Renaissance – Fashion Through Herstory

Handmaid’s tale (photoshoot)

Published on September 4, 2018 by fashionthrougherstory4 Comments

I think no one have missed the awfully good series that is Margater Atwoods “The Handsmaids Tale” – and I say “awfully” because it is So good and yet so horrible when you think about how close such a future might be.
And if you haven’t seen it, Do! you will be moved, and angry, terrified, and totally addicted.

With hate and misogynous thinking creeping back (or maybe it never really disapered to begin with) into our minds.
With les than a week left to the Swedish election for parliament, I actually fear that we are going backward, and instead of learning from history, we are headed head long into Atwoods dystopian future.

So, to show my opposition against the hate and backward thinking of these parties, I wanted to do a “Handmaids tale” photoshoot.

For this shoot I’m wearing My 1550s Kirtle with apron and cap, a bumrol, embroidered shift, mittens and most importantly my red “riding hood” cape.
I also managed to get a few shots with my baby girl E (her clothes are all modern).

“Freedom, like everything else is relative” (The Handmaid’s tale 2017)

“Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance, you have to work at it” (The handmaid’s tale 2017)

“Under his eye…”

“Nolite te bastardes carborundorum/ Don’t let the bastards grind you down” (The handmaid’s tale 2017)

“They should never have given us uniforms, if they didn’t want us to be an army” (Handmaid’s tale 2017)

“Ordinary is what you’r used to” (the Handmaid’s tale 2017)

“Better never means better for everyone…It always means worse, for someone.” (“Handsmaid’s tale 2017)

“Stop! Don’t touch my baby girls rights!”

“Praised be, bitch!” (Handmaid’s tale 2017)

Photos by: Maria Petersson

Halloween Theme: The execution of Anne Boleyn

Published on October 27, 2017October 26, 2017 by fashionthrougherstoryLeave a comment

The Halloween themes continue:

Warning! There are some gruesome pics in this post…

Modell: Ebba Petrén (& Elin Evaldsdotter)

Söderköpings Medieval Fair 2017

Published on September 21, 2017 by fashionthrougherstoryLeave a comment

It’s almost been a month since the yearly Medieval fair in Söderköping, and I just now gotten round to post about it, but better late then never right:-).

I’ve been attending this fair with my sister for a few years now (2014, 2015, 2016) and this year was no exception, only this year I didn’t joined the dance recital, but instead had my hand full taking care of my 1 year old son.

As always I had a bit of a trouble deciding on what to wear, but finally settled on the Elizabeth I dress l made last year.

My sister borrowed my red renaissance kirtle.

And baby Charlie wore the Henry VIII coat from last year, pared with an old red velvet hat to match.

I promised my fiancé I wouldn’t dress him to weird, and in my defence I can only say I (partially) held that promise. Besides from the coat and hat (which he needed for head covering), he wears a regular gray long sleeved t-shirt and pants pared with his autumn boots.

*Disclaimer: This post will be full of cute (faceless) “Henry VII” baby pics – so consider yourself warned;-)

**I’m sorry about the “Floating ruff”, but the partlet was simply to hot to wear, and I’ve forgotten to bring my necklace and/or black-worked smock, so I figured it was better then nothing…

We begun the day by touring the market place.
And I got a beautiful feather fan, and a book about medieval clothing that I’ve never seen before.

Then we walked the 500m or so to the camp and Medieval playground.
There was a lot of “follow the toddler” happening.

Then we meet up with the dancing team and baby C got introduced to the whole gang for te first time.

My sister joined the dancing

And me and C watched(At least for a little while), then he was of agin… I do think we made for quite a sight.
Lots of people commented on how cute he looked, and some even wanted our picture.

