From: Gretchen Miller Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 18:07:29 -0500 (EST) Subject: H-Costume Digest, Volume 75, 3/22/94 The Historic Costume List Digest, Volume 75, March 22, 1994 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 For archives of this digest, send mail to close@lunch.asd.sgi.com Please note that some of this digest may have appeared in the last digest; if so, I'm sorry... Thanks and Enjoy! --------------------------------------------------------------- Topics: More bios More on patterns Historical Costume Conference musings Buffyisms More on toiles Good periods for larger folks Color of Mourning Magazine article Grommet setters Berry stains Civil War uniform video ------------------------------ From: "Weathersby, Guy" Subject: Beginner biography and mundane pattern review Date: Thu, 17 Mar 94 16:16:00 PST First, let me say that although I have subscribed to many newsgroups for many years, this is the first time I have gotten on a mailing list so I hope that I send this properly. I get the impression that it is regarded as tacky not to introduce yourself, so here goes. As my biography will indicate, I am unlikely to add much real data to this group but perhaps I will be of some amusement, if nothing else. Biography: Generally the biographies in this group indicate that most of you have been sewing since you were children and have been involved in historical costuming for many years. I believe one or two of you may have be designing 19 century ball gowns while in the womb. I, am a 42 year old computer programmer/analyst who, until a few weeks ago limited my sewing to repairing pants hems with staples. I have been to a few Renaissance Fairs over the years, but have limited my costuming to wearing a cheap Robin Hood hat. About a month ago a group of us decided to go to Medieval Times, a sort of Medieval dinner theater with knights jousting etc. In a total reversal of my usual personality, I decided to go in costume. I also decided that it was time to grow up and learn to sew. So I had about three weeks to figure what I wanted to be, find a pattern, cloth and whatever, and figure out how to put it together. NO PROBLEM. First selecting a character presented some problems since I am quite giant economy size person. This limits my choices in two directions: practical--a 300 lb. swashbuckler does not make much sense; and aesthetic--have no intention of subjecting people to me in tights. I fairly quickly decided on a friar+s outfit. This had several advantages. First I had a role model: Friar Tuck. Second, since liturgical garb remained quite static for many centuries I could fit into a wide range of time periods. Third, it looked fairly simple. Fourth, If I made a few mistakes, no reasonable person would expect a mendicant cleric to be a fashion plate. Fifth, as an agnostic the irony appealed to me. I researched whatever pictures I could find in the local bookstore and go an image of what I had in mind. With the time constraints, obviously mail order was out of the question, and I didn+t know many sources then anyway. Off to the exotic, for me, world of fabric stores. With the great help from my wife I found a pattern, see below, and some cloth. I would have preferred an all natural fabric to be more authentic, but the cotton-poly blend I found seemed the perfect color and rough texture. It is called Ghandi...I wonder what the Mahatma would have thought. In any case with the loving guidance of my wife I got it sewed up in plenty of time, ("Yes, I know its three in the morning but I need to finish this hood"), and had a great time at Medieval Times. Not many visitor wear costumes, so I didn+t have to worry about being compared to anyone. The children seemed particularly impressed. One mother took a picture of me blessing her child. I plan to try it out at a couple of Ren Faires later this year. Overall, I greatly enjoyed myself, and I+m thinking of ideas for something to make next year. If anyone has any good ideas for medieval or renaissance costumes for oversized people, male or female (my wife is a big beautiful girl) or of period patterns in very XXL sizes I would be glad to hear it. Well, you now know FAR too much about me. Pattern Review After all the exotic sources, I hate to admit it, but my pattern was McCalls 5665 View A. It is supposed to be a wizard, but in the right fabric, with the trimming removed, it looked a lot like a friar or monk. I used leftover material to make a knotted belt and found a leather cross which I hung on a leather thong around my neck. I had to alter the pattern to be larger (I didn+t know anything about sewing but I+m fairly good at drafting and geometry) and I sewed up the front so that it goes on over the head. The pattern was fairly easy to