Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category

More 16th-Century Women in Crowns

Posted by Trystan on April 5th, 2012

Some time ago, my good friend Sarah collected some historical images documenting 16th-century women wearing crowns, because it often seems like a rare thing. We see queens & female nobility of earlier eras decked in towering regalia, but crowns / coronets / tiaras / diadems & the like almost go out of fashion for the well-heeled woman in the 16th century, despite having some notable women rulers in their own right. About a century later, tiaras come back with a vengeance, & any gal who has a title &/or can afford the bling &/or has pretensions sports diamonds on her head.

Recently, several friends in the SCA (including Sarah!) received court baronies, & this allows them to wear coronets in our funny little game. And I was reminded of our earlier discussions. How would a lady who tends to wear 16th-century garb wear a crown-like item? What did it look like in period?

Here are some examples to add to the previous list.

OK, so there’s a ton of French royal crowns duplicating the same look, but I found that interesting to see how the tradition was practically mandated for a few decades. My personal favorite is what looks like a simple band-style coronet on Mary Queen of Scots in the coin celebrating her (ill-fated) marriage to Lord Darnley. I’ve stared very hard at that image, & I don’t think she’s wearing any sort of hat. It’s just a band, you can see waves of her hair above the band. The band itself has small loops or points sticking up like a very delicate crown. I can imagine that being a pretty, elegant little piece of regalia there. Also quite nice are the dramatic, high, “radiant” crowns of Christina of Lorraine (on the pillow next to her hand) & Frances Howard (I lightened the image to bring out the detail). Super-cool!

These may not be very practical for the SCA for a variety of reasons, but hey, it’s fun to look at.

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Why Metal Grommets Are the Visible Panty Lines of Historical Costuming

Posted by Trystan on February 17th, 2012
Metal grommet

Metal grommet

When you’re just starting out in this wonderful world of costuming, you tend to use what’s easy and fast. This is no crime, we’ve all done it, that’s to be expected. If you want to lace up a garment, you need to reinforce the lacing holes so they don’t wear out, and you find some handy little metal ring things at the fabric store, either small one-part, punch-in eyelets or the bigger two-part grommets. You insert them in the front of a renfaire bodice or the back of a Victorian ballgown or maybe the sides of a medieval fitted gown, lace it tight with ribbons, and you’re good to go.

Visible panty lines by Lord Copplepot, Wikimedia Commons

Visible panty lines by Lord Copplepot, Wikimedia Commons

Seems like the perfect solution, right? Well, sure, those metal eyelets and grommets work. But they were not used in outerwear in historical periods before the 20th century. Grommets were intended for underwear and shoes only.

Throughout most of history, laced garments had hand-worked eyelets. Small, simple holes covered over in something like a buttonhole stitch. They weren’t always the prettiest things either, but they were functional. Sometimes, a metal ring (like a jump ring used in jewelry) was bound underneath the stitches to make it even stronger. But plain old stitching can reinforce the holes pretty well.

When metal grommets were first introduced, they were used on corsets in the 19th century (in 1828, according to Norah Waugh in Corsets and Crinolines). (more…)

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Elizabethan Wired Caps Preview

Posted by Trystan on January 29th, 2012

The heart-shaped cap most famously worn by Mary Queen of Scots goes by many names and its construction has been up for debate. The style was not just worn by this queen — it was common among upper-class women of the late 16th century in England and France. While modern costumers may know it as an “attifet,” Elizabethans knew it as simply as a wired cap or wired coif, and this form of headgear is closely related to the common linen coif worn by all classes of women since the Middle Ages. This Elizabethan cap is related to Flemish/Dutch/Netherlands wired caps of the late 16th and early 17th centuries as well.

During the SCA West Kingdom June Arts & Sciences Tourney XLVII on June 15-17 and at Costume College 2012 from August 3-5, I will offer a one to two-hour, hands-on workshop where students will learn to sew an Elizabethan wired cap for themselves. I will provide a pattern, instructions, millinery wire, and starch, plus copious historical documentation and references.

