From: Gretchen Miller Date: Fri, 14 Jul 1995 18:47:18 -0400 (EDT) Subject: H-Costume Digest, Volume 342, 7/13/95 The Historic Costume List Digest, Volume 342, July 13, 1995 Send items for the list to h-costume@andrew.cmu.edu (or reply to this message). Send subscription/deletion requests and inquiries to h-costume-request@andrew.cmu.edu Enjoy! ------------------------------ Topics: Which side the buttonholes go on Elizabethan hairstyle comments ISO: Info on quilting books Different hairstyles, different cultures (Russian hairstyles) ISO: Info on hairstyle in the Unicorn tapestries ISO: Contact info for Victoria and Albert museum Undying red linen Handwoven Lithuanian fabrics maker San Jose Historic Museum Tours ISO: NY number for wool crepe and flannel What Diane did on her sabbatical Undigestifer available ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mrs C S Yeldham Date: 12 Jul 95 09:01:00 BST Subject: Buttonholes A reference found in 'Costume' No 29, the publication of the Costume Society: "'Buttonholes: Some differences in Gender-related Front Closures' by Judith Lopez, in 'Dress', vol 20 (1993), pp 74-78 illus. The author has searched fashion illustrations from 1860 to 1920 to determine when the change from left over right to right over left fastenings for women occurred and presents tables for both men and women." That's all I know about the article, but it makes it clear that the change is 19th century. It has previously been suggested on the list that earlier closures were random for men and women. In either case it is unlikely the choice of closures would be made for the convenience of servants - why on earth should their convenience be considered? BTW this argument assumes women had servants when men didn't - men had just as many body servants (valets, grooms of the chamber, attendants) as women in the social classes that employed servants. Caroline ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Jul 95 10:00:12 BST From: Alan Braggins Subject: Re: H-Costume Digest, Volume 336, 7/11/95 > > That is one of my pet peeves. I have been in the SCA for 15 years and > as a 16th cent Elizabethan noble woman, my hair is always up in a coif > or escoffion. I have tried for years to persuade others that a) wearing > your hair up is the more period way to wear it, and b) at camping events > it stays much cleaner and neater that way. Well, you could try telling the men that any woman with her hair down in character is advertising herself as sexually available, and see how long it takes the women to react... ------------------------------ From: lmahood@casde.com Date: Tue, 11 Jul 95 13:29:29 EST Subject: info request Hello, my friend is on this list so I thought I'ld ask for some help. My mother is a quilter and I'm looking for two books to give her as a present. 1. Author Florence Montgomery, "Printed Textiles: English and American Cottons and Linens 1750-1850", New York, Viking Press, 1970. 2. Author Herbert Ridgway Collins, "Threads of History: Americana Recorded on Cloth 1775 to Present", Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 1979. I'm not on the list, so please mail me directly!!!! Thanks Lisa Mahood LMAHOOD@CASDE.COM ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 09:13:52 -0400 From: eliz@world.std.com (Elizabeth Lear) Subject: more on covering the hair Just to add another perspective: my SCA persona is Russian. Married women covered their hair, unmarried didn't. That made it easy for me and my shoulder-length hair when I was married, and no one knew it wasn't wonderfully long underneath. But what do I do now that I'm single? My answer is I'm looking for wigs and wig pieces that will let me achieve the correct long braids and uncovered head for my persona. I've collected a lot of catalogs in this search. I'm also figuring out how to make kokoshniks (a form of open crown hat) for my festive attire, but I still need braids. In the meantime, I'm still sometimes wearing my "married" headgear. (Don't tell me to grow my own hair out - I've been trying for years.) You might remember that uncovered hair doesn't necessarily mean the person isn't paying attention to what they should be doing in persona (though of course sometimes it *does*). It may simply mean they're from a different culture. I think this harkens back to the conversation we were having a couple of months ago about when, where and why women covered their hair. Of course, if someone has their hair down and loose with Tudor garb, all best are off. ...eliz (Yelizaveta