do but my wife says see thinks Simplicity has better directions. Anyway, I am enjoying this mailing list even though a lot of it goes over my head. Thanks Guy ------------------------------ From: "Sarah Randles" Date: Fri, 18 Mar 94 12:15:28 EST To: h-costume@andrew.cmu.edu Subject: Re: Historical Costumers' Symposium I've just caught up with the mail on the digests after a few weeks absence so this is a little out of date, but: David McDonald writes, in response to my suggestion of setting up a Historical Costumers' Symposium: >Great idea! Where do we start? I have also been avoiding CC for the >very reasons expressed in the previous post. Well, having read the stuff about the conference in Canada, it seems that this may serve our purposes quite well, so it might be worth waiting for reports on how it went, what it was like etc. On the other hand, if we want to set up something ourselves (and I for one would argue from personal bias that we need something international), I would suggest that a good place to start is to find someone who would be prepared to host/organise it. I would volunteer, but I don't think Australia is the best place to start, if this is to get off the ground. It would be ok later on when it's established and could afford a small turnout at one conference. I would like to see the presenters at such a conference producing papers which could then be bound and marketed as "Proceedings of the xth Conference of the International Historic Costumers' Association" too. Any volunteers? Sarah Randles S.Randles@uts.edu.au ------------------------------ From: "Sarah Randles" Date: Fri, 18 Mar 94 12:32:44 EST To: h-costume@andrew.cmu.edu Subject: Buffyisms Having read some of the stuff on the digests in response to my initial Buffy statement, I realise that it could come across as being somewhat bitchy - not really my intent, and I would like to point out that I make every effort to help those who want to create authentic costume. However, there are times when a costumer's just gotta laugh, _tactfully_. I'm sure some of my early efforts had the real costumers rolling in the aisles. (The v-necked gown trimmed with the fluffy swansdown that I was alergic to, with the matching hennin that my _friend_ describes as the Kenwood Chef cover, spring to mind.) I hope my recent efforts don't have the same effect. Also in response to the comment about deliberate Buffyism - this can be quite fun, and educational. I have deliberately made the white satin t- tunic with every mistake in the book. It was done as a joke, but I think it would make a good teaching tool - things people can laugh at, without laughing at anyone in particular. Sarah S.Randles@uts.edu.au ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Mar 94 17:37:24 PDT From: Cindy Subject: Beginner biography and mundane pattern review >In any case with the loving guidance of my wife I got it >sewed up in plenty of time, ("Yes, I know its three in the >morning but I need to finish this hood"), and had a great >time at Medieval Times. Not many visitor wear costumes, so Guy, Bravi! You two deserve applause for having the aplomb to pull off a first costume and admiration for bothering to do any research at all! Many folks consider a few Hollywood films to be adequate research. Being XXL or pregnant is rarely fashionable, but occurs in all periods and places. It's those of us with the figure of a 14 year-old boy who must claim to be "wan and consumptive" (having tuberculosis) in 19th c. parlance. --cin cin@caere.com ------------------------------ From: rain@netcom.com (Leslie Blitman) Subject: toiles Date: Fri, 18 Mar 1994 00:52:37 -0800 (PST) Don't know if anyone mentioned this already, but there's an article in the current Threads about draping a bodice and taking a basic pattern from it. Leslie rain@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: wtmp18185@ggr.co.uk Date: 18 Mar 94 13:18:00 BST Subject: Suggestions I would like to add my congratulations to Guy, with a warning. Unless you are careful, you are about to launch in to a hooby/obsession which will take over your life! It doesn't seem to be something people do half-heartedly! Having said that, you asked for suggestions for periods which suit larger people. Being on the large side myself (padding is not really necessary for late 16th middle-class alas), I would like to suggest the early 16th century - specifically 1520s to 1530s (English by the way). Have a look at some of Holbein (or Breugel, well the Dutch 1550's is not too different), Henry VIII or, for women, Holbein's Lady Guildford. It may not be fashionable, but she doesn't look as though she was ever put down for not being slender! A period which uses bones, in moderation, is also very comfortable for a lady with big boobs - oh the