Tired costuming thoughts...
Ok, this next post may throw a frenzy... but I have been thinking (oh, no, there she goes "thinking" again). And it came from a comment from florentinescot. "LOL. Wouldn't it be funny if we were really wearing the "jeans and t-shirts" of The Period (tm) instead of the Sunday Best! *giggle*"
Turn that one around... what if we *ARE* wearing the noble people's Sunday Best? Ok, not a bad thing to do, but did *they* wear their Sunday Best all the time? Not according to Ninya and Jane, who showed us the before and after of Everyday vs Sunday Best.
But did they only wear two styles? Jane showed us that a gentlewoman's everyday dress was a loose gown. This fits in with what was known and recorded by contemporaries (the issue is how fitted or loose was that loose gown). Queen Mary Tudor's SB was the French gown, and she wore loose gowns otherwise (according to the article I have somewhere, and that was explained on a mailing list, so I can share that if someone wants further info on it). But is that all they wore?
According to DitCoKH8, there were various styles worn, in the Italian style (a few times distinguished to city-state), in the Almain (German) style, in the Spanish style for Catherine A.; Anne B. and Catherine H. preferred the French styles we know so well; Anna of C. obviously preferred German style of her particular area (but the English thought them ugly). I can't find the right passage, and am too tired to really delve into them again. But what is it that defines these regional styles? I can see what makes a German style (it is distinctive), but what sets the Spanish style apart from the Italian or French? Even in my Spanish book, there is no one style that defines the variety I am seeing in there, same for the many Italian styles. I guess they knew the differences, but I am not getting the clue-by-four.
Looking in my Hispanic Costume book, there is a section for peplums, which I hadn't realized was period appropriate for Spanish women, but it was from at least 1495 to 1529 (most of the years the book covers). She then shows three examples of an "overdress" or "short dress" (saya corta), from 1500-1530.
Anyway, back to my original thought. It seems to me that dress from that time period would be more than two styles for the ladies, French gown or loose gown. There is only so much that can be done with those two styles, and while people may not have worn as many clothes as we do today, they did change their main fashion style, slowly but surely. Even livery styles changed on a yearly basis (which reminds me that black seemed to be a favorite livery color, throwing out again the thought that black was worn only by the wealthy... it should be... by the wealthy and their finely dressed liveried servants ).
So, would you wear the same exact styles year after year, or would something new be of interest, even if you had a few garments to wear? Considering what I've been reading about the ladies interests in getting the latest fashion info, or patterns (in paper, in canvas, or from dolls) from the Continent (from the D...H8 book), perhaps the peplum/overdress style is just one style of several, just like mini skirts compete with pencil skirts and floor length styles.
It is getting late, and my mind can't keep on track. I will think, and maybe write on this train wreck tomorrow.
Turn that one around... what if we *ARE* wearing the noble people's Sunday Best? Ok, not a bad thing to do, but did *they* wear their Sunday Best all the time? Not according to Ninya and Jane, who showed us the before and after of Everyday vs Sunday Best.
But did they only wear two styles? Jane showed us that a gentlewoman's everyday dress was a loose gown. This fits in with what was known and recorded by contemporaries (the issue is how fitted or loose was that loose gown). Queen Mary Tudor's SB was the French gown, and she wore loose gowns otherwise (according to the article I have somewhere, and that was explained on a mailing list, so I can share that if someone wants further info on it). But is that all they wore?
According to DitCoKH8, there were various styles worn, in the Italian style (a few times distinguished to city-state), in the Almain (German) style, in the Spanish style for Catherine A.; Anne B. and Catherine H. preferred the French styles we know so well; Anna of C. obviously preferred German style of her particular area (but the English thought them ugly). I can't find the right passage, and am too tired to really delve into them again. But what is it that defines these regional styles? I can see what makes a German style (it is distinctive), but what sets the Spanish style apart from the Italian or French? Even in my Spanish book, there is no one style that defines the variety I am seeing in there, same for the many Italian styles. I guess they knew the differences, but I am not getting the clue-by-four.
Looking in my Hispanic Costume book, there is a section for peplums, which I hadn't realized was period appropriate for Spanish women, but it was from at least 1495 to 1529 (most of the years the book covers). She then shows three examples of an "overdress" or "short dress" (saya corta), from 1500-1530.
Anyway, back to my original thought. It seems to me that dress from that time period would be more than two styles for the ladies, French gown or loose gown. There is only so much that can be done with those two styles, and while people may not have worn as many clothes as we do today, they did change their main fashion style, slowly but surely. Even livery styles changed on a yearly basis (which reminds me that black seemed to be a favorite livery color, throwing out again the thought that black was worn only by the wealthy... it should be... by the wealthy and their finely dressed liveried servants ).
So, would you wear the same exact styles year after year, or would something new be of interest, even if you had a few garments to wear? Considering what I've been reading about the ladies interests in getting the latest fashion info, or patterns (in paper, in canvas, or from dolls) from the Continent (from the D...H8 book), perhaps the peplum/overdress style is just one style of several, just like mini skirts compete with pencil skirts and floor length styles.
It is getting late, and my mind can't keep on track. I will think, and maybe write on this train wreck tomorrow.