Medvedeva) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 10:36:38 -0400 (EDT) From: Arlys Evans Subject: hairstyles Several years ago I wrote a research paper on the Cluny's Lady and the Unicorn tapestry. In several of the tableaux the lady's hairstyle contained an aigrette of her own hair. This is very unusual for the period. The only other image that I have seen of a similar hairstyle was an Italian block print. I do not remember any reference associated with the image. Does anyone know of sources or have any information on this type of hairstyle? Thank you for any help you may be able to give. Arlys Evans afevans@emory.edu ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 08:17:00 -0700 (PDT) From: Heather Rose Jones Subject: Re: more on covering the hair On Wed, 12 Jul 1995, Elizabeth Lear wrote: > Just to add another perspective: my SCA persona is Russian. Married > women covered their hair, unmarried didn't. That made it easy for me > and my shoulder-length hair when I was married, and no one knew it > wasn't wonderfully long underneath. But what do I do now that I'm > single? Um ... look into how widows wore their hair? (I imagine social conventions for divorcee's hairstyles were not a major consideration of medieval Russia.) Seriously, would an older, unmarried woman have still worn uncovered hair or was there some point at which a "young unmarried woman's" hairstyle would have been considered no longer appropriate in any case? Heather Rose Jones ------------------------------ From: ccuccherini@casde.com Date: Wed, 12 Jul 95 08:51:27 EST Subject: Need the Address for the V&A Museum Good Morning. A friend and I are looking for the address and if possible the phone number of the Victoria and Albert Museum Can anyone help? I will be going out of town tomorrow for a long weekend so if the answer could be emailed privately back to my friend it would be greatly appreciated. She is not a member of the list - yet. I am working on her. :-) That address is: lmahood@casde.com Thank you very much for any help you can provide. Respectfully, Carolyn A. Cuccherini ccuccherini@casde.com Alexandria, VA., U.S.A. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 11:45:10 -0400 From: eliz@world.std.com (Elizabeth Lear) Subject: Re: more on covering the hair <> = me < = Heather Rose Jones <> Just to add another perspective: my SCA persona is Russian. Married <> women covered their hair, unmarried didn't. That made it easy for me <> and my shoulder-length hair when I was married, and no one knew it <> wasn't wonderfully long underneath. But what do I do now that I'm <> single? Subject: Re: Red Linnen Chantal, I know two techniques you can try to de-red your fabric. To fade the red without overdyeing it, try washing the red linen this way: Fill your washing machine with hot water. Add two or three cups of salt and a normal dose of whatever detergent you usually use. Mix thoroughly. (If you don't mix thoroughly, you may end up with streaks in the fabric.) Add your fabric. Close the lid of the washer and let it wash the fabric (hot wash, hot rinse if you can). Dry as normal. For added bleaching effect, lay the fabric out in the sun for a few days. Caution: Make sure it gets even exposure to the sun, or you will have light and dark patches on it. To mute the red with a darker color, wash it once first (so you get rid of any extra dye that is there). Then make a few gallons of strong tea in a big pot. Boil the fabric in the tea. I'd boil it for a half hour. When you are done, wring it out and dry it in the dryer. Rit also sells a "jeans fade" product you might try. Gail DeCamp decampg@smtplink.ngc.com ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Red Linnen Author: cpecourt@mhv.net at SMTPLINK Date: 7/11/95 9:05 PM Hello I hav esome red linnen (sp? *blush*) that I got so cheap that it would have been a crime to pass it up, even if it is BRIGHT red. Anyone know of a way to mute its tone?? I cannot wear a dress that red to an sca event..no no no :-) Thanks Chantal ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 10:05:51 -0800 (PST) From: PATSY DUNHAM Subject: Lithuanian hand-weaver Hi H-Costume, I'm getting the digest these days, so hope this is not a dup. Original address did not indicate cc to here, and I think there are probably readers who would be interested, so... (I can't _stand_ it!, see 2d para. below!) Chimene/Patsy --------------------------FORWARDED MESSAGE----------------------------- >To: sca@mc.lcs.mit.edu >Date: 11 Jul 1995 23:50:51 GMT >From: Christina Cary >Subject: Baltic Fabric-sell? I recently returned from a trip to Lithuania. While I was there, I met a spry 76-year-old woman who still does the traditional weaving on a wooden loom. She weaves various types of fabric that is used for the traditional Lithuania costume, from heavy skirt fabric to lighter white linen jacquard blouse fabric. There is shrinking interest in the native fabrics as the country modernizes, so ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^AAAARRGGHHH!