Documentation for tomorrow

[isabelladangelo]

Then & Now Display
By Lady Isabella Mea Caterina D’Angelo

Then:

My first attempt at Renaissance Garb; a blue synthetic brocade with faux silk organza sleeves made from Simplicity pattern 8735.

(I do have a picture in the document of the Ever After pattern btu I can access pictures at work anymore except in some weird instance so...)

I decided I wanted a blue brocade dress similar to the one worn by Danielle in the movie Ever After. I followed the Simplicity pattern for the velvet dress at the bottom of the picture above. Although I knew how to sew vintage remakes, I had no idea how a 16th century Italian dress was put together at the time. So, I kept the darts, the faux under skirt, the elastic in the bias tape on the faux chemise sleeves, and the poly lining. After all, what do you line your dresses with but lining fabric? :-) In keeping with the pattern, I put a zipper in the back of the dress.

The sleeves were originally silver. I learned quickly never to wash a strawberry pink silk Elizabethan skirt with anything else, ever. Everything that I washed with the skirt still has a pink hue to it and probably always will. Luckily, I only had this and a couple of underthings in the washer at the time.


Now:

This is one of my latest attempts at Venetian dress. It’s based off one of the musicians in Giovanni Antonio Fasolo’s “The Concert” from about 1565.
(again, a picture here too. Taken and credited from realm_of_venus's site.)

Although the fabric is a blend, the colors and design are correct for mid to late 16th century Italian. The dress is my own hand drafted pattern. I started this by trying to drape a muslin over my dress dummy, not getting the exact shape I wanted, retracing it on to paper, and then finally editing it until I got the desired shape of the shoulders and waistline.
I did end up making it a slight bit too small and added pieces on the sides to get rid of an unsightly line across the waist of the dress as it was laced up. I’ve lined it in cotton duck and cotton muslin. Both fabrics are natural and create a sturdiness to the bodice necessary to get the desired shape. Although cotton was rare in period, it was not unknown in Italy and was thought of as a lesser fabric. Given that it was a “lower” fabric, it being used as a lining and not for the facing fabric, is appropriate for a upper middle class/lower nobility persona. The inside of the dress is hand sewn to give a smoother look and not have raw edges on the dress.
The dress laces in the front which is consistent with the depictions of dress through out the mid and late 16th c in Venice and elsewhere in Italy. There are lacing rings inside the dress which have been seen in earlier portraiture and make sense with the depictions of dress in portraiture of the mid 16th century.
The sleeves are removable and are hand sewn for the dress. They are simple in style and attach to the straps of the dress by ties.
I’m currently making a more appropriate chemise for the dress which is very much a separate piece. Please feel free to come over to Newcomer’s Point and ask me any questions!

I have pictures of both dresses up on my Flickr account. I can't access it from here anymore. (What I can access and what I can't makes zero sense) Hopefully, I'll get everything I need to get done tonight, done!