My well known love of fast progress made me decide to start the “Sew 17th century challenge” with one of the faster pieces – the skirt. Close-up of the skirt. Staying true to my p…

Dress of brocaded silk, Russia, 19th century

17th century fashion. Noblewoman in 1650. French baroque fashion. 17th century. Ancien Régime court dress. Sheets for costume design by Franz Lipperheide

Bracelets with miniature portraits of the Duchesses de Nemours and d'Aumale, 1840 and 1846, respectively

The popularity of Indian textiles is evidenced in the number of words that have made their way into English: calico, pajama, gingham, dungaree, chintz, and khaki.

While I’m finishing up accessories for my Napoleonic project, let’s talk about the 17th century! I’m interested in 1660s and 1670s baroque fashion, which broadly speaking consists…

*** As documented in an earlier post, I recently finished a brown wool doublet (well, not so recently, but we'll that that slide...) Made of scrap fabric, it was originally intended as a practice piece to learn some tailoring techniques and so the design was a little hodge-podge. This made stying the outfit somewhat difficult, since without a firm inspiration image or decade everything just seemed a little off. Or at least I couldn't settle on what the look was really meant to be. So ultimately I just ended up throwing a ton of accessories at it, just to see what would happen. And I have to say...it worked out surprisingly well! So buckle up and get ready for a photo dump... First I pulled a bevy of period (mostly early 17th c.) images from different sources that roughly showed the silhouette I was looking for. None quite match the doublet I had actually made, but it at least they were in the ballpark. Even if I couldn't quite copy any image exactly this at least gave me a "feel" to shoot for. The first look is the one featured in my dress diary... It's a classic (very) late Elizabethan/early Jacobean look. Just a coif, cuff and ruff. The ruff made of 2.8oz linen. It is 3.25" wide at set with 2" sets. The cuffs are simple strips of 2.8oz linen, pleated and sewn into a wrist band. The cap is the one I made for my Trevelyon gown, and as also worn over a close fitted coif. Again, the front edge is lightly starched and then shaped and pinned in to place. Next is the same look, but with the top coif/cap left off and replaced with a tall, black capotain hat. The hat is wool felt and trimmed with a twist of black silk (by Timblebee Millinery) Then the ruff is switched out for a linen collar. To make the collar, first a paper pattern is cut with the rough shape that I want. The collar is made of a strip of 2.8 oz linen, 4.5" in length. It's hemmed all the way around with a 1/8" hem, reducing the final width to 4.25" The linen is then pleated and stitched down to form a crescent. I found it easiest to place the strip on top of the paper patter and then just make a fold wherever was needed. Admittedly the pleats turned out a little wonky... That because I tried to starch them after they were pinned, but they dried sort of...squiggly. And then I was too lazy to re-pin it and just stitched the pleats down as they were. Next time I'll starch ahead of time. Finally, a neck band is attached. The neckband is purposely made a little longer so that I can pin the ends to the inside of the doublet, allowing it to be worn both open and closed. (I have no evidence for it being done this way in period, it's just what was easiest for me) I like the collar a lot. I think it's very crisp and looks sharp with the cuffs. So I tried it it with just a coif...and liked it a lot less. I think this look is...okay. I mean, it's fine, but it's not my favouite. I don't think it works quite as well without the hat. So instead the collar was swapped for a ruff...A BIG RUFF! This is my largest ruff to date. It's 5.25" wide and set with 3/4" sets. Ruff mid-set Really, it's a beast. It definitely needs a supportasse to support the weight in the back (this one by Woodsholme Handworks on Etsy). (One of these days I'd like to cover it with some silk thread) I also try this with an apron...but again, I'm not overly pleased with the results. Something about the apron worn over the doublet isn't doing much for me...except making me look pregnant. (But hey, that's a very 17th century silhouette, so....result? I guess?) Okay! Ditch the apron! How about a big hat? The hat is a beautiful, large 17th century style by M. Brenckle, Hatter and is inspired by the work of Wenceslas Hollar. You know me! Love the crazy hats! But I'm getting a bit bored of the matching petticoat, so let's change it up... Next is a dark green (though photographs as black) petticoat originally made for my rust waistcoat project. I REALLY like this look. It might be my favourite so far. The pleated linen collar is back, as is the apron (which I think looks a lot better worn under the doublet). Also making appearance is another capotain hat by Timblebee Millinery, this time in brown felt with a chocolate brown silk band. Right. Let's stick with this petticoat and push the silhouette even further... The big 17thc. hat is back, as is another ruff. This one is 4.25" wide set with 2" sets and made with the same 2.8oz linen. And under it all I've got my trusty red wool petticoat! (originally attached to a bodice for my first attempt at petticoat bodies, but now just a skirt) This last look is probably my favourite. I didn't think it would, but I guess I shouldn't be that surprised... I've always loved Wenceslas Hollar's etchings and always planned to do a Hollar-inspired look. This isn't exactly Hollar, but it's darn close. Okay! That's it! In the end I had a lot of fun with this project, even though I was never quite sure what it was meant to be as I was making it. Just goes to show what a huge difference accessories can make! ***