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ she finds herself with a stockpile of fabric and a smaller market to sell to. I was wondering if you-all had any ideas on who might be interested in buying her fabric (she can also weave to order). Are there any Baltic dance groups or SCA members who dress up as Lithuanians? (It's a longshot... thought I'd ask!) The fabric is authentic, and all natural fibers, I believe (except for some shiny accents in the belts that seemed to be rayon). I'm sorry, I don't have any idea what it would cost. The skirt fabric looks to be 45" wide or maybe more, The blouse fabric is also wide. The belts are about 4" wide. Any ideas or suggestions? Thank you! Christina ------------------------------ From: QuiltMag@aol.com Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 13:52:55 -0400 Subject: Re: Red Linnen To "dull" any color, use a bottle of TAN Rit Dye. For new fabric, such as linen, just throw fabric into the washing machine, use hot water, and add the dye when the tub is full and the wash agitation is starting. let go through both wash cycle with dye and then rinse cycle as normal. Works wonderfully! ------------------------------ From: DCROSS@bentley.edu Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 14:17:24 -0400 (EDT) Subject: more on covering the hair > > Of course, if someone has their hair down and loose with Tudor garb, > all best are off. > > ...eliz > (Yelizaveta Medvedeva) Unless she's Elizabeth I in her coronation robes! -Denise (Elayne Courtenay) ------------------------------ From: close@lunch.engr.sgi.com (Diane Barlow Close) Subject: San Jose Historic Museum Tours Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 13:39:17 -0700 (PDT) By now everyone has probably figured out that I'm back from sabbatical! :-) I had a great time, mostly just lazing around home, sewing or visiting local sites. One trip I can highly recommend for those historic costumers visiting San Jose (or San Francisco if you don't mind a bit of a drive) is the San Jose Historical Museum. It's actually a recreated town (a couple blocks) consisting of 26 rebuilt turn-of-the-century Victorian buildings (houses and businesses) on 25 acres, located on Senter Road in San Jose. It's located beside the Happy Hollow Park and Zoo (mainly for kids, but has some interesting exhibits of interest to curious adults too) and the Japanese Park (free admission and wonderfully peaceful during the week; gorgeous at any time.) The Historical Museum costs $6 for a three hour tour, and it's a _very_ extensive tour, indeed! The era of the park is 1890 to 1910, with some 1920's and 1930's decorated houses too. A couple of the houses were donated complete with original furniture (of the last occupants), which is why there are a few with interiors from the later 20's and 30's era. The best part for costume lovers is the Museum's extensive costume shop -- in addition to renting clothing and selling hats and other accessories, they carry Past Patterns, Old World Enterprises and several other recreation companies' stuff! The store is located in the small costume museum-house in the park, and the small costume displays are quite nice too. All the staff and tour guides dress in reproduction dress (of varying accuracy) too. A tour here should get the old clothing reproduction juices going! It certainly jump-started mine! :-) -- Diane Close close@lunch.engr.sgi.com I'm at lunch all day. :-) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 13:44:56 -0700 (PDT) From: Kelly Keith Subject: Fabric Source Last Fall or Winter someone posted a internet/mailorder source in NYC for wool crepe and wool flannel. I got the phone number and ordered a sample pack. They were great! Unfortunately I lost the sample pack and--consequently--the name and phone number of the company. Does this outfit sound familiar to anyone out there, and if so, can you supply me with a name, address, or phone number. (it was an 800 number, so it's not like I could just look it up on my phone bill.) Kelly Keith ------------------------------ From: