(no subject)

[frualeydis]

I thought that you might want to see a picture of the Uvdal 31 gown. This is a sketch I made after Marianne Vedeler's drawings in her dissertation, where she deals with the find. Her drawings are copyrighted of course, so I made my own. Also, the sketch of her interpretation of the gown in the book is put on a very 13th century-inspired gothic figure and I thought it would be nice to have a drawing of it with normal proportions.



The dress is carbon-dated to the late 14th