bliss of a well-cut boned bodice - I never want to put a bra back on! Someone mentioned gingham instead of calico. English gingham (here we go again) is too flimsy - it would distort badly if you tried to pin tightly. Calico has clear lines in the weave, and I suspect (never having used it) that the coloured lines would 'carry the eye' and distort the process. After all, part of the idea is to find out where the body is not symetrical. Caroline ------------------------------ From: JLIEDL@nickel.laurentian.ca Date: Fri, 18 Mar 1994 10:00:42 -0500 (EST) Subject: Colours of Mourning (longish) Back in December I cross-posted an H-Costume request for information on mourning dress and custom to the Renaissance discussion group, FICINO. Here are the results (I believe an earlier post was lost): The duke who grieves for his dead wife in Chaucer's _Book of the Duchess_ is all in black--Chaucer mentions it twice (l. 443 and 457). I don't know if this proves that it was customary to wear black when mourning throughout the Middle Ages, but clearly by 1369 when the poem was composed it was somewhat of a tradition. Susannah Chewning Drew University schewnin@drew.drew.edu. ------------------------ Very detailed descriptions of funeral practices are in the Northwestern University doctoral dissertation by Roger Laurence Mitchels, "In the Midst of Life": The Aristocratic Funeral Ceremony in Early Modern England, 1450-1700 (Evanston: 1979). See also Clare Gittings, Death, Burial and the Individual in Early Modern England (London: Croom Helm, 1984), which focuses less on the aristocracy but is consistent in its description of their practices. (from a footnote of mine in an article in progress on Sidney and his funeral.) --pg Peter Graham psgraham@gandalf.rutgers.edu Rutgers University Libraries 169 College Ave., New Brunswick, NJ 08903 (908)932-5908; fax (908)932-5888 --------------------------- A good visual representation of the colours of mourning in sixteenth-century England is present in the marvelous painting "The Life and Death of Sir Henry Unton" by an unknown artist of the late 1590s. It hangs today in London's National Portrait Gallery. In this work the mourners are attired in black and would seem to satisfy Victorian tastes. --Michael M. Holmes, McGill (Brit-pop star Morrissey: "I wear black on the outside because black is how I feel on the inside.") --------------------------- The "Life and Death of Sir Henry Unton" painting referred to by Michael Holmes (quite appositely) is reproduced conveniently, though in small, in the Riverside Shakespeare.--pg Peter Graham --------------------------- I suppose Hamlet's "customary suit of solemn black" might be relevant. Alan Rudrum, Department of English, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C.,Canada. Telephone (604) 263-7321 (H) (604) 291-3125 (O). Alan_Rudrum@sfu.ca --------------------------- Lawrence Stone discusses English aristocratic funeral practices in _The Crisis of the Aristocracy_, and Richard Greaves discusses them in _Society and Religion in Renaissance England_. In funeral processions, which the College of Arms attempted to regulate very closely, all mourners typically wore black, though the status of mourners was marked by the fact that mourners of different social classes were furnished with blacks of different quality cloth and amount of material. Interestingly, this tradition, and the College of Arms' control of it, was breaking down at least by the late sixteenth century as some funeral for rich merchants included members of the deceaseds' companies marching in the colorful (not always black) robes of their orders. Sir Philip Sidney's funeral, in fact, included the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London "in gownes of violet faire" and the "gentle crew" of grocers "richly attired with their liuery hoods on their shoulders," according to a contemporary report by John Phillip. I think the colorful mourners in Sidney's funeral represent a significant but increasingly common shift in the conventions of funeral processions during the late sixteenth century. I've written about this in an article entitled "Pageantry and Poetry as Discourse: The Production of Subjectivity in Sir Philip Sidney's Funeral," in _ELH_ 57 (1990) Ron Strickland Illinois State University ------------------------- See also Julian Litten, The English Way of Death. The Common Funeral since 1450 (London, 1991). This is heavily illustrated. Fritz Levy History University of Washington _________________________ A bit esoteric, but these may also be useful: On French royal funeral ceremonial (which presupposes that black is the standard color of mourning... hence the importance of the exceptional red robes of the presidents of the Paris Parlement): Ralph Giesey, *The Royal Funeral Ceremony in Renaissance France.