close@lunch.engr.sgi.com (Diane Barlow Close) Subject: What I did on my spring vacation... :-) Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 13:54:44 -0700 (PDT) I did a lot of sewing over my holiday, and one of the things I made was a historic-inspired piece of "wearable art". If you have web access, you can check it out: http://reality.sgi.com/employees/pdc/gallery.html The featured piece is a vest I created from a pair of cotton boxer shorts (boys, size large). Though not exclusively historic costume, the vest features a historic costume theme, so I thought I'd go ahead and post about it here. One of the women on my wearable art clothing mailing list has termed it my "Great Gatsby" vest. :-) Normally I don't buy boxer shorts, but these had a cool "groups of 1930's type people standing around at a party drinking" scene on one leg, and a "1930's grand piano and restaurant" scene on the other leg. I was horrified when the shorts shrunk up to nothing when I washed them, and determined to find something to do with the material rather than return them to the store. So I came up with the idea of turning them into a vest. The original shorts had "roman columns" extending into a solid light-grey ceiling that formed waistband, and the scenes mentioned above, one per leg. I carefully opened up each and every seam, but found that the fly front hacked into the scenes in a couple bad places. That's where I ended up doing most of my matching and piecing. In the pictures, on the right front, beside the dark-haired man with his hand in his pocket, you can see the head of a blond woman. That's all that was left of the scene, to the right, after the fly was removed: just his body and her head. So I pieced and appliqued in a gown for her, some matching dark grey fabric for the "fake building" background, and painted on the white fence to match the other side. I also gave both "side" women matching fans, to cover stitch-removal holes leftover from the fly. The black and white tile didn't extend down far enough, on either side, to form vest points, so I bought some similar, but smaller, black and white squares material and used it en pointe. I cut the light grey ceiling off mid-way through the column extensions and used a Hoffman stars print to make it look like they were partying under the open sky. I duplicated the Hoffman's stars in the existing boxer-short sky by using gold glitter, and gold and copper fabric paints to create the perfect, matching stars. I added a irridescent-covered-yellow moon to the left front, wrapping it around the column to make it appear part of the scene. The original colour choices for the gowns were horrible and boring, as were the men's jacket lapels, so I fabric- and glitter-painted in new designs and colours, trying to be as true to the era as today's fabric paints would allow. I used coloured and irridescent paint to highlight the drinks in the glasses, pieced in the restaurant scene from the edge of the one leg, to cover up more fly-removal missing pieces, and added dollar-sign buttons to finish. Voila! C'est fini! :-) For those of you who check out the finished vest on my husband's web page, you'll also see a (somewhat fuzzy, sorry) photo of my "wearable" (as opposed to "historic) Armistic Blouse (Folkwear 210). In an attempt to be true to the feel of the era, I used two 100% cotton prints featuring a 1920's theme: a teal background printed with purple, blue and red women-dressed-in-1920's-and-1930's-clothing for the main blouse pieces and a blue and purple (on a red background) "Laurel and Hardy" print for the collar, inset and cuffs. It's quite bright in "real life", and I just love it! If you are thinking of making up the pattern, here's my experiences with it up as a modern, wearable garment: the original pattern is very narrow and quite short. Since it's a fairly straight-forward blouse pattern though, it's fairly easy to modify it. I widened the back and front to fit more loosely and lengthened it to jeans-tuck-in level (which meant adding about 12 inches). I skipped the waist tie, since I wanted a longer, more modern garment. The pattern instructions are very generous with the fabric estimates, so if you make it up as they originally planned, you can expect a good amount of leftover. Their sleeves are very narrow too, which I didn't mind as they fit me perfectly. Since I didn't want a long-sleeved, wide-cuffed blouse, I shortened my sleeves to 3/4 sleeves and drafted up a simple narrow cuff to finish them. The collar is _very_ wide. I made mine, which doesn't