After the dancing we went to get some food, and encountered the knights on our way to the restaurant.After lunch we stopped to take a break and to play a bit in the parks playground. The slide is by far his favourite.
The we did even more exploring the townHa ha, I love that my sister tries to play with him and how he’s much more interesting in the gravel:-D Trying to get some nice photos together… It’s harder then you’d think
Before we headed home we took another round of the market and listened to some music, Met a knight of the crusades and looked at some more pretty things (that we didn’t buy). Renaissance ladies.
It was such a fun day, and a perfect “first event” for C (who was in the best of moods during the day, and then slept the whole car ride home). What more could you wish for 🙂

Re-make a pair of bodice (HSM 2/2017)

Published on March 13, 2017 by fashionthrougherstory4 Comments

I tend to think these “make-do/repair/re-make – challenges” are pretty boring. And I never know what to make and feel kind of uninspired by the whole thing.

But then something always happens.

I guess it’s due to my ever growing costume wardrobe, and my inpatients (often pressed by deadlines) to get stuff finished, that I always end up with several entry’s for the “re-make” HSM challenges.

The first one, this time, is the fixing up of my 16th century “Pair of bodice” (corset) that I made as one of my first historic pieces back in 2013.
Mighty proud back then

Since I’ve long been dreaming of expanding my 16th century wardrobe (and just recently got both patterns and a lovely black wool for a robe) I decided it was time to go through the existing pieces to make sure they where up to speed.

2013, and just starting to ventur into the world of historic costuming

February 2017, and still a novice (tough a bit more knowable)
The corset fit me almost the same as back in 2013, but that was not enough anymore.
It needed to be fixed.

Here is how it looked before I dug my seam-ripper into it.

The first thing I did was to take my measurements, and they tuned out (as I expected) to be the exact same with and without the corset on. I know that the 16th century silhouette don’t call for any sliming of the torso, but a column to get the right look of the garment. But despite that I wanted to minimize my “column” as much as possible – Oh the vanity…

One of the biggest problem in this was the thick (2-3mm) plastic zip-ties I used to completely bone the bodice.
They build on to the outside of the corset to give me the bigger/same size as un-laced.

So they had to go.

Or at least most of them.
After I unripped the bias tape covering the upper edge, I removed every other bone at the front, all bones at the sides and only left a few ones a the back. I also cut the remaining bones down a god cm to make them fit better into the channels.
Cutting down the plastic boning.

Once the bones was gone I faced another problem – now the whole thing was a bit to big…

So I grabbed my seam-ripper, and got to work removing the piecing I added for exactly the same (opposite?) reason when I made the bodice.

Once almost all the upper binding was removed, I also took the opportunity to shorten the shoulder straps.

By now the corset looked like some kind of roadkill, with everything hanging lose and the big pile of boning sticking out.

Quality control by my tiny “helper”

Then all that was left was to stitch everything back again.

The finished Pair of bodice:

All the facts:

Challenge: nr 2/2017 – Re-make

What: The re-make of my 16th century “Pair of bodice”

How It fit the challenge: I re-made the pair of bodice to better fit my current skill and body, making it a lot more likely I will actually wear them. I also got a lot leftover boning from the fix-up, that I can use for other projects down the line.

Pattern: None

Fabric/Notions: Thread

How historical accurate: Not at all except the shape. The whole thing is made with machine, in synthetic brocade using both plastic boning and metal eyelets (so sorry you guys…). But it is a clear example of how my knowledge and skill have grown and since they will never be seen, it don’t bother me as much as it probably should. about 3/10.

Time/Cost: About 3 hours and it didn’t cost me a thing (of one thing I gained a few cents with the opportunity to re-use the left over bones).

First worn: Beginning of Mars for photos

Finished thoughts: I’m happy that I now might finally wear them 🙂

***

And here’s a complimentary “striptease” 🙂

photos by: Elin Evaldsdotter

2016 in Review

Published on January 2, 2017 by fashionthrougherstory2 Comments

2016 is one of those years we will always remember for it’s tragic events, raising lack of humanity/ compassion for the most vulnerable in our society (and world).

But for me, 2016 will always be one of the mot important years in my life – it’s the year my son was born.

