Back lacing?

[isabelladangelo]

I might post this one over to one of the garb journals as well but I wanted to see if anyone else had an opinion on this one:
The lady in the pink dress with her back to us There is clearly something going on along the back there. The line makes it look like possible back lacing? or maybe a seam. I don't think it's her spine because of the way it looks indented and pulled there. I wish there was a better picture of this one!

Comments

[mistressfetch.livejournal.com]

I believe it is a seam. Wouldn't they have sewn dresses together in "two halves" ? :-)

[isabelladangelo.livejournal.com]

At this point, the dresses were too tight to just pull over your head and not have a fasening somewhere. The "general wisdom" says that all the dresses in the 14th c that weren't front laced, were side laced. But I've never ever seen a side lacing fitted gown in Italian during that time. (15th c, they clearly have it and I doubt it was a new thing by then; I just haven't seen it.) The dresses are very tight around the bust and underbust and then go a-line. I'm hoping this shows that they were using back lacing because that would help explain a lot. (There is another painting from about this time showing a lady with her hand behind her back like she's pulling on her laces. I think you might know that pose. :-) I've certainly done that plenty of times!)

[vesper2000.livejournal.com]

Looks like back lacing to me. I don't know the precise time period of the painting, but back lacing became common in the late Medieval era IIRC.

[isabelladangelo.livejournal.com]

I've heard arguments both for and against that in the SCA. I've seen back lacing in the late 15th c so I don't really worry about it for most of the stuff I do. It's that earlier stuff that I every so often decide looks neat that I worry about... As long as I can get my hand on a piece of art work showing that, yes, they did have this, I'm okay. I just need my supporting documentation. :-)