Summer events 2018

It sure was a rather busy spring and summer for us!  Let us have a brief recap…

1. Medieval Wedding

The end of spring  started with a medieval wedding of two friends – I made some of their finery and Lucas  ( Timelight Photographic) was their official tog – for both the prewedding photoshoot and for the big day as well 🙂

I was attending an equestrian event in Devon earlier on that day, but fiished early, packed up and drove to the venue in dorset just in time for a lovely evening with the newlyweds:-)

 

2. Peterborough Heritage Festival

This is our regular event, as I was  yet again portraying Catherine of Aragon, whereas Lucas was the Old Scarlett gravedigger on one day and the HIghwayman on the other. We also did a very busy school day on Friday –  kids do ask the best questions, never boring!

The weather was well, like most of the summer, scorchingly hot, but somehow we managed in our wools and silks -the natral fabrics do breathe well and covering the scin from the direct sun has a trememdous impact! as was keeping to the shade…

and a few images from John Moore Photography…

and the ‘after hours’ feels….

3. Huntingtonshire HIstory Festival

This was a cracking mid 17th century event in the centre of the town – outside displays, battle drills etc, Cromwell’s Museum tours, as well as individual displays. I was demonstrating  lacemaking techniques, and Lucas was talking about medicinal practices of the era. We were based in a lovely courtroom – and it was just a few steps to the adjoining room where the public could witness a proper trial of  the folks accuses of siding with the roualists… lots of fun! (for details check the Cromwell Museum )

It was just a one day event, but a very busy one – we wre both hoars from talking by the end!

during the day…

and a short video of the plaited bobbin lace 🙂

 

4.Milton Keynes : Victorian Weekend  at the MK Museum

Again,  this is our regular event where I display a variety of clothing from the era, both originals and replicas,

There is a lot going on at the museum – soldier display,  tea with Queen V, sidesaddle show,  Dickens telling stories… lots. you can see it all well captures in Timelight Photographic album here-

5. Tudor Joust at the Hampton Court

An amazing spectacle  organised jointly by Griffin HIstorical and Past Pleasures, with  international jousters. Great fun, despite the heat, and a great privilage to be invited too!

Again, proper media coverage by Photosm – here  – below a couple of images of us 🙂

And a few  behind the scenes, taken during the rample around the palace

Including a bit of a ‘glide’ practice i always fancied having a go at 🙂 not as tricky as it looks, simply a lot of tiny, fast steps. Though a rumba  might work just as well 🙂

 

6. St. Neots History Festival

Another regular one – this year it was a multi-period event with a lot of things going on –  craft demos, suffragets, barbers, quacks and philosophers ( Lucas as Newton included),  entertainment and kids games.

 

 

I was talking about the history of the sidesaddle and  many a delighted child got to sit on my trusty old Mayhew:-). Lots of folks seems realy surprised at the construction details and could finally understand why we dont fall off that easily – the pommels give us a good purchase! 🙂

 

Next summer is already looking just as busy – if you fancy hiring us, the full list of what we can do is here  🙂

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Medieval Glamping at Sudeley Castle

After last year’s success at Sudeley castle , the Black Knight Historical team were invited once more – and that meant we were hired to entertain the visitors. The theme changed however – whereas last year we were inside the castle, doing 17th century stuff ( lace making, apothecary/early science), this time it was all about Richard III.

Which meant Lucas was one of the Richard’s cronies, Ratcliffe, and I was his wife Agnes. Which meant – posh stuff, posh tent, poshness galore, even more so since Eleanor (as Cecille Neville, Duchess of York, mother to the king) was to reside in our tent too.

And all of which meant that I needed to update my wardrobe. I had one posh frock but needed another one, plus a new kirtle, posher than the woollen ones I already had.

Because one posh frock is never enough…

And as it happened I just managed to grab some lovely silks at the last market. They were supposed to go towards stock items, but I just couldn’t resist… not only that, I simply couldn’t afford much mid-season ( we had spent a bit on updating the tent’s interior), so I simply had to make do with whatever I had in my silk stash.

So, for a late 15th century I decided on a kirtle in this style, from the Marie of Burgundy portrait – especially since the silk  I had, from Watts&CO, was almost exactly the same ..

I did not have time for the trim, belt and a new henin, but since it wasn’t meant to be an exact copy, the rest of the details could wait their turn ( I wonder how long will that be..). The rest however worked well.

The style is almost a transition gown, when the flat fronted kirtle started improving in cut and began to fit nicely, slowly transitioning into the kirtles of the early Tudor style.

Working on the back of the bodice, attaching lining

Mine is lined with  brown silk ( gold/orange for the sleeves), and the bodice section is strengthened with one layer of fine linen canvas – more than enough to keep one’s assets in place; Indeed I quickly discovered that it was giving me much more of a cleavage than I had reckoned for! At the event, for modesty’s sake, I covered the bosom with a placard or a linen neckerchief, but the frock will need to be adjusted so that  the neckline will go up a bit. Heaving bosoms are not exactly the way to go in high medieval fashion… (more on silhouettes across the ages here)

The sleeves are funky. I laced up mine with lovely points made by Lucy the Tudor; the dress fastens at the back with a longer lace too.

 The kirtle worked wonderfully – I wore it on its own ( that is with a chemise, hose, headgear, etc) when inside the tent. The tent represented my household so it was still proper to be on a slightly more relaxed footing, without the overgown. I was at home, weaving, while my important and recently-made-very-wealthy husband was discussing important business with the king. And the queen mother just happened to pay a visit…

So a great compromise, posh enough to be seen indoors – and, for one day at least, it was a blessing since it was incredibly hot!  3 layers is not much, but  it just wasn’t too nice to be sweating!

I was mostly sitting in the shade, and demonstrating weaving – both on a rigid heddle and on tablets, and both styles proved to be very popular with the visitors. I enjoyed long and detailed chats about the history of weaving narrow wares, textiles etc, and  it was a pleasure to exchange views and information with a very polite and well informed public. A few  ladies  had actually had a go at the weaving themselves 🙂

Threading the little loom with linen threads in preparation for tablet weaving

Tablet weaving in action

Eleanor talking to the visitors – wearing a Prior Attire gown in gold metallic silk too!

