Thank you! When you say you use the cap construction, is the crown part larger than the band in circumference or the same? Your picture is exactly what I want to do, but I can't tell construction details from the photo. Sharon
-----Original Message----- From: h-costume-boun...@indra.com [mailto:h-costume-boun...@indra.com] On Behalf Of Melanie Schuessler Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2009 8:18 AM To: Historical Costume Subject: Re: [h-cost] Primary source for Elizabethan pillbox hats sought On Jun 27, 2009, at 1:36 AM, Sharon Collier wrote: > People have told me these are a type of French hood, but the effigy > photos I've looked at all cover the ears, which these don't seem to > do. None of these are French hoods. They're not the right shape, and French hoods have a narrow black velvet fall either hanging down the back http://www.shafe.co.uk/crystal/images/lshafe/Clouet- Francois_Catherine_de_Medici_c1555.jpg http://www.elizabethan-portraits.com/UnknownLady7.jpg http://www.elizabethan-portraits.com/UnknownLady29.jpg http://www.historicalportraits.com/Artworkimages/English%20School% 20Catherine%20Parr%20l.jpg http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/elizteerlinc1.jpg http://www.elizabethan-portraits.com/JeanGordon.jpg http://www.elizabethan-portraits.com/UnknownLady33.jpg or flipped up over the top http://www.historicalportraits.com/Artworkimages/English%20School% 20Catherine%20Parr%20l.jpg http://www.elizabethan-portraits.com/UnknownLady2.jpg http://www.elizabethan-portraits.com/UnknownLady48.jpg Of the portraits otsisto sent, these have large sheer veils pinned onto the caul or cap, but that's a different matter entirely. http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/elizanglesey.jpg http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/eliza3b.jpg http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/elizaredsieve.jpg > So, how are these constructed? Are they a roll, a brim set far back on > the head. Since none survive, we can only speculate. Based on other types of headwear that were worn at this time, it's likely that they are closed in back/on top rather than open. The two best models in my opinion are the caul and the cap. Consider http://www.elizabethan-portraits.com/TBElizabeth1a.jpg http://www.elizabethan-portraits.com/Wentworth.jpg in which there's a hat on top of a caul (caul used here to mean a fairly unstructured bag on the back of the head--it should be noted that sometimes the cap I'll describe next is also called a caul by modern researchers). The caul, worn by itself, is one possibility. To get the standing shape seen in the portraits you're trying to emulate, it would either need to be padded or the hair would need to be dressed to support it in that shape. If a caul were worn over coiled braids as shown in this image, it would take the standing shape. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/2492974905_5baa3f7fe2_o.jpg Another possibility is what I'll call a cap to avoid confusion. Instead of being a bag like a caul, it's a band with a circular crown sewn in. For a nice side view of two caps, see Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd, fig. 98. This is an image from the tomb of Richard Alington in Rolls Chapel (can't find it online). The figure on the left has a French hood with the fall flipped up, and the two others have caps. For a lower-class version of the same construction, see the central figure here: http://www.residenzgalerie.at/uploads/tx_csimageexplorer/ L_Schoenb_Beuckelaer_A5.jpg and the only figure here: http://www.univie.ac.at/romania/Sprwst4/uebungen/tdh/tdh1/5lescourses/ beuckelaer.jpg The modern pillbox is a similar construction to this cap, but with the band enlarged and the crown shrunk and lots of stiffening added in. For a teeny tiny image of a caul or cap worn by itself and seen from the back, see the lady in the red dress center front: http://www.elizabethan-portraits.com/Elizabeth42.jpg When I reproduce this style, I use the cap construction: http://www.faucet.net/costume/period/brown1.jpg It seems to work both with and without stiffening. Melanie Schuessler _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
