaning up my desktop today.) With that being said, I have a lot of catching up to do.

So, here's my first outfit that I had been meaning to post back in November. . .

This outfit was in response to a Renaissance-themed party that I was invited to last November. I had a full year to put together an outfit, but I was unsure which part of the Renaissance I was most interested in. It dawned on me that given the area of Virginia that I live in, such as Historic Jamestown and Bacon's Castle in Surry, the 17th-century late Elizabethan period and the early Stuart period could work well. It would be flexible enough for both a Renaissance festival or attending a 17th-century historic event.

While I do not have many pictures from the party, the event was held at the lovely Virginia House in Richmond. I had only been to Agecroft Hall, its next-door neighbor, but the grounds were breathtaking and ideal for many photographic opportunities. 


Designed to resemble a 17th-century mansion, this house is one of the many crowned jewels in Richmond, Virginia. Inside you'd immediately find yourself stepping foot into the large wooden main hall, that opened up next to a drawing room, a dining room, a vast library of antique books, several other enclaves and hidden rooms, and of course, the breathtaking pleasure gardens out back. 



As mentioned earlier, 16th and 17th-century fashions are not my strong suit, so I sought help from Samantha from "The Costume Courtesan " who not only walked me through the necessary steps to making a proper kirtle but shared with me some really cool tips and tricks of working with stiffer materials such as buckram.



If there is another opportunity to wear my gown again, I plan to add decoration and trim to the outfit to give it more of a versatile look. Lately, the "Kampfrau" women's gowns that resemble 17th-century German Lanskinecht have been all over my Pinterest board as of late. (example below). I am definitely in love with the blend of bold colors and the overall unique style of the Germanic gowns <3 





 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bram Stoker's Dracula Movie (1992) Synopsis Pt. I

Image
Going back a little further here on the movies that I feel are now 90's classics, I definitely want to review this movie that I felt had good acting, really good special effects, perfect actors that matched the characters in the novel, and of course the beautiful costumes that surprisingly carried cultural and religious symbolism. I'll also talk about the comparisons between the movie and the novel itself. While the movie is tightly based on the novel, there are some contrasts that I'm sure you will find just as surprising. (Spoiler: This is a synopsis) The movie opens up with Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker, a solicitor, embarking on a long and arduous journey into the Carpathian mountains of Transylvania to meet the elusive and mysterious Count Dracula. . . . I'm sorry, that's not how it began. That was in the book. The movie actually opens up with a viscous war going on in 15th century Transylvania, with Prince Vlad Tepes (played by Gary Oldman), killin...
Read more

Fichu construction & Tutorial

Image
First bit of progress done With only 5 days left until the battle reenactment at Mount Vernon, I realized I didn't have anything to work on for a demo for my seamstress impression. Then it hit me: why not a fichu/neckerchief? It would be really easy and quick to sew, and I wouldn't have to keep track of all the pattern pieces (considering it's only a giant triangle). That in mind, I got right down to it and started cutting the fabric out of 100% cotton striped remnant I picked up from Burnley & Trowbridge this past weekend. While I could have sewn this up in a heartbeat with the sewing machine, I opted to be more traditional and sew it all by hand; I wanted this piece to be historically accurate for educational purposes (since sewing machines weren't invented until the late 1800's). I won't have this project finished until Sunday for demonstration purposes, but I can't wait to have it completely finished. If you'd like to make your own, ...
Read more

Time Skip Perona Cosplay dress Part II

Image
As mentioned before in my last post I'm getting started on my Perona cosplay early for Anime USA. For the dress's construction, I made the bodice out of a corset pattern, and added a zipper in the back and a large ruffle on the bottom to act as the top skirt tier for the dress. For the next couple of tiers I had to do some brainstorming, because if I continued to sew all 4 tiers to the bodice, the weight alone would cause it to slide down. Now there is the option of sewing clear bra straps to the bodice, but at the same time they're not really something that I'm fond of. With that being said, I grabbed the next color, the orchid/lavender, and used an elastic waistband and made a skirt. This would relieve the extra gravity off of the bodice, and focus on the hips. As I worked my way down each tier, I did have a few mishaps such as making the ruffles; with all of the fabric being seriously heavy on my little sewing machine, it would unravel and I'd have...
Read more