* On French and English: Ernst Kantorowicz, *The King's Two Bodies* (Princeton 1957), pp. 409-437. Kris Zapalac History Washington University in St Louis kzapalac@artsci.wustl.edu ------------------------- Can anybody identify the source of this mourning color scheme? Is there a biblical reference, or is there a tradition of black much older than the middle ages? James Owens -------------------------- checking my handy Eerdman's Analytical Concordance, I found under "black": Jeremiah 4:28: "earth shall mourn, and the heavens above be black." Perhaps more relevant, though, is the description of Judith, who "wore sackcloth around her waist and dressed in widow's clothing" (Judith 8:5, 10:3, 16:8). Even Genesis 38:14 assumes that there is a specific garb for widows without -- of course -- describing it. Oops,... just glanced again at my bookshelf and saw Smith's Bible Dictionary. Re: "Mourning" he lists i.a.: "black or sad-colored garments, citing II Samuel 14:2; Jeremiah 8:21, etc. Hope this helps, Kris Zapalac ------------------------ And for myself, let me note that the only exception to black as a colour of mourning I know of in the western tradition is that royal widows in France were supposed to wear white. See references to this in the dress of Henry VIII's widowed sister after her brief royal marriage. Janice Liedl Laurentian University, Canada JLIEDL@NICKEL.LAURENTIAN.CA~ ------------------------------ Date: 17 Mar 94 23:33:00 EST From: "Gina Balestracci" Subject: magazine article FYI--The March 1994 issue of Period Living & Traditional Homes, an English magazine that is available in the USA at some bookstores, has an article called "Brief Encounters" on p. 36. It's about Rosemary Hawthorne, a vicar's wife and former actress who has what looks to be a marvelous collection of historical clothing--I want the corset on p. 37! :-) I have no way of evaluating any of the information, since it's pretty subjective and it's just a short article (2 pp. of text). Is she a British Cora Ginsburg? Perhaps some of our participants from the UK could fill us in on her collection. gb ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Mar 94 08:07:19 PST From: aterry@Teknowledge.COM (Allan Terry) Subject: Patterns The main sources I used for my history of the pattern articles, which I drew on for my recent post, are: Arnold, Janet. _A Handbook of Costume._ London: Macmillan, 1973. Dickson, Carol Anne. _Patterns for Garments._ Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1976. [Doctoral dissertation.] Kidwell, Claudia B. _Cutting a Fashionable Fit._ Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979. Waugh, Norah. _The Cut of Men's Clothes 1600-1900._ New York: Theatre Arts Books, 1964. Waugh, Norah. _The Cut of Women's Clothes 1600-1930._ New York: Theatre Arts Books, 1968. I also used information from Arnold's _Patterns of Fashion_ series, articles from _Dress_, and company history provided by the Vogue/Butterick, Simplicity, and McCall's pattern companies. I believe the reference to Roman monks came from Dickson's dissertation. According to Waugh, "From medieval times down to the beginning of the nineteenth century the general practice was to cut from patterns. These were flat shapes of the different parts of the garment. Simple measurements were also taken and recorded. The tailor laid the pattern on his material and drew it out with chalk, altering the shape where necessary to suit his measurements." Kidwell, discussing 18th-century tailoring, says "A tailor usually kept patterns in different sizes. . . .These patterns were so important that in England tailors sometimes referred to them as 'Gods.' When preparing to cut a garment for a customer the tailor selected a pattern of about the right size. He laid it on the fabric and traced around it with chalk. Next, using the customer's measure he checked the dimensions of the outline, marking the necessary corrections in chalk." The sources I listed contain a _lot_ more information on pattern history than I can quote here. de Alcega's 1589 work has been reprinted in facsimile plus translation by Ruth Bean in Carlton, England under the title _Tailor's Pattern Book._ It is widely available in used costume book dealers' catalogs and may still be in print. I think, by the way, that previous discussions on pattern making may be somewhat confusing to novices. At the risk of boring everybody else, here are some clarifications. The main ways of getting a pattern are: * Copying an existing garment by measuring sections or pinning paper or cloth over them. Or even cutting them apart. This is how amateur clothing makers usually obtained patterns before patterns were widely published in fashion magazines or sold by mail. It is