As far as the gown was concerned, I had a length of black damask and was hoping it would be just enough…

After some serious calculations ( yes! maths happened!), measurements, and drafting, trying to plan how much of the fabric I could use, and still match the pattern, it transpired that it was just enough for a voluminous gown with a modest train. I didn’t mind the modest train, my other frock has a long one, so a variety is there – plus I planned to posh this frock up with some fur…

The first lady in the black was my generic inspiration – again, the fabric seems almost exactly the same style!

The fur was purchased from GH leathers  – 2 plates of white rabbit ( oh, and one of black for Lucas – didn’t I mention he was getting a new robe too?)

The gown was cut and made, lined with red silk and then the purfells  were prepared – fur was cut to shape for the hem, collar and cuffs, and the borders were secured with tape.

Then they were studiously attached to the garment, by hand – it takes some time, but the whole process of preparing and attaching the purfells was worth it – the fur lies flat and neat!

I put on the gown next morning and we had a mini photo-shoot in the castle grounds before the public stormed in 🙂

I must admit that I like the comfortable, shorter gown without a huge train to lug behind, and the basic colours looked elegant – with just a hint of clashing reds and vibrant greens from the kirtle:-)

Flashing the greens, matching the foliage around!

The back view

We found some nice windows for an atmospheric shot…

…but the wind was playing up with my veil a lot – so had to swap sides!

The grounds of Sudeley Castle are breathtaking, and the event went well the next day too – it was cooler, so I got to wear the dress most of the day, but it also rained rather a lot. However, Brits  are used to this weather so we still had lots of visitors, though instead of sun hats and sandals they came armed with wellies and umbrellas:-)

The king ( Jason Kingsley)  was around on both days, taking part at ceremonies, public dinners, shows and also entertaining the public while giving short demonstrations of exquisite horsemanship on ‘White Surrey’ (actually Warlord)

A sneaky picture from the tent…

There were a lot of  things to see – soldiers, kitchens, craftsmen, camp followers, storytelling, a whole bunch of Richard’s many cronies, a fashion show  – in short enough to occupy a family for a day ( plus  for the visitors nice food, the castle, medieval market, ice cream, and beautiful gardens to roam around).

In short, an exquisite event, probably the most enjoyable tented event of the year – and indeed staying in a posh medieval tent was very much like glamping…  all the things we have accumulated over the years, fur covers, woven mats, tables, tapestries, lanterns, etc – it was all worth every penny; not only to see the pleasant surprise on the  public’s faces – but for our own comfort!

Despite the rain, the tent was dry, and the mats got  lightly wet at the edges only.  The bed with its layers of sheepskin and wool bedding, with coverings made in wool and fur was not only warm but comfy ( Lucas may have a different opinion, as I got the bed before I knew him – so it is a tad too short for him). Me, I enjoy sleeping under the canvas, especially in the rain – so I loved every minute!

Tapestries made a real difference too, as well as all the paraphernalia – lots to talk about to the visitors. Some of the items were provided by Eleanor (the games table, religious items, a chair, etc. Still, there’s an ever growing list of what we need for the tent – more chests, more wall coverings, more chairs.. I now want a standing loom too… So, it looks as if we may need a trailer… or a van….

Oh, and did I mention that Lucas got a new robe? There it is, in  the same silk as my kirtle, so we were matching 🙂 I still have enough of it to make another short robe, I may  yet make a stock item after all…

reading from Chaucer…:-)

And the usual  facts and credits…….

Green kirtle – fabric – 4m of green silk, £115 per metre from the website if I remember well, but I managed to grab a roll at the market at a £80 per metre:-)

4m of taffeta for lining, £25 per metre

silk laces, £25

overall cost of materials –  £450

The gown:

Black damask – 7m @ £60 per metre,

Red taffeta for lining  – £6m @ £25

Fur – £150

Overall cost of materials: –  £650

…and the article on  how to make Burgundian dress and a kirtle here...

With more medieval inspiration here –

Clothes – Prior Attire

Lovely bling (I got a hat gem specially for the event) – as always, by Gemmeus

Belt –  Bayley Heritage Castings

Shoes and pattens – NP Historical shoes

Photography – Pitcheresque Imagery

And the good news is – it looks like the event  will be back next August, 20/21st!! 🙂  a new page has been created for the event, so keep your eyes peeled! 🙂

Fun Medieval Photoshoot

Sometimes the timing is just right – a few months ago I was preparing stock items for the approaching market, and  it just happened that a friend and a client was stopping by  on her way to Devon. We had fitting scheduled for her new Victorian outfit, but  on an impulse we  decided to do a min shoot of the stock medieval items – using Amy and me as Models, and accompanied by  Amy’s ferrets and bird.

 You will no doubt recognize Amy ( the owner of Feathers&Flight Historical Falconry) from our precious shoot as she was the awesome Neobedouin and  Neonavajo in our Steampunk Amazones collection

 And so without further ado a plan was hatched –  Amy came over ( not without adventures – blowing her tire  just off the motorway, abut 15 min away from us), fitting was done, pizza consumed and we set about photographing 4 medieval gowns. It was also a test of one of our new backgrounds, so lots of playing with set up, props, lights etc was insured – Pitcheresque Imagery sure had some fun with that!

 late 12th/13th style gowns were first. We did a few product shots and then  tried to do a generic ones involving the pets too:-)

 1. Burgundy wool and silk trim gown, lined with linen – worn over a silk undergown. here with Flynn, the barnowl

2. A wool gown with silk trim

With Mr. Baggins

Then it was time for  15th century.

first – an early 15th century houppelande in silk, lined with linen ( this one is still available  from our shop – here)

 and then a late 15th century Burgundian gown in wool sateen with brocade collar and cuffs

 For this look we tried to experiment  and  stage the Lady With an Ermine portrait look –  but the ferret ( Merry – and he was very merry indeed!) was very excited and the whole thing turned out to be very challenging – lots of fun ( much to the irritation of the photographer, I suppose), but trying to get him to stay more or less still in a graceful pose was tricky ( especially since we didn’t really want the animals to touch the gowns – there was for ale after all)… still we got a few fun pixs!

Merry is all grace and loveliness – but Amy is clearly up to no good here! 🙂

giggles galore…

ewww, what’s that thing??? ;_)

and at last, success 🙂

 And a few behind the scenes shots to wrap it up!

ghastly attack

practicing the fashionably pregnant look. The closest I will ever get to the real thing I think! 🙂

Hope you enjoyed these – I am already looking forward to our next stock photoshoot at some point at the end of June/beginning of July! 🙂

The most common mistakes in historical costuming/re-enactment – and how to avoid them!