Thus a big change in my priority’s (and time/energy) leaving my sewing somewhat on the backwater.
And taking into account that I had a 6 months hiatus from sewing last winter(Oct 2015 – April 2016) there is a miracle I managed anything at all. But I did actually finish a few items both before and after my delivery in June.

And here they are:

1790s printed Roundgown:

Viscose 1790s Roundgown (both with and without baby-bump)

Regency Petticoat

Babyclothes:
Modern:
Jackets, bodys, pants, hats and rompers several of each.

Historical:
A hat and shirt for a newborn

Halloween:
Henry VIII Costume

Menswear:
(not yet posted about)

Medieval shirt:

Regency Shirt:

1950s turquoise viscose dress:

1450s Italian Gown:

1400s Chemise

1450s Italian Court Gown

1550s Elizabethan gown:

Brocade gown

Quilted petticoat

I’ve also finished a few minor projects like, hemming skirts/pants, sewing curtains/pillows, adjusting dresses etc.

And as always I have a few things on their way which I didn’t manged to finish before the new year (but which hopefully will be completed in he following months).

Al in all I think I did pretty well with my 3 mayor project, which all has been on my wishlist for quite some time.

Henry the Eight – Don’t be such a baby

Published on December 13, 2016 by fashionthrougherstory7 Comments

2 (or 3 months) ago, when deciding on projects for Halloween (Elizabeth I for me) I realizes that this would be the first (of many?) costumes I would make for my baby, and that I really wanted it to be special.

So what would I dress my chubby redheaded infant as for his first Halloween…?

The answer came to me pretty fast:
Hernry VIII – of course

Portrait by Holbein d.y. and the one I used as reference for my baby costume.

I started by taking a close look at the inspiration/reference pic, and flipping through the pages of “The Tudor Tailor” I found what I needed.
Male Tudor outfit.

Then I hit the fabric store in search for some suitable fabrics.Left to right: Brown fake fur (stash), burgundy/red singel Jersey, grey/silver printed Jersey, white knitted leggings and golden trim.

Since this was to be a costume worn (once) by an infant I decided to make it as easy and wearable (read soft/comfy) as possible, using Jersey fabrics and omitting anything complicated (like slashes) or small/sharp (like beading and pearls).
I also decided it was totally acceptabel to cheat as much as possible 🙂

My first move vas to get a pair of white leggings/tights from a well known clothing store.

Then it was time for the actual sewing.

I started with the body using a baby pattern I used previous and knew and liked. I stitched it up using my serger and a double needle on the edges.

The finished Body:I like that it is usable as a modern/regular piece on its own.

Next piece was the “skirt”, which was made from a lenght of fabric which I hemed and pleated to a elastic waistband.

The finished skirt:

Then it was time for the main piece – the cape

I cut a rektangel from the red fabric, folded it over cut it open at the front and pleated it at the shoulders. Then I stitched on some decoration.

The sleeves was made from rectangles stitched together, decorated and gathered at top and bottom. Ignore the wonkyness – I stitched this with my baby sleeping in the carrier on my belly, so not the best attention to detail.

Then I cut the fur collar from a piece of stash fabric.

Pining and stitching the fake fur to the cape.

The finished Cape:

Lastly I made a small hat/beret from a circle and a strip of black jersey.

The finished hat:

This was such a fun project and I really love how the little coat/cape came out.

and finaly

Here’s some photos of my own prince wearing the outfit:

“Eat all the things…”

And some pics with the two of us together (Elizabeth I and Henry VIII)

Photos: Elin Evaldsdotter

Elizabeth I – Photoshoot (Movie inspired)

Published on November 22, 2016November 20, 2016 by fashionthrougherstory2 Comments

Once everything for my “Elizabeth I” was finished I dressed up for the photoshoot – which just happened to be on Halloween 🙂

I’m wearing my Elizabeth gown accessoriced with my fake ermine cape, Tudor jewelry, neckruff and plastic crown and septer (and a hideus plastic wig).

Then I removed the regalia to try to resemble the cleaner, more innocent (?) look earlier in the movie, and the edgy cover photo.

