Around 800, when Charlemagne was crowned emporer by the pope, nobody had any lacing anywhere, because the gowns were too wide to require it. The waist line (or other smallest area on the tunic) must be big enough to get past the largest area on the top of the body, typically around the shoulders or breasts .
Around 1200, when the bliaut had a brief flirtation with being quite snug, the lacing appears to have been on the sides. And again around 1350, when the cote began to narrow, the lacing was on the front, as far as we can tell. (This is Robin Netherton's special area, and she has found quite a few pictures of partly laced gowns where the lacing is in the front, and a grand total of Zero where the lacing is in the back.) I believe, though don't quote me, that back lacing comes in with the corsetted era, somewhere around 1550. Ann in CT --- Julie Brautigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hello - I don't post here often, but here goes: > What kind of lacing > would an early Frankish (Charlemagne period) lady > have used in the > back? Spiral, uneven, straight across, even? Sorry > my descriptions > aren't more technical. Would the lacing have been > self-fabric, leather > or something else? Thanks, Julie > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Low, Low, Low Rates! Check out Yahoo! Messenger's cheap PC-to-Phone call rates (http://voice.yahoo.com) _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