 Over the years I have been asked about  a variety of problems within historical costuming – and how to avoid them. I have already written a few posts on different aspects such as the look, fabrics, etc – but here …

The Spanish Death Ride, Valencia 2008

  A bit of a blast from the past – but I stumbled upon the pictures and realised tat I hadn’t blogged about this ‘traumatic experience’ yet; ( mostly because back then I did not have a blog…) Anyway, the story…  The event was set up to re-create the famous civic parade that took place in 1428,celebrating the visit of king James I. Griffin Historical  were  given the mammoth task of organizing  it and supplying riders and ground crew. Over 80 riders and support crew were flown from different parts of Europe – England, the Netherlands, Poland,  etc – and the cavalcade itself  counted over twelve hundred people in total, all in medieval gear… We arrived the day before the event  – most of us were picked up at the airport and deposited in two major hostels in Valencia’s Old Town.  Many of us knew one another quite well – from past events, jousting circle, and other historical and equestrian backgrounds, ( I also brought a friend from my  ECW regiment – not everybody had medieval kit, but many people shared what they had in order to get the look). We just had time enough to go for a walk, admire some fireworks and visit a few tapas bars…

practicing before the event…. on little wooden horses…

The next morning we all breakfasted, assembled  and were briefed, then the kit was sorted out – we put on our hose, chemises, doublets, boots etc… And since I was a bloke for this event,  Griff  placed me in a nice padded gambeson, hiding my womanly flesh, and I got a nice piece of headgear too….   Can you see that it is a woman hiding in there? 🙂 A perfect disguise… Then  it was time to do some dry training, (not mounted). The  folks who were to ride in full armour had arrived a few days earlier and practiced with the horses, so they had a vague idea of what to expect – there were 15 fully harnessed knights, quite a sight! The rest of us were blissfully ignorant, but we had fun discovering our duties… Like marching up in down the training grounds, with long pikes, practicing formations…   After hours of that, we had a quick break ( siesta!) and  then it was time….. In the centre a huge tent was erected – huge to house about 100 horses and people…. and that’s where we waited…     and waited some more….   …and then suddenly it was time to meet the horses and mount up.   Yeeesss, about that…….

After initial panic, we were shown the proper mounts…

It turned out that quite a few of the supplied mounts that were brought in were supplied by third parties – from outside of the town. Indeed , as I learnt later, many of them were seeing a town for the first time ever – and it was quite evident. They were lovely horses – many of them stallions, many spooked by the unfamiliar surroundings. It didn’t help that many of the riders were beginners, too – since all we had to do was to sit and walk,  no trotting or cantering,  Griff’s team had to match their abilities to the horses. As it happened, I was busy helping people to mount up, and when the time arrived  for me to get a pony, there were only two left in the tent – a nice chestnut and a lovely gray. There were three people standing next to the chestnut, and none with the gray – good, I thought! so I grabbed the handsome beast and led him out.  Only to learn the reason why he was left alone –  once outside, he completely freaked out, rearing and panicking, impossible to mount up. Nicky, ( who was doing a sterling job of organizing the mounting chaos and helping folks out), just looked and told me to forget it, he won’t do, sorry, I will have to walk. Well, I didn’t fly all the way there to just to walk! In the end, Nick led the horse toward me, standing on a mounting block, and I sort of jumped on en route… and then the fireworks started… After a few hairy moments  of dancing, prancing etc, the horse calmed down and was ok 🙂   Everybody was mounted and we slowly started making progress towards the start of the cavalcade… the steps first though…   In the meantime, the weather took a turn for the worse – it started to rain… As a result, ( I think), we were not given any pikes to hold; ( I was very grateful for that, the moment I saw the narrow alleys and slippery cobbles)… Immediately after we started,  problems started to pop up –  there is no Health and Safety over there, it seems – the public was just next to us, next to the slipping, kicking, biting stallions, and bless them, ( the public, not particularly the stallions), they were fearless, especially the kids. Everybody wanted to pat the horses…  Our ground crew, both Griff’s staff and local folk were a great help – trying to calm don panicked horses, shield the public from the riders, and calm down the riders who suddenly decided that it wasn’t their idea of fun and wanted off, now. My horse was doing OK, despite shying and prancing a bit, he wasn’t rearing and bit my  support crew bloke only once – So I felt reasonably safe on board. The bloke in question, a weathered chap of about 60, named Jose was not only helpful, but talkative and  so we struck a conversation in my halting Spanish.  He was the source of my information about where the horses came from, ( mostly farms and gypsy encampments, according to him), and  about the festival.

here I am, on my pretty gray pony – he did turn out ok in the end:-)

For me the cavalcade was proving fairly uneventful – stressful, yes, but not nerve wracking. Others were not so lucky… The rain meant the ground was very, very slippery – be prepared, some disturbing photos below.  Just let me say that none of the horses were injured in their falls, ( a miracle, surely!) and the riders escaped mostly  unscathed too 🙂   It does look awful –  but all the horses who fell, did get up and continued the parade. They did not even panic, bless them. Apart from a couple incidents like these, it  all went fine…   The cavalcade was cut about an hour short due to the deteriorating weather conditions, so we missed the fireworks (just as well), and made our way back to the tent, where we dismounted, (many with an audible sight of relief!) We thanked our mounts and left them with their carers/owners… Duty done, time to party  – well, at least food was first on the agenda, we were starved! There was some entertainment too:

Armour makes a great drumming instrument…. for many drummers it seems!

a tad wet… I got even wetter later ( if that was possible) bu disappearing into a flooded manhole – only my reflexes saved me from disappearing for good – but fortunately i managed to spread my arm s wide and grab the edges, and the guys dragged me out. next day we wet to see what it was – it turned out there were some serious roadworks going there, and during the day the site was covered by planks… i guess the food carried off the plans and there was no indication that the street was dug up, especially when you are going knee deep in rainwater….