Fashion has always been an integral part of world history, and it is fascinating to wonder about the type of clothes that pirates wore in the golden age of piracy. Did you know that in

In the mid-17th century, Wenceslaus Hollar published this series of engravings depicting the costume of women in England. These images record a contemporary view of the costume of women, a subject which fascinated the artist.

Dress: ca. mid 17th century, Italian/Hungarian, cambric, broad lace, metal work; embroidery, presumably from the wardrobe of Orsolya Esterházy. www.pinterest.com/pin/157837161916444214/

This article was first published at Foundations Revealed in April 2015. Due to length and amount of picture, this article will be posted in two parts here. Introduction Pieter de Hooch, Mother Lacing Her Bodice Beside A Cradle, 1659-1660 17th century stays is a rather neglected subject in fashion history and little have been written about it. There are also very few remaining examples of stays and boned bodices and even fewer of those have been properly analyzed. This article will take a brief look at the history of stays and discuss a few extant garments to see if any conclusions can be drawn on how they were constructed. The focus will be on the upper classes and examples in text relate to Northern Europe in general even if the extant garments described are mostly from Great Britain. Interesting and related topics like staymaking as a trade, critique against stay wearing and how stays were worn by different social classes will only lightly be touched upon. I am not mentioning kirtles either. In the 17th century stays could also be called a pair of bodies, a straight pair of bodies or a pair of stays, but for ease I use stays throughout the text. A brief history of 17th century stays and fashion Stays emerge in fashion history in the late 16th century though the exact dates and evolution process are not known. By the beginning of the 17th century stiffened stays were an indispensable garment in the upper class woman’s wardrobe. It is important, however, to remember that stays served more than one purpose. The most obvious one being to shape the body into a fashionable shape, a foundation to which the clothes were fitted. But they also served as breast support and they served a moral purpose. A female body in stays were a decent body. Stays could also be used for medical purposes, especially for children, both girls and boys, were laced into stays to ensure that they grew straight. English School, Portrait of A Lady, 1610-1615 In the early 17th century women’s fashion were rigid and very formal. The bodice had a long narrow waist, large ruffs were still worn and so was the cumbersome farthingale. Around 1620 fashion grew less formal, and the waist crept up above its natural place. Anthony van Dyck, Anne Sophia, Countess of Carnavon, 17th century The high waisted fashion were quite temporary, though, in the 1640’s the waist was once again in its natural place. At the same time the boned bodice became popular, they were essentially stays covered in fabric and with sleeves permanently sewn in, making them both stays and bodice at the same time. With some variations this fashion kept up until the 1680’s. The gowns were less decorated than in the early 17th century and necklines were near or off the shoulders. Even if the boned bodice seems to have been extremely popular, ordinary stays were still worn. Some types of garments, like riding habits, needed stays as they were not boned. There were also a growing trade of ready-made stays for the lower classes who did not rely on the boned bodice in the same way. Sweden started to import ready-made stays in 1667, for example. In the 1670’s the mantua became a popular fashion. It was a gown that got its shape from being pleated around the body and now separate stays really came into their own. The boned bodice remained for formal wear,but the mantua kept its popularity throughout the rest of the century. Gabriel Metsu, Woman Playing Viola de gamba, 1663 By the second half of 17th century, stays were worn by all classes and even a working woman could own more than one pair. In 1662 a maid in the Finish town Viborg, had three pairs stolen from her and in Sweden in 1684, simple stays were part of a female servant’s salary. As a result, stays were made for all classes. Upper class stays was constructed from linen canvas, buckram and silk, stiffened with whalebone and perhaps also paste and paper. For the lower classes stays were made from linen, wool or leather. Whalebones could be used in less expensive stays, but they could also be stiffened with reed, cane or pack-thread (hemp-cord). Leather stays may not have needed additional boning to give support. The lower classes could purchase their stays ready-made or second hand while the upper classes bought bespoke stays where the staymaker visited the customer’s homes to