have lace, to the "pre-adding the lace" width, so it would be narrower and more flattering. The instructions aren't very efficient about attaching the vestee piece, either. At one point you end up attempting to sew together four doubled-over pieces of fabric! Clean-finishing some of the edges with a serger or with zig-zagging cuts down on the bulk considerably. Other than that, it went together much easier than other Folkwears I've worked with. If you've made any type of flat-collar shirt (the non-collar-stand variety found almost exclusively for women, especially in short-sleeved shirts), then this will be very easy to make up. I should add that properly made up (with for-your-body width adjustments) the shirt is _extremely_ comfortable to wear! I can't figure out why this style hasn't come back into fashion, it's so comfortable! It looks great with jeans too. -- Diane Close close@lunch.engr.sgi.com I'm at lunch all day. :-) Pictures: http://reality.sgi.com/employees/pdc/gallery.html ------------------------------ From: close@lunch.engr.sgi.com (Diane Barlow Close) Subject: Bursting Digests! Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 14:07:02 -0700 (PDT) As some of you may already know, it's possible to break digests (which have been formatted to the RFC 1153 standard) down into individual messages, allowing you to easily delete the messages you don't want to read and reply individually to those you do want. This eliminates the minor inconvenience of gettting the digests, which sends all the weeks' messages in one lump, and then having to cut and paste a whole bunch to reply to individual messages. A number of mail programs have built-in support for bursting digests. Formail, which is part of the procmail distribution, can do it with its -s and -d options. MH can do it via the "burst" command. VM (an Emacs-based MUA) also has support for bursting: you save the digest (file filename filetype) and then type some commands (mailbook filename filetype) after you leave mail. Check your own mailing program's help screen (or man page) to see if the "burst" feature is part of the mailer you are already using. Some news programs like nn can burst digests too. And there are a few stand-alone digest bursting programs, some better than others. I've obtained and modified a small digest-bursting program so that it will work with the digests produced for the h-costume mailing list. Those digests, which are produced manually by Gretchen Miller, are not up to RFC 1153 standards, but this new undigesting program will work both on RFC 1153 standard digests and with our own h-costume digests. BTW, if anyone is interested in seeing what's involved with the "RFC 1153" standard, you can view a hypertext description (one of many) at: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/htbin/rfc/rfc1153.html (One advantage of looking at a hypertext version of the RFC is that you can easily jump to other RFCs that are referenced.) The program I've located and modified for h-costume digests is called called "undigest" and is written in C. It's a fairly small, portable program and I think that most people will find it fairly easy to use. It can be set up as a program or as a mail filter. Most of you will find it easier to use it as a program rather than as a filter. To get this program send the commands: get h-costume undigest.c end to majordomo@lunch.engr.sgi.com and the server will send you back the file. Save what the server sends you as a file called: undigest.c You'll have to compile the program before it'll work, of course. To compile the program you need to remove the mailing headers and then type: cc -O undigest.c -o undigest If the above command doesn't work, you'll have to ask your local sysadmin how to compile "C" programs on your system. When you next receive a digest in the mail, save it to a file and run this program on it to break it into individual messages. To run this program on your digest file, you say: undigest < digest > mailfile where "digest" is the name of the digest file you want it to work on. Then read the file this process creates, mailfile, using your mail own program (for example "elm -f mailfile"). If that works satisfactorily, you can read the comments in the program to figure out how to use it as a mail filter. I haven't tried that method myself, but it should be easy enough to figure out how to do it. Happy bursting everyone! :-) -- Diane Close close@lunch.engr.sgi.com I'm at lunch all day. :-) ------------------------------ End of Volume 342 -----------------------