In in the meantime the weather turned to be of the ‘tropical downpour’ variety…   We had to make our way back to the hostels – needless to say we were drenched….   The hostels were flooded too, but nothing we couldn’t deal with 🙂 but all evening party plans, ( we were going to hit a salsa club or two),  were cancelled. The city was flooded too, the streets turned into rivers, cars being swept away – and so hostel based entertainment had to suffice, ( chatting mostly and reliving the experiences of the day). The next  day dawned clear and most of the flooded drained away overnight – so I ended up on a romantic walk around the old town, then back to the hostel to check out. Our flight  was in the evening , so  our small party had some time for sightseeing –  we ended up admiring the town, drying our  clothes,  eating, resting, buying Valencian lace (me, mostly…), and socializing.  The flight back was uneventful – though  there were some scenes of distress at the weighting in of the luggage – water soaked gambeson weighs much, much more than a dry one…. Some paid up the price, some wore theirs on the flight…   The whole event was, well, ‘interesting’ is a mild way of putting it! It was stressful,  exhilarating, scary,  and fun –  and I would do it again!  Alas,  it  was a one off, it seems. Still, that 2 hours of a walking taught me a lot about horse riding, dealing with stress, wet surfaces, public etc – so some learning took  place 🙂   Hope you enjoyed reading the bit – I enjoyed re-living it again!   P.S. the pictures of the cavalcade were taken off the news websites shortly after the event – if any of you know the sources, photographers etc, I would appreciate help with tracing them back 🙂

Royal adventures In Carlisle Castle

This summer Carlisle Castle has hosted a different royal couple each weekend – and on the 8/9th of August it was our turn :-)We were hired by History’s Maid to provide interpretation as Edward I and Margaret of France.

The period was familiar to us, though not in great details, so it was an excellent opportunity to do some more research and learn more about the social and military aspect of the late 13th and early 14th  century- as well as study the lives of the two monarchs in more detail. Here Lucas had a more complex task – at the date we chose to base our visit to Carlisle ( 1307, the second Scottish Campaign) Edward was at the end of a long, rich life – so a lot to learn about!  As Margaret was 40 years younger, I had a much simpler task…

It was a very interesting research – and it was great to be able to pass it on to the visitors as well – most of them arrived knowing that Edward, or Longshanks as he was called, is the king who had Mel Gibson, sorry, William Wallace, 🙂 killed – hopefully they left with a bit more knowledge!

As far as the costume bits were concerned, we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare, as the booking came in when I was already booked with commissions till  October, but  managed to free 2 days  for working on our kit.

Lucas already had his fur lined mantle, hose and chemise  he uses for earlier periods – but he needed a tunic and a surcoat.  As it was hot at the time, we opted for linen in rich midnight blue for the tunic – decorated with bands of gold metallic silk, and a silk for surcoat – with metallic braid used for decoration.

Hair was a bit of an issue – we needed a graying blonde…  A wig was bought at a local shop – I trimmed it, styled it and it did the job!

original wig

styling – just before steaming it

result!

A crown was borrowed from the English Heritage staff , the sword came from Black Knight Historical, and the bling from Gemmeus – and voila, we have a king!

and the king in question on his lunch break 🙂

 

As far as Margaret attire goes, I already had a cloak, chemise, shoes and a dress in wool – but there was just enough time to make a surcoat and a silk dress, and an alternative headgear.

There are very few images of Margaret, so I based the cut on the Codex Manesse garments – and recreated the headdress from  one of the statues of her.  Margaret wasn’t crowned – but she still wore a crown, and her seal shows her doing just that! – for the  original images for both Edward and Margaret, as well as clothing of the era, there is a modes board on pinterest

The hair was interesting –  the image shows curls, and probably coiled plaits which were jut becoming fashionable at the time – so it was a hairpieces  time for me!

I plaited my own hair, attached plaited extensions, coiled and securely pinned, and then pinned my own meager plaits around them

2 sets of plaits, work in progress…

then I added clip on curls – and pinned them around too.

The barbette and veils were next – and a crown on top. Or the alternative look,  based on the original image, a linen headdress with a frill and a veil on top of it…

a medieval selfie

and the other look –

 

and the whole picture

 

The  weekend passed quickly – we were at the gate doing the meet and greet, and priming the visitors for the royal audience when they could ask  us questions. The audiences were  inside the castle and  they were great fun – lots of questions, followed by some more in depth discussions as there were a few history teachers visiting too – fascinating!  The kids learnt about what a person their age could expect in the royal service, what skills and arts they would have been taught and what duties they would have had. Adults inquired about the manners, armour, tactics, food, clothing, day to day life of a royal and their retinue. Battles tactics were discussed, pilgrimages and wars were talked about, languages and marital strives were elaborated on –   lots of interesting questions.

The days finished with a Walk with Longshanks – a stroll on the battlements, talking about the castle, the defence mechanisms and the area around. We even had a chance to practice our French as there were quite a few visitors from Canada, France and Belgium 🙂

 

And at the end of the day we were given leave to take some photos  –

It was a bit windy…. 🙂

 

On the second day we took photos of Gemmeus jewellery and I changed the hair for a wig, to get thea ‘ Codex Manesse’ look 🙂

 

silk dress with a stylised bridal belt from Gemmeus

In short – the whole event was both enjoyable and educative – the best kind, well worth the long drive there:-) – many thanks to all who made it possible  – greatly appreciated:-)

and the credits

History’s Maid

Carlisle Castle

Black Knight Historical

 Gemmeus

 Prior Attire

Pitcheresque photography

 

Hanseatic King’s Lynn festivities

 

1475 – The Hanse House in King’s Lynn is build, following the treaty of Utrecht granting Die Hanse privilages and making King’s Lynn one of the Hanseatic trade towns. To celebrate the event,  we teamed up with a variety of folks, all brought together by Black Knight Historical – and spent  a day participating in the festivities and talking about 15th century life in the town.

 

I used to do a lot of 15th century living history, but not recently – so most of my kit was old – or too posh for the role I was going to play – a hanseatic merchant/apothecary’s wife. Danzig-bred wife to be more precise – and since I spent most of my youth in Danzig ( Gdansk), it was a most appropriate role. It called for a suitable garment –  wealthy, but not over the top, a bit behind the high fashions, but practical and stating my status clearly. A decision was made and I settled for a version of Rogier van der Weyden style frock – wool, lined with linen, very, very full, trimmed with fur.

the inspiration board on Pinterest –  here

The frock took 7 metres of fabric – and the same amount of lining – the hem circumference is over 6m… It was relatively easy to make – it as the veil that was more problematic.  I set my heart on making a frilled veil you can see in the portraits – I and making the frill ( 14m of linen was frilled…), hemming it and hemming the veil took almost as long as making the frock… not particularly happy with it, so will look for other ways to achieve the look I think. Still, it looked ok  for some pics.