take measurements and fit the stays. Simon Dequoy, Anne de Souvré, 1695 Stays had become an essential garment for women of all stations in life even if material and rigidity changed after the user’s need. A few years into the 18th century, in 1712, a leather bodice with a stomacher, valued to 2 s,8 d (modern value around £10) was seen as part of the clothing minimum for girls in a London charity school, indicating that it was seen as must even for society’s poorest members. Between 1684 and 1700 the records of Old Bailey lists stays as stolen property twenty-nine times. The value of them varies a lot, the cheapest are valued to 2 shilling, the most expensive ones 40. That means that stays were quite expensive, in modern pricing they would range between £8-160. Material is more rarely noted, one pair is made of stuff, usually a wool fabric and then made of silk. In the beginning of the 17th century stay were made by the tailor, but gradually staymaking became a trade in its own right, in France, for example, that happened in 1660. Making stays were considered a man’s work, just as tailoring clothes was and even when women, in the last quarter of the century, got the right to sew clothes for their own sex, staymaking continued to be a man’s trade. In 1688, The Academy of Armory and Blazon (Book III) describes the construction of stays with great detail. They are made of seven pattern pieces, the back, the side parts and the fore parts and the shoulder straps. Stays can be open in the front or in the back. If laced in the front then there is also the stomacher that goes under the lacing. The stomacher has a pocket for the busk, a flat piece of wood, horn, whalebone, metal or ivory that help to push the breasts up and the tummy down. The busk was often richly decorated. The boning channels are marked on the pattern pieces before they are stitched down. Whalebone is cut to size and inserted.The bottom of the stays have skirts, tabs. Stays are lined with fustian or linen and the edges are bound. The lacing holes are whipstitched. The laces have metal tags at the ends to keep from fraying. When the stays are finished, the are covered in the fabric of the gown and sleeves are attached. Bernhard Keil, The Lacemaker, after 1660 Stays before 1650 Stays are difficult to date and there a few guidelines on how they evolved. As of now only three pairs of stays known to still exist that can be dated between 1600-1650. The oldest is known as the Effigy stays in Westminster Abbey. They were found on the effigy of Elizabeth I and was probably made for her funeral in 1603 by her tailor John Colt. They are very simple and the stays the Queen wore were covered in silk or satin. The Effigy stays are made of double layers of twill fustian and are bound with green leather. The boning channels are stitched with linen thread and it is laced in the front with twenty-nine pairs of lacing holes. They are made from three patterns pieces (the lining has four) and the side-back seam is slightly curved. They are long-waisted and the front deeps down in a peak. They are boned with whalebones.  Crimson stays at Manchester Galleries. Photo by Annika Windahl Pontén Crimson stays, 1638-1650s The Gallery of Costumes, Platt Hall. Cut from four pattern pieces, but the seam at the center back is straight and may be a result from an effort to save fabric, not because it is necessary to have a seam there. Made from one layer of crimson silk satin and one of herringbone weave linen and bound with pale blue silk ribbon. Laced in the front over a stomacher. Boning channels sewn in pale blue silk thread. The center front is shallower and more rounded than on the Effigy stays. Six skirts with two unboned gores inserted between the skirts at the front. The seams are covered with wide metal lace. The Sittingbourne stays were found under the floorboards of an old inn and are dated to 1620-1640. They are dated to 16 and are made of linen twill, or possibly fustian. They are front-laced and made from three pattern pieces, bound with leather. The shoulder straps are cut off the shoulder. The stays are worn and patched and have evidently been in heavy use. They have five skirts and the front goes down into a shallow peak. There is no armscye, from the high back panel the top is a straight line and it is possible that they would not encase the breasts much, if at all. Perhaps they would have looked similar to this painting were the breast support seems to be the shift as it is pressed against the bosom with the help of the stays. Anonymous, Rich Man and Lazarus, c. 1610

And here comes the final part of the making of my new 17th century bodice. (Part 1 & 2) Once the outer fabric, lining and sleeves where set it was time to deal with the tabs. (Every stay maker…

Step back in time and discover the intricate world of clothes in the Elizabethan era. Uncover the significance of clothing during this era!