also how Janet Arnold, Norah Waugh, and some historic pattern companies got their patterns. * Drafting--drawing out the shape, usually onto paper. Period drafting methods are discussed extensively in a number of books reprinted by R. L. Shep. * Draping--draping cloth over a person or dress form till the desired shape is achieved. According to Kidwell, this technique was developed in the 19th century. * Flat pattern work--altering a very plain, very fitted basic pattern till the desired shape is achieved. This basic pattern is called a sloper in America and appears to be called a toile in England. The sloper itself can be obtained by drafting, by draping (which is what some English correspondents have been describing), or by buying and fitting a commercial sloper pattern (which is the way we did it when I studied dress design; mine was a Vogue or Butterick). _The Costumer's Handbook_, by Rosemary Ingham and Liz Covey, is a theatrical costuming guide that explains how to drape a sloper. The fitted basic garment is cut apart and traced onto cardboard. Whenever you want to create a pattern, you trace the sloper onto paper and alter that by slashing/spreading and redrawing sections till you get the style you want. I gave instructions for creating historic styles by the flat pattern method in my book _After a Fashion_; there are also many good books written for commercial pattern designers. Flat pattern alteration from a sloper is the method used to create almost all ready-to-wear patterns, commercial sewing patterns from the big companies, and some commercial reproduction patterns. It does not produce a better or worse fit than any other method. The reason ready-to-wear does not fit most people perfectly is not because paper patterns are used. It is because the patterns were fitted to a standard dress form, not an individual customer. The human body is not standardized. However, if you buy a commercial pattern in the same standard size, then alter that pattern to fit your body, the sewn garment will fit just as well as if you had draped or otherwise developed the pattern from scratch. (Or better, if you're not very experienced.) The same goes for reproduction patterns. Incidentally, ready-to-wear and commercial pattern companies produce a range of sizes only after producing the initial pattern. Rather than redrawing each size from scratch, they "grade" up and down from the first-developed size. Grading is a fairly mathematical process because different parts of the body increase/decrease different amounts. These days most commercial grading is done with a computer (sorry, I don't know of any PC programs). Copying, drafting, grading, and flat pattern work are *all* learned skills. Any novice can use them, but will have to learn in the process and put up with some imperfect results. Flat pattern work is considered easiest and most efficient by "the industry," which is probably why draping has more cachet. As I mentioned, I think the method you prefer depends on your temperament and experience. Fran Grimble ------------------------------ Date: 18 Mar 94 19:07 GMT From: SCM.MANKER@AppleLink.Apple.COM (Nichols, Kristen) Subject: Re: Berry Stains George, I do not know how you can fake berry stains but I do have a suggestion. Depending on the style of the dress/blouse would it be possible to have a fake front that either snaps or is attached with velcro or pins that you could put on the actress over her full dress. It would be an exact copy of the front piece of the dress/blouse Depending on your material, you could take it off of her and throw it in the wash quickly to get the stains out...and you wouldn't be washing the whole outfit nightly. Or, if the stains do not come out, you would only have to replace that section for each performance. K- ------------------------------ From: Gregory Stapleton Date: Fri, 18 Mar 94 14:17:26 TZ Subject: Grommet Setters Does anyone know where I can obtain a pair of grommet setters that punch the hole in the fabric as it sets the grommet? A friend has a pair of these she got from her mother and she has never seen another pair of these. thanks, gregory ------------------------------ From: BPH3213@VENUS.TAMU.EDU Date: Fri, 18 Mar 1994 13:48:04 -0600 (CST) Subject: Civil War uniform video I have come across and ad for an 83 minute VHS video on Federal Civil War uniforms. (Dixie Gun Works, Tenn. $39.95). Has anyone on the list seen this? It claims to "examine in detail over 50 authentic uniform components" using original specimens from the Smithsonian and elsewhere. I would like to hear any comments anyone may have on this, and whether or not it is useful/worth the price etc. Bryan College Station, TX BPH3213@VENUS.TAMU.EDU ---------------------------- End of Volume 75 -----------------------