 

It was very warm, so I wore the frock only for the procession and riding (and pictures), and while at the stall, I was a bit cooler in my kirtle:-)

 

very happy with the new garment – and love the way the wool drapes – a few pictures below…

 

 

 

Was also happy with my new belt from  Bayley Heritage Castings, and shoes and pattens from NP Historical Shoes

 

Lucas spent most of the day at the stall as well, chatting about late 15th century medical lore…

 

His services were sought out by the nobility  as well…

 

But before we finished, he quickly changed an assumed his other role – that of a photographer, and captured  some of the people at the event…

 

 

 

Eleanor in her Duchess Cecily Neville role…sporting a gown  I made for her last year

 

 

 

On Sunday we stayed long enough to take part in the parade…

 

and shoot some product pictures of jewellery for Gemmeus… which, by the way was the easiest robbery ever – it was enough to say we are having a photoshoot and  the rings and pendants were safely deposited in my purse in no time at all. it robbery was somehow hindered by the fact that Nicky from Gemmeus knew  where I live – so alas, had to return all that lovely bling after the shoot…. 😦

 

And take some good photos of my posh frock –  Memlinc brocade, lined with silk, silk velvet trim – all handstitched on holiday a few years ago….

 

 

All together , a great weekend was had by all – hoping we will be back next year!

 

Credits:

Photography – Pitcheresque Imagery – more pictures form the event here

frocks – Prior Attire 

Jewellery – Gemmeus

Belt and a ring – Bayley Heritage Castings

Shoes and pattens – NP HIstorical Shoes

event organization – Black Knight HIstorical

Horse s& team – Steamhorse

12th Century Dress – the Bliaut

Mention a medieval dress to someone and the odds are the image they have in mind is a loose frock with long sleeves. Type ‘medieval’ into Google, eBay or etsy – and modern L.A.R.P and hand-fasting gowns of that description appear – with most of them sporting the iconic long, trailing sleeves.   The proper medieval dress of that description was called a ‘bliaut’ (and was apparently worn by both sexes, though later male bliauts tend to be shorter), and its variants were fashionable across Europe for about 100 years. The earlier examples of the dress of that type seem to be a continuation of the fashions of 11^th century – loose gowns often with girdles and long sleeves getting bigger, longer and more elaborate; but it is the second part of the 12^th century that celebrated the bliaut at is best  – here the look is far more slender, with a slim waist emphasised by the more fitted style of the dress, careful girdle arrangement and, of course those sleeves.

Figure of Grammatica , from the Hortus Deliciarum, c. 1180

The most iconic look is represented by the famous statues in Chartres cathedral

Figures from the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament), centre portal of the west facade of Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France,

So what makes the Bliaut proper? Look out for these features:

• Excessively long sleeves – fitted to a degree above the elbow, and opening wider below – and sometimes simply elongated cuffs. The lowest part of the sleeve is often square

• 

  sleeve shape.Chartres1, http://www.eg.bucknell.edu

• Tight fit on the torso – often showing wrinkles – most likely caused by side lacing
• Girdle – often wrapped twice around the body, with the ends hanging in front (though single girdles or no girdles are also seen)
• Neck openings – can be round, keyhole, or V shaped, often decorated with embroidery, woven braids of applied silk bands in contrasting colour

• 

  Terence’s Comedies, St. Albans Abbey, mid 12th century, Folio 10 recto

•  Sometimes the long sleeves are knotted for practical as well as aesthetic reasons

example of knotted sleeves.Angers – BM – ms. 0243 F077v (fin XII) 2

Moe examples of bliaut and other fashions of 12/13thcentury – here – 11-13century fashions

There have been several theories concerning the construction of the bliaut. Some claimed that the dress is loose, but that the middle part is a corset, or a stomacher worn on top of the dress and secured by the double girdle. Some believed that the waist part was cut separately and the bodice part and the skirts were gathered and sewn on to it. Personally, I find the theory that it is the side lacing, (a new technique that appeared on the scene at that time), which makes the dress fitted and accounts for the wrinkles on the torso. It also makes sense from a costume evolution point of view – the basic, almost rectangular cut of the previous centuries is still used here with just slight adaptation – whereas a corset of any kind, as well as a stomacher, or cutting the bodice horizontally would be completely out of place, several centuries ahead of its time and too huge a jump to consider seriously. In my opinion it also points naturally towards the development of ‘cotte and surcoat’ –  remove the sleeves and unlace the sides and the garment looks disturbingly like later surcoats – though in this case male fashions and heraldic surcoats were probably a bigger influence.

The pleated nature of the fabric often seen on the sculptures is another enigma – most likely it represents very voluminous but light fabric, like silk, rather than fabric that has been pleated to a waistband, etc.  To what degree the statues and other representations in medieval art are artistic licence will probably remain a secret forever, so going with the cut, techniques and construction that were known at the time is a much safer bet.

If you wish to have a closer look at the variety of bliauts represented in art across Europe and the construction theories, have a look at this site – very useful! http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~lwittie/sca/garb/europe_class/europe_bliaut.html

The pattern.

I have used a pattern consisting largely of simple geometrical shapes – front and back are rectangles, often cut on the fold, or with a vertical CF and CB seam, with the waist cut out more to fit, thus softening the lines. Armhole lines sometimes seem to have been slightly softened too – they were probably the newest development in tailoring at the time! The gores are triangles. The sleeve pattern is the most innovative as it incorporates both concave and convex lines, softening the harsh geometrical look.

The dress can be of equal length, reaching the ground all around, or trained. If you can, make the gores as wide as possible – the bigger the hem circumference, the better the folds of the dress look. With the modern, wider fabrics it is also possible to cheat a bit and save time by cutting the front and back with wide skirts, incorporating the side gores, with only the front and back gores – a technique I used once. It did work, though it is incorrect for the period as the fabric widths were so much narrower.

The fabrics – Wool would be the most common, and certainly my favourite, though silk might be the option for the most affluent personages– and more frequently worn by the Franks in the Outremer – silk was cheaper there and more suitable for the climate. It is also through the returning Crusaders that northern European countries would have access to silk – in England at that time it was as a luxury almost unheard of, worn only by the wealthiest magnates of the realm – and usually even they could only afford it as decorative strips edging their bliauts. Silk garments were almost exclusively for royalty.

