Why is it that every time I’m sick at home, Anne of a Thousand Days is always on cable? Of course, I have to watch it. Richard Burton is a kingly, studly Henry, and the movie’s portrayal of Anne Boylen is smart and sympathetic without being too sentimental, even though it’s all a big fat gooshy love story. The locations and costumes are pretty darn cool too.
And that got me to thinking about my Renaissance gown. No, don’t want Tudor, definitely Elizabethan. Which made me get out the Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett) DVD for some costume porn. I still want that black and silver gown badly, but I don’t think that style will best suit the burgundy fabric I have. If I’m ever to do that gown, it should be black and silver with bucketloads of beading and the pretty little crown thing, since that’s what I love about it.
Looked thru my books and found that Janet Arnold is utterly boring for this era. But Hunnisett isn’t bad. In fact, the pattern for Elizabeth’s Darnley bodice looks like a very promising start for what I want.
I’ve waffled back and forth between low and nigh necked bodices, but I *think* (at least right now!) that I want a high-necked doublet-style bodice. I think. Probably. We’ll see.
What I’m starting to be very tempted by is the 1580s. It’s a charmingly weird decade! That’s when sleeves start to get big and poufy, but the skirts aren’t yet into the nasty wheel farthingale shape that I think looks absolutely dumb as rocks. Also, they go ruff crazy in the ’80s. Sure, all of Elizabeth’s reign was ruff-happy, but ruffs get BIG in the ’80s. The whole ‘head-on-a-plate’ look happens — and yeah, it’s just as goofy a look as the wheel farthingale, but it’s the goofy look I prefer 😉 C’mon, everybody has their own peculiar faves!
So I started staring at that portrait of Lettice Knollys. I love her sleeves. Double up on the bigness! I think I want that for me. This portrait has more 1580s goodness, as does this one of Elizabeth, which is useful because it’s full-length, and you can see that the skirts are not yet in the icky wheel farthingale.
Ninya Mikhaila has a few 1590s gowns and this one 1588 costume, but that one doesn’t have the best pix. I can’t find any other reproductions of 1580s gowns online. Overall, it appears not to be a very popular decade for ren-wear, and that’s really appealing to me.
Sometimes, I don’t mind if I’m doing a fussy bustle gown and everyone else is also doing fussy bustle gowns. But sometimes, I want to do something different from the pack. Sure, I always put my own stamp on whatever costume I do, I’m no good at precise recreations anyway. But making something that’s just that much more different is fun. I think I’ll stake my claim to 1580s for a moment.