Students must bring:

  • 1/2 yard of lightweight white linen (I like the 3.5-oz linen from Fabric-Store.com & the 3.8-oz linen from Dharma Trading Co.), make sure to prewash & iron your fabric!
  • 1 & 1/3 yards of white cotton cord or plain white ribbon, no wider than 1/8″ or 4mm
  • Scissors for cutting fabric
  • Hand-sewing needle
  • White thread
  • Straight pins
  • Optional: 1 yard of white lace trim, this can be added later

Note: At the SCA event, I will provide the fabric & cord/ribbon, since the event is outdoors & we won’t be able to iron/starch.

The cap will be entirely hand-sewn, so students must have at least intermediate sewing skills — hand-sewing a running stitch and a whip stitch will be required. This will be a limited-attendance class with a small fee ($8 at the SCA event, $4 at Costume College).

At the SCA event, students may be able to join the class on the day of the event (more info will be posted online), but for Costume College, advance sign-ups are required and are done through Costume College itself. For membership and more info, please go to the Costume College website.

Take a look at these images of wired caps for ideas of what this workshop can make.

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An Introduction to Copyright for Bloggers, Especially Costume Bloggers

Posted by Trystan on January 18th, 2012

By Trystan L. Bass

Notes and Caveats: This is written based on my nearly 20 years of professional experience writing and editing on the Web. For the last decade, I’ve been an editor in the central editorial department of Yahoo!, and before that, I worked in similar capacities at a digital music startup and an alternative newspaper. Dealing with copyright issues has been an important part of my career.

However, I am not a lawyer, and nothing I say here should be construed as legal advice. Nor does this article necessarily reflect the views of my employer, past or present. But I will try to cite my sources while providing an overview of the most important information bloggers need to know about copyright.

Note also that I’ll be addressing issues of United States copyright law because many costume bloggers reside in the U.S. so they are primarily subject to American laws, not to mention that the regulations of other countries are outside my experience (plus, there’s a lot of confusion about what international copyright is).

Here are the three most common myths about copyright, as noted in the Yahoo! Styleguide and seen all over the Internet:

  • The work is online, it’s public, so I can copy it and use it however I like.
  • I can make a copy of any work I want to, as long as I provide credit to the work’s creator.
  • If I don’t see a copyright notice or © symbol, the work is in the public domain.

None of these are true! Read more to get the facts about copyright. (more…)

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Elizabethan Hairstyles, 1560-1600

Posted by Trystan on July 15th, 2011

This article is an accompaniment to a lecture and demonstration class I taught at the SCA West Kingdom’s Collegium Occidentalis XLV in November 2010 and at Costume College in July 2011. It’s intended as a practical lesson in how to recreate the look of upper-class hair fashions of late 16th-century England.

The first half of the class was a slideshow of period images, and in the second part, I styled my own hair and a wig, plus discussed tools. My notes and resources are collected in this article. I hope that those interested in Elizabethan hairstyles will use this as a starting point to both learn more about period hair and to recreate it, with either historical or theatrical methods.

(more…)

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Teach the Teacher Workshop

Posted by Trystan on June 7th, 2011

By Lady Violet Ruthvene in the SCA

This is an accompaniment to a lecture class I taught at the West Kingdom Arts and Sciences Tourney in June 2011. The goal is to help people in the Society for Creative Anachronism who want to start teaching classes in the SCA. This is the handout I gave, which was in the form of my own outline for the class.