Lining – it is argued whether all the dresses were lined, and it is likely that some weren’t. For me, lining the bliaut is always a good idea, especially if it is trained. It looks better, lasts longer and wears better – the wool doesn’t cling if you happen to wear a woollen kirtle underneath. Linen is best, though silk can be used as well – probably in contrasting colours for the sleeves.  For economy reasons, if lining with silk, only the sleeves would be lined with the expensive fabric, the rest of the lining would be cheaper linen, as it wouldn’t be displayed.

Materials

6m of wool or top fabric ( more if you plan a trained gown or very long sleeves)

6m of lining

Silk or linen thread

Optional: silk for decorative bands, wool for decorative woven braids and girdle

Method.

1. Cut all your pieces in your top fabric and lining.

front piece cut -here using a modern method, cut together with the side gores

front and back gores – back gore is longer as the skirts will be trained

the sleeve

1.  Sew the top fabric first – assemble the front part first (the front gore and the side gores if you are sticking to the period correct pattern), then do the same for the back – i you are having side gores at the back sew them in as well, if not, it is only the back gore.
2.  Sew the front and back pieces at the shoulders  Press the seams open. Couch them down if not using lining or if the fabric frays a lot.

gores sewn in, fronts and back sewn, shoulder seam sewn – sides still left open

1. Sew the sleeves right sides together.

4. Turn the sleeves on the right side. find the centre top of the sleeve and place it, right sides together matching the shoulder seam.  Pin the fabric of the gown around the sleeve and sew. Repeat on the other side.

5.You now have the entire gown assembled– but the sides are open from the armpit. Try it on, and see if the sleeve fit is correct, but also mark the length of the side opening – it should be just at the seam where the gore starts, but if your figure is fuller you may need to adjust a bit.

6. Take the gown off and sew the side pieces together. Press the seams open.

1.  Repeat the same steps with the lining.
2.  Hem the top fabric – at the sleeves, side opening and neck.
3.  If you plan to decorate the sleeve edges, neck hem etc with embroidered bands,  bands of silk or  other trims, do it now – any stitches going through the fabric will not be visible

the detail of the front – lining stitched, hiding the stitches from sewing on the handmade braid

1.  Insert the lining – stitch it to the neck and sides first, then the sleeves , using slipstitch.

silk lining of the sleeves sewn to the top fabric

1. Hang the gown on a dummy or on a hanger.   If possible, leave overnight, especially if working in wool – the fabric will stretch a little bit. Next day, check that the hem is even, adjust if necessary and hem the top fabric.  Do not stitch the lining in yet.
2.  Again, hang the dress. Pin the top layer and lining together, matching the seams. Trim the lining if necessary, then fold the seam allowance under and pin it to the dress hem.  Stitch together  In this way you should not end up with the lining being too short or not too long. Whatever you do, do not bag line the dress.

1.  Next step – the eyelets!  Mark the eyelets on the fabric around the side openings. Pierce it with an awl, then work an eyelet using a linen or silk thread. Repeat for all the eyelets on both sides

1.  Your dress is ready  All you need to do is to lace the sides with a line or silk ribbon, or a hand plaited lace.

But – it is not the end. The dress on its own is only half the success – you will need a bit more to look and feel the part.

 Girdle –  the simplest way is to make one from a length of silk, or wool. You can also buy or weave one yourself, from line, wool, or silk yarn – the knotted ends visible on the girdles from the Chartres are most likely loose ends left unwoven. Make sure it is long enough if you plan to wrap it twice about your torso.

Undergarments.

The bliaut is not worn on its own. Like all the other clothes in medieval times, it was worn on linen chemise/kirtle/underdress, with optional woolen kirtle worn on top of the linen layer – ideal solution for colder months. The cut of the chemise/kirtle didn’t differ much from the earlier garments (discussed in details in article on the Anglo Saxon garments) – simple garments with gored skirts and tight sleeves – indeed the sleeves were sometimes so tight they had to be closed with stitching on the wearer – an option for the ladies who could afford maids. In the warmer climates it is possible that a silk bliaut would be worn just on a linen chemise

a kirtle, Carmina burana

The sleeves and neck of the underdress could also be decorated with woven braids or embroidery

wool kirtle with sleeve and neck embroidery

The hair.

The hair is a bit tricky. The fashionable style was simple two braids, often decorated with ribbons. Simple – if you have the hair for it. My hair, although long, is nowhere near that long, and plaited into two braids looks pathetic – no volume to it at all. The period solution would be to use horse hair to supplement your own tresses but in absence of horse hair, we can use modern extensions

If you hair is short, simply plait the extensions and clip then onto your own hair. If your hair is long enough to plait as well, follow the steps below.

1. Divide the hair into two.
2. Take the extension ( they usually come in fort of one long skein of hair), fold it in half and  start plaiting with your own hair – 2 strands of extension and your hair as the third strand.

1. Plait  a few strands to secure them, then re-arrange the strands – you will need to divide the extensions so that the third strand is formed. If your hair is long enough, simply continue plaiting till the end of both real hair and extensions. Dividing the extensions tend to be rather messy, especially if you are using artificial fibre, but it can be done in such a way that it is difficult to spot where the real hair ends.

1.  You now have a finished plait. You can leave the ends loose, or secure them with ribbons. there are mentions of metal fillets used to secure the braids ends, and you can just see the contraption on the Chartres figures, but I haven’t found anything like that around – if you know where I can get them, please do let me know!
2.  You can now leave the braid as it is, decorate it with long silk ribbons, simply crossing the ribbon over along the length of the braid

There is an alternative method, where you can use only two strands of hair and weave the ribbon around them – but with the extensions it doesn’t look too good as the ribbons slide a lot!

If you are a young unmarried woman, you can wear your hair in braids without any other covering – though chaplets of flowers will look nice on them.  Otherwise, you will need a veil and a fillet.

Veils at that point slowly started to depart from the big rectangular kerchiefs worn earlier, and were simple affairs of smaller rectangles or much more graceful oval ones. They were made mostly of linen, though silk was used as well, if the family could afford it. Veils were secured by a fillet – a hand of woven braid for common women , or a circlet of metal – in case of the noble ladies,  the metal diadem was shaped, with a slightly flared outer ridge, and often encrusted with jewels.

Mine was made to order, and is a simple brass hoop, slightly flared – and quite heavy – it definitely leaves a nice dent on my skin after the whole day of wearing it!

