> Despite looking at a lot of paintings, I am still puzzled about the waist > closure of early Renaissance gowns. For example, here: > http://www.marquise.de/en/1500/pics/1525_2.shtml and detail here: > http://www.marquise.de/images/1500/1525_2d1.jpg
Best place to go is the Extant Mary of Hungary dress- it's basic shape is built on the same principles as Saxon court gowns but is quite a lot simpler so it's easier to understand. There are no pleats at the waist but there is a gap where the bodice doesn't meet in the front. There is a centre front seam though and it is the most likely place for the skirt to open to allow a body to pass through. I use this as the placement of my own openings and it works well. I also pin everything together which is a perfectly period way of going about. http://frazzledfra.glittersweet.com/mary There are links from there to patterns and the like as well. This style certainly evolved from showing the chemise (hemd) but by this stage it's almost certainly a couple of separate pieces underneath that we see and the hemd is hidden or only minimally seen. Brustfleck is the wide gold piece which is probably pinned in place to the gown or a support garment underneath. There are several variations on the white piece from what appear to be the hemd, what might be a boned/quilted body and finally what might be a heavy cloth piece. If you go to the GermanRenaissanceCostume yahoo group you will have access to the very informative file section (including translations and explanations of clothing terms from the time). They certainly paint a picture of the most likely ways to make these, and there are a few variations possible. Michaela http://costumes.glittersweet.com _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