This pic would be perfect for any historic harlequin novel – don’t you think

Photo: Elin Evaldsdotter

A Royal Cape – Fake it ’til you make it

Published on November 20, 2016 by fashionthrougherstory5 Comments

To turn my Elizabeth I dress into something a bit more royal, I decided to make an ermine cape.

I originally wanted to make a coronation robe like the one my inspiration painting (below), but since I only got scraps left from the dress fabric, I opted for a simpler (and more theatrical/fake) style.

I used my old cape pattern, and a soft white fake fur I bought a few years back to made a short cape.

Then I cut small pieces of a black fur trim I had in my stash and placed them on the cape to get the ermine look.Testing the spaces of the black “tails”.

Once I decided their placement I stitched them on by hand.

An hour later the cape was finished.

The finished cape:

The facts:

What: A fake Ermine cape

Pattern: I drafted my own.

Fabric & Notions: 0,5 m white fake fur, 30 cm black fur trim, thread, hook and eye.

Time & Cost: 2 hours (1 hours to attach the black fur pieces), about 100 Sek (10 Usd)

Final Thoughts: Not one of my finest works, but it will do for its theatrical purpose.

Elizabeth I – Photoshoot (Historic)

Published on November 15, 2016 by fashionthrougherstory3 Comments

Before the first snow fell last week I manage to get some nice autumn photos of my new “Elizabeth I” Dress.

I’m wearing the Tudor/Elizabethian dress, on top of several layers of petticoats, bumpad and shift, and accessorized with the new partlet, french hood, an old neckruff and the amazing jewelry from “Evil and og“(link to blogpost). (Excuse the modern hair but its just impossible to get a nice center part with a short side bangs.)

Photo: Elin Evaldsdotter

Elizabeth I – Construction part 3 – French Hood

Published on November 11, 2016 by fashionthrougherstory2 Comments

The next thing that I needed to make to complete the Elizabethan look was some kick as headwear.
And what is more associated with this time period then the french hood.

Bildresultat för elizabeth french hood Elizabeth I in “power suit” and crazy perm – and some kind of french(isch) hood.

I used the pattern from “The Tudor Tailor”, and “A Damsel in this Dress” great tutorial for the construction.

Starting by cutting the fabric from the (by now VERY limited) scraps of the golden brocade I used for the dress, cotton sheet for lining and buckram.
I used the version with the pointed font edge, to make it a it later in style then the regular ones you often see.

Then I stitched the millinery wire to the buckram and the brocade to the now even stiffer pieces. Attaching the outer fabric by stitching over the piece again and again.

Then I added the lining.

And steamed the pieces into shape. Side piece/headband seen form the side.

Despite careful measuring and testing of the pattern it ended up a bit to small, causing me to eliminate the seam allowance and stitching the the back seam edge to edge. Which I then covered with another scrap piece of fabric.

Then it was time to make the billiment, using plastic and golden pearls.

Attaching the string of pearls to the edge of the cresent.

Another piece of billiment was pleated using satin ribbon and attached o the front edge of the hood.

Then I added the cresent to the base

and stitched the lining/bag to the back. Here you can also see covering of the piecing at the back.

The hood from the inside

From the side.

The last thing to do was to make and attach the veil.
I used some nice black velvet cut almost in the shape of a sleeve, and attached to the back of the hood. In case you wonder, <= This is how I made almost the whole hood (carrying my baby on my body)

The Finished Hood:

(Worn with Elizabethan dress, partlet, jewelry and neck ruff)

Facts:

What: A 1550s French Hood

Pattern: French Hood from “The Tudor Tailor”.

Fabric & Notions: Scraps of golden brocade, cotton lining, and buckram, 1 m satin ivory ribbon, thread, 0,5 m black velvet, 2 m millinery wire, ivory and golden pearls.

Time & Cost: About 5 hours (its almost completely made by hand) and about 100 Sek (10 Usd)

Final Thoughts: I LOOOVE it! 🙂
I think this is one of my best millinery work so far. It look so nice and authentic and I had so much fun making it.