In the last decades of the  12^th century a barbette started to be worn – a strap of linen worn under the veil, passing under the chin and pinned on the top of the head –  an example can be seen on the effigy of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine

.Eleanor of Aquitaine, effigy

Barbettes were useful as it was easier to pin the veil on and they framed the face nicely – they were in use for the next century or so finally disappearing in the 14^th century, though chin straps resembling barbettes were seen with the 15^th century hennins. They really herald a new style for the 13^th century – with the hair gathered in a bun at the nape of the neck.

All you need now is a woolen hose and shoes – latchet style with pointed toe, often with straps , and if it is cold, a mantle or a cloak  semi circular or circular, wool, lined with either linen, or wool)

bliaut in wool, lined with linen, neck decorated with embroidery on linen, handwoven woolen girdle

Bliaut in silk, with silk bands decoration

an Outremer princess – bliaut in silk, with contrasting bands of silk used as decoration and girdle, worn on a chemise only, in Jordan

bliaut renedered in silk satin as a wedding dress.

There you have it, a nice and cosy woollen garment, or a lighter one in silk – whether for re-creating  Outremer fashions of for contemporary weddings  bliaut remains the iconic medieval dress. Elegant, graceful and stylish, it was ‘resurrected’ a few more times in the centuries to follow – in the late 14^th/early 15^th houppelandes and then in the Victorian times, when the Pre-Raphaelite movement reached back to the medieval times for inspiration ( the Accolade, lady of Shallot – and the Japanese gown from 1895 –, http://www.kci.or.jp/archives/digital_archives/detail_222_e.html).

1895 silk gown, kyoto, Kyoto

grey houppelande with open sleeves reminiscent of the 12th century fashions

Nowadays the style became popular with the fantasy movies like the Lord of the rings – the flowing, gentle lines work perfectly as the attire of the timelessly elegant elves.

Bibliography.

Kyoto Costume Institute, http://www.kci.or.jp/archives/digital_archives/detail_222_e.html

Gutkowska – Rychlewska Maria, Historia ubiorów, Ossolineum, 1968

Francois Boucher,  A History of Costume in the West,

  Britannica:   http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/107728/Chartres-Cathedral

The Bliaut throughout 12th Century Europe, http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~lwittie/sca/garb/europe_class/europe_bliaut.html

 

 

Anglo Saxon kit

 

 

 

Early medieval styles and clothing is very often thought to be dull, coarse and unattractive – a sort of a potato sack with a girdle.  The stereotype might not be far from the truth as far as the lowest classes are concerned, however, once in the realm of middle and upper classes of society, one can discover an astonishing wealth of fabrics, colours and details. True, the basic cut remained more or less the same, but the ornamental details and the richness of materials more than made up for it.

New Minster Charter 966

Austrian National Library, Cod. Ser. N. 2701-2702, Fol. 252v,

In this article I will concentrate on a wealthy 9^th century Anglo-Saxon woman and man – the outfits presented here were made for Black Knight Historical for Living History presentations. The cut of the clothes is pretty simple, but that was not what presented the challenge here: it was doing the research to get the clothes right in the first place! For that, I found the Anglo Saxon England website extremely useful and the study of the extant garments neatly presented by Mark Carlson was of enormous help as well!

Let us start with the male garments.

Throughout the early and middle medieval periods fashions changed very slowly. The most important aspect of everyday life was usually practicality, and so the basic clothes of that period are simple, practical and durable.  The rudimentary attire of a man a commoner or a noble man would consist of the following layers.

Loincloth – a piece of fabric worn with hose or under trousers, usually depicted on the representatives of the poorer strata of the society

Braies : simple 2 legged trousers. Made in wool or linen – with the advance of Hose (single legged, tailored to fit the leg tightly and attached by a drawstring to the braires),  braires replace the loincloth and are worn underneath. With the advance of Norman fashions later on, they can become very voluminous indeed!  http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/cloth/trousers/breechesindex.htm

 

The early braies and late the hose was often secured at the lower leg with winingas – long strips of cloth binding the calves – often with a criss-cross binding of a woven braid on top of the woolen winingas. Winingas were wound spirally up the leg and then secured by tucking the end under, or by a metal tag hook

hooked tag, 7-11th cent, uk detector finds database, ref.number 12751

Undertunic ( smoc or serc) a linen  A line garment with light cuffs and often split hem at the sides – a predecessor of a shirt!,

Tunic, or overtunic (cyrtel) a linen or more often, a woolen garment on top of the undertunic. Tunics were of varied length, from mid calf to over the knee, and long sleeved.  Often the length of tunics worn one over the other could differ– and the top one could be just a bit shorter to show off the contrasting colour or hem decoration of the undertunic. Their cut was simple- early ones were simply made up of rectangular pieces, split at the sides – later on gores were used to give the tunic skirts more volume. They were not always made of one length of fabric- many finds show that they were often cut from much smaller pieces obviously depending on cloth available (http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/cloth/skjolha.html )

 

Often, the neck, hem and sleeves were decorated either with a woven braid or with embroidery – worked either directly on the garment or on a linen/silk/woollen band of a contrasting colour and then applied to the garment itself.

Junius Manuscript, late 10th to early 11th cent., p 53

The tunics were usually belted with a simple braid or with leather belts.

A mantle or a cloak was worn over the whole attire – a large variety of styles seem to be in evidence, from a simple rectangular piece of thick woolen fabric, to semi or circular ones, often decorated with braid and pinned with a brooch.

The outfit would be complimented with shoes or boots and a woolen cap.

The set my client has decided on was 2 tunics and a rectangular cloak. He already owned braies and winingas and a linen undertunic, but wanted a slightly longer woolen tunic and a shorter one to go on top – and the cloak to compliment the image and to keep him warm in winter.

The tunics were cut in the same way, with only the length being different – the overtunic has shorter sleeves too to show off the embroidery on the longer one.

The pattern I used was based on the one from Mark Carlson site – I decided on two side gores with no front gores however:

skjoldehamn tunic pattern

 

 The materials:

2 m of honey mustard wool

2 metres of herringbone weave wool

2 metres of thick pale red wool for the cloak

8 metres of hand-woven braid to decorate the cloak

0.5 m of linen for the neck and cuffs embroidery

Silk yarn for embroidery

 

Cut out the body of the tunic first, making sure there is enough space for movement.  Cut out the sleeves, underarm gussets and side gores.

Sew the gussets to the sleeves first. Sew the shoulders together and then stitch the sleeves to the  body – mark the middle line of each sleeve, and pin it to the shoulder seam- to make sure it is symmetrical.  Sew the gores to the front of the tunic then fold the tunic at the shoulder seams and run one long seam from the cuff to the hem, stitching the sleeve, front and back and gore to back pieces in one go. Repeat on the other side.

