Material Culture, Dress and Fashion History
As many of you know, during my PhD I decided to reconstruct four items of female structural dress from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, in order for the reconstructions to be worn during photoshoots the most basic female undergarment of the the early modern period was needed: the smock. The Smock – A Brief… Continue reading Back to Basics: The Smock in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
Wool was a commonly used natural material in early modern Europe. My construction of a French farthingale roll and French wheel farthingale, made as part of my PhD research, required the use of wool as stuffing.
The structural fashions of the early modern period in Europe reached a peak at the turn of the seventeenth century. Whilst the ruff, a gathered and starched linen frill that was worn around the neck, was still widely worn, at the beginning of the seventeenth century a new type of standing linen collar became fashionable.
Update and sneak peek of behind the scenes of the photoshoot of my reconstructions
A couple of months ago I was fortunate enough to participate in a one day workshop supported by the ARC History of Emotions called 'Romantic Rituals: Making Love in Europe, c. 1600 to the Present'. By coincidence there were actually four of us who were focusing on the material culture of romantic love from the… Continue reading Romantic Love and Material Culture Workshop
After blogging about the process of reconstructing the earliest pair of surviving English bodies that were found on the 1603 effigy of Queen Elizabeth I at Westminster Abbey, one of the most frequent questions that I received was: do you think these bodies actually belong to the Queen? My answer: no… and yes, maybe. Funerary records… Continue reading Effigy Bodies: did they really belong to Elizabeth I? | Speculating about the appearance of Gloriana through Dress Reconstruction
The process of creating the eyelet holes and lacing the reconstruction of Elizabeth I effigy bodies.
The process of boning and binding the reconstruction of Elizabeth I effigy bodies.
The process of cutting and sewing together the pieces and boning channels of my reconstruction of Elizabeth I effigy bodies.
Effigy Bodies Part One: The Pattern & Materials Effigy Bodies Part Two: Cutting & Sewing Effigy Bodies Part Three: Boning & Binding Effigy Bodies Part Four: Eyelets & Lacing Effigy Bodies Part Five: The Finished Product The first reconstruction that I will be making is the effigy bodies of Queen Elizabeth I that are now… Continue reading Elizabeth I Effigy Bodies Reconstruction | Part One: The Pattern & Materials