This pad bolsters the hips creating a 17th century silhouette (a style also common in parts of the 16th and 18th centuries). The 17th Century Bum Roll has adjustable ties in center front. This pad creates the proper volume at the back making the waist look smaller in contrast, the appropriate shaping for this era. Costuming optical illusions! Last photos are shown worn underneath our 17th c. Petticoat. and c. 1660 corset, found here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/84813056/c1660-cavalier-restoration-moliere?ref=shop_home_active_3 and with our Cavalier Ensemble: https://www.etsy.com/listing/592490055/cavalier-17th-c-costume-ensemble-4-piece?ref=shop_home_active_4 Available in White 100% cotton twill with poly batting with or without a flange. (first photo shows with flange, 2nd photo, without flange) Added flange option is an alteration point that can be let out and stuffed further or also work as a spot to attach yardage or tulle to create more volume. Available in size small-2XL Ø Small= 23" to 26" Ø Medium= 27" to 30" Ø Large= 31” to 34" Ø X-Large= 35” to 38" Ø XX-Large= 39” to 42" Ø Custom = Send us your waist measure see our size chart here: https://www.periodcorsets.com/sizing-and-custom photographer credit: Raul Campoverde property of Period Corsets®

While I’m finishing up accessories for my Napoleonic project, let’s talk about the 17th century! I’m interested in 1660s and 1670s baroque fashion, which broadly speaking consists…

Hello all, Today I would like to start a series on the folk or national costumes of Iceland, in the local language Ísland. Iceland was first settled by the Norse in 874, the first known settler being Ingólfur Arnarson, although it is known that Gaelic monks had lived there earlier. The settlers were mostly from what is now Norway, with some admixture of Irish and Scots. The Icelandic language is little changed since that time, being the closest of all Scandinavian languages to that of the Vikings. Iceland is a large island northwest of the British Isles. It is a favorite site for geneological research, because there are not a large number of people, and the ancestry of every person has been meticulously documented since their arrival. There are no traditional regions, the population being mostly on the coasts. The capitol is Reykjavík, and this is their flag. For more information see this article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland Íslenski Þjóðbúningurinn is the name for the national or folk costumes of Iceland, you will notice that buningur is from the same root as the Norwegian bunad. To help you pronounce this, the first letter is called 'thorn', and is pronounced like th in thin, the fourth letter is pronounced like th in this. Old English had these letters and then gave them up, a bad idea in my opinion, since English still has these sounds. There are five types of buningur for women, which are not regional, but all of which belong to the entire nation. Rather they come from different periods and had differing uses. 1. Faldbúningur 2. Upphlutur 3. Peysuföt 4. Skautbúningur 5. Kyrtill For men there are only two types, an older form and a more modern, formal form. Faldbúningur is the oldest form, and had gone out of use by around 1850, but has been to some extent revived today. It was also the starting point for most of the other forms. It is characterized by a large white headpiece that curves forward. This was called the krókfaldur. The form shown above was typical in the 18th cent. In the 19th century the headdress had become flat. This variant was called the spaðafaldur. Linen does not grow in Iceland, so it is not known what was used for the chemise, possibly a thin white wool was used. A full skirt with matching apron was worn, sometimes ornamented with ribbons, as seen here above. Sometimes the hem of each was covered with split-stitch embroidery. A bodice was worn, and a jacket over that, each of which was often ornamented with ribbon or embroidery. Gold embroidery was often used. The bodice was laced with silver chain. In some periods the jacket was shorter than the bodice, but at other times they were about the same length. If the skirt and apron were embroidered, a matching 'loose pocket' was often worn with them. In the mid to latter 18th cent, the high headdress began to be replaced by a stocking cap with a large tube and tassel, which was adapted from the men's costume. Rich jewelry was worn, including intricate metal belts. A silk kerchief was often tied around the neck. Soft slippers or silver buckled shoes were also worn by those who could get them. I will close with a few more examples of this costume. I will cover the other variants in future postings. Thank you for reading, I hope you have found this interesting. Feel free to contact me with requests for research. I hope to eventually cover all of Europe and the Former Russian Empire/Soviet Union. I also gratefully accept tips on source materials which i may not have. I also accept commissions to research/design, sew, and/or embroider costumes or other items for groups or individuals. I also choreograph and teach folk dance. Roman K. [email protected] email A good article on the various types of buningur. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_national_costume Here is the Heimilisiðnaðarsafnið textile museum website http://textile.is/ The Iceland national costume website. I have relied heavily on this site for information. http://www.buningurinn.is/?i=2 Other sources: Hildur Hermóðsdóttir, 'Icelandic National Costumes' Reykjavik, 2012 Elsa Gudjónsson, 'Traditional Icelandic Embroidery', Reykjavik, 1982 Charles Holme, 'Peasant art in Sweden, Lappland and Iceland', London, 1910

I’ve been interested in working class dress lately. And more specifically 18th century maids costumes. searching the net I’ve found lots of pics of pretty outfits and great pattern mixi…

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