Turn the tunic to the right side, try it on and adjust the length and the width of the neck opening.

Repeat for the other tunic.  Once sewn, I finish all the edges by hand using linen or silk threads, and couch down all the interior seams: it flattens them out and gives even a partially machine-sewn garment an authentic look. All I had to take care off was the embroidery – and that took much longer than the tunics!

As far as the patterns and techniques are concerned, I found Jane Stockton article most helpful – very detailed instructions and a nice selection of patterns. http://www.axemoor.net/pdf/1_Embroidery_for_Clothing.pdf

Start with preparing your fabric. I used two rectangles, one for the neckline and one for the cuffs.  I drew the design on the fabric and attached the fabric to my wooden tapestry frame. Make sure the fabric is taunt and stretches evenly in all directions.  Now for the lengthy process of embroidering. I used lovely silks from Sally Pointer (http://sallypointer.moonfruit.com/), divided into two threads strand.  I opted for the chain stitch as being relatively easy on straight lines, curvy lines and it is good for filling in shapes nicely as well. It takes a few trials to get the stitch length sorted out, but after a few minutes of practice, I was ready to embroider in earnest. And embroider I did-  and for quite some time too!

Once you have all the embroidery done, take the pieces from the frame, and cut them to shape – make sure you leave some fabric so that it the raw edges can be folded under and stitched to the tunic without compromising the pattern.

embroidery for the tunic1

 

Iron the pieces carefully and pin onto the fabric. Stitch the folder edges to the main fabric with small, even stitches.  Once in place, iron again – and you are done!

embroidery attached to the tunic

 

With the tunics out of the way all that remained was the cloak, and that was pretty straightforward: cut a rectangle of fabric, hem it and it is ready. You can line your cloak, or leave it unlined, and you can put some decorative touches to it embroider the corners or hems, or, as in this case, you can sew a hand-woven braid on top of it.

Braids were woven using either small heddles for simple patterns or  tablets with holes ( pic.13) – three, four six and eight varieties can be bought from at  any re-enactment fair, and the basics of weaving are easy. http://www.stringpage.com/tw/basictw.html

heddle weaving

 

 

horn tablets for weaving

 

 

Female attire.

 

Similarly to the male garments, women from that period had a lot of choice as far as fabric, colours and decoration was concerned, even though the basic cut remained simple. The layers a wealthy woman would be wearing would be:

Undergown (smoc) – an A line kirtle with tight sleeves, reaching probably all the way to the ground. It was most likely that women would were one in linen (a later chemise or smock) with another one  in wool  over it.   The second layer is often called the overgown as well as the distinctions here seem to be rather blurred. I usually assume that the undergown is the linen or fine wool dress with long narrow sleeves, always reaching to the ground, on top of which you can have the overgown with straight  or flared sleeves.

Overgown proper ( cyrtel) – as mentioned above, a woollen garment with straight sleeves, which In later times started to flare our a bit leading to the long trailing sleeves , particularly evident in the 12^th century Norman fashions.

chartres figures

It could have been lined or unlined – the pictorial evidence seem to suggest that both solutions were used, though contrasting lining would present a nice decoration with  the flared sleeves style.

The Encomium Emmae Reginae , Queen Emma

As far as length is concerned, again it would be  ground or ankle length- though it is argued that it was indeed sometimes a bit shorter, probably depending on the amount of fabric available – or maybe to show off the contrasting colour of the undergown. Whatever is the case, my client opted for the slightly shorter version. Gowns and undergowns are often shown hitched up over the belt – a practical solution for such a long and voluminous garment!

New_Minster_Charter_966_detail_Mary

On top would go a mantle- a circular affair in wool, with lots of drape, or, again, for the practical reasons, a rectangular cloak like the men’s one would do the job just as well

Headwear – most women would wear a wimple – a rectangular piece of linen, draped around head   and neck, often secured with a fillet- a braid or metal circlet worn on top. Veils were popular among the ecclesiastical community, but with time secular women would wear a veil and a circlet on braided hair as well- again depictures in later centuries and mostly among Norman fashions.

 

My client opted for a woollen undergown (she already had a linen one) decorated with embroidered bands of silk, a shorter overgown decorated with a woven braid and a rectangular cloak in lovely chequered wool.

I used the following:

3.5 metres of fine, deep aubergine wool

3 metres of red wool

2 metres of chequered wool for the cloak

8 metres of hand-woven braid to decorate the overgown and to serve as a girdle

0.5 m of yellow silk for the neck and cuffs embroidery

Silk yarn for embroidery.

The cut and pattern were almost identical to the men’s tunic, but obviously longer. Also, the overgown sleeves were straight and not narrowing.

For the instructions of how to make the gowns, follow the instructions given in the male attire section – they are the same!

 

embroidery for the undergown

Here are the two outfits worn by Ian and Kindra at the Norfolk Cathedral Christmas Fair – and don’t they look snug and dashing!

 

Kindra getting ready – but the image shows the underdress nicely!

Bibliography:

 

Anglo-Saxon embroidery  http://medieval.webcon.net.au/loc_england_anglo_saxon.html [Accessed 02/03/2011]

Anglo Saxon England: http://anglosaxonengland.net/rana/docs_files/Anglo-SaxonClothes.pdf [Accessed 01/03/2011]

Basic tablet weaving: http://www.stringpage.com/tw/basictw.html [Accessed 05/03/2011]

Corbis images, documentary  http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/AW003493.html [Accessed 05/03/2011]

Carlson, I. M. (1996-). Some Clothing of the Middle Ages Historical Clothing from Archaeological Finds. Retrieved 10/03/2011, from http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/cloth/bockhome.html

Jane Stockton,Embroidery for Clothing – Anglo-Saxon,http://www.axemoor.net/pdf/1_Embroidery_for_Clothing.pdf [Accessed 02/03/2011]

Joan Clarke, English Costume through the Ages, The English Universities Press LTD, London, 1966

10th and 11th Century Clothing in England: A Portfolio of Images http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/rhuddlan/images/[Accessed 05/03/2011]

 

 

Looking the Part 2. Make up and Hair

  Right, now you have that perfect dress and silhouette, supported by all the correct underwear (as covered in part 1 here), the next step is the face and hair.  It is not much, you may think, but do not …