>Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2005 16:59:11 -0500 >From: "Betsy Marshal" >Subject: RE: [h-cost] Re: everything - newbie delurking
-----Original Message----- >Two books I have been resourcing from (in addition to the multitude of web >pages out there!) are "Medieval Costume in England and France: the 13th, >14th, and 15th Centuries" by Mary Houston, and "Medieval Costume and How to >Recreate It" by Dorothy Hartley. Any opinions on these two books? >[Betsy Marshal] >Sorry to be late getting back on this! I recently acquired the Hartley book, >and most of her reconstructed examples appear to be from theater/stage >designs, so be aware that the appearance may be close to some of the >manuscript illos, but the pattern/detail drawings are aimed at getting the >"Look" as simply as possible. >The original was published in 1931, so does not include the last 70 years of >improved research and recent finds. >That being said, if you want a decent appearance of medieval garb, you could >do worse than to follow some of her examples- (N*rris leaps to mind.) most >of the construction is rectangular, rather than fitted, and so will suit >many body types over a wider range of size fluctuations than the closely >fitted styles of later years. >I hope this has been some help, Betsy >>(Planning at least one of Hartley's clerk's (over)robes for Pennsic- some of >>us Ansteorrans get a mite chilled that far north!) Thank you Betsy, I had the impression that the book was aimed more at theatrical costuming. It is nice to have a source of historial references/artwork without having to go on line or make a trek to the library. I thought her simple pattern for a dress with a very full circle skirt was interesting and wondered how accurate it was. The bodice and sleeve construction appear close to my understanding of typical "T" tunic construction. But it seems to me the skirt would not hang properly with either a heavy or stiff fabric. I have seen pictures that suggest this sort of construction with contrasting fabric in the side pieces, although I'm pretty sure the one that comes to my mind was made with gored side pieces. (now, if I can remember where I saw that) I was thinking that in a lighter weight fabric the pattern would make a nice underdress - with narrower sleeves. (The late 1920's photos of the theatrical modeling of her costumes were a bit of a hoot. :-) ) Annette M The more I research the more I learn - and d* it's fun! __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