Teaching a good class requires knowledge of your subject and preparation of your class material. You already know the subject (right?) — so now you have to prepare how to teach it. The more you prepare, the better the class will be! (more…)

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Newbie Garb That Doesn’t Look Newbie

Posted by Trystan on May 4th, 2011

14th-century shopping, from the Codex Manesse, Wikimedia Commons

14th-century accessorizing, from the Codex Manesse, Wikimedia Commons

By Lady Violet Ruthvene in the SCA

This is an accompaniment to a lecture and demonstration class I taught at the Province of Southern Shores’ Newcomers Tourney in May 2011. This is intended as a guide to help those starting out in the Society for Creative Anachronism to improve their costumes in easy, budget-friendly ways.

Two Easy Improvements to Basic Garb

You have a T-tunic, now what? How do you make it look more like a real historical outfit and not just a costume (or worse, a costume you borrowed from someone else)? Haunt the thrift stores, search on eBay and Etsy, and learn to sew or embellish your finds. Just a few additions can make your first garb look better than “first garb.” Refer to the image PDF and web links below for period examples.

#1 — Add Accessories

Medieval and renaissance people wore hats in public for practical reasons (keep off the sun, keep in the warmth) and to look good. Upgrade your hat, and you upgrade your whole outfit! Every period has a variety of head-covering styles for both genders to choose from: veils, coifs, caps, hoods, turbans, and much more. (more…)

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An Introduction to Masks in 16th-Century Venice, Italy

Posted by Trystan on February 5th, 2010
Venetian carnival scene showing revelers in different styles of masks, 1595.

Venetian carnival scene showing revelers in different styles of masks, 1595, by Pieter de Jode the Elder. Printed in Private Lives in Renaissance Venice by Patricia Fortini Brown

By Lady Violet Ruthvene in the SCA, written to help the West Kingdom prepare for a masked ball

Two great medieval traditions made mask-wearing popular among the citizens of the Republic of Venice: the festival of Carnevale and the Commedia dell’ Arte theater. Between these, you have a variety of mask styles to choose from, depending on your mood, persona, and how historically accurate you wish to be.

In Catholic communities, Carnevale is a period of indulgence before the penitent season of Lent, which is 40 days before Easter. The exact length of Carnevale has varied from era to era and among different regions. The first recorded observance of Carnevale in Venice was in 1296, and the celebrations grew to include competitions between the siestres (districts) of the city, bull races and slaughters, wrestling and gymnastic displays, parades leading to Piazza San Marco, quasi-religious ceremonies lead by the doge (duke, elected ruler of Venice), and elaborate costumes and masks.
(more…)

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Period Purses and How to Carry Your Crap

Posted by Trystan on May 17th, 2009

1568, Germany, Der Beutle by Jost Amman, Wikimedia Commons

1568, Germany, Der Beutle by Jost Amman, Wikimedia Commons

By Lady Violet Ruthvene for the SCA West Kingdom Arts & Sciences Tourney 2009

Resources

How-Tos

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Make a Metal-Frame Purse

Posted by Trystan on August 17th, 2008

These are the instructions and pattern to make a small, metal-framed purse, for a class I taught at Costume College 2008.

Metal-frame purse instructions — 1MB download, complete details for making a purse with a metal “kiss clasp” frame. This style of purse is accurate from about the 1400s to the present day, and you can purchase frames or reuse thrift-store purses.

Metal-frame purse pattern — 1MB download, a basic pattern to use with a 6″ x 2.5″ metal frame, can be adapted for most any size frame.

Where to find metal purse frames:

The best place to find frames is thrift stores! With a little bit of hunting, you can find old purses for $5 or less. Simply rip out the fabric bag and reuse the frame for a new purse. You’ll get more interesting shapes and sizes this way, plus you’re recycling perfectly functional stuff.

These sites sell frames, mostly in Victorian styles, plus a few neutral styles that can work for earlier periods. Some sites sell patterns, kits, and glue as well.

More tips:
U-Handbag Blog: This is where I really learned what to do (and what I was doing wrong!). Between this site and patterns from Tall Poppy Craft, I was finally able to figure the frame out. Highly recommended! The blog is attached to an online store, but it’s in the U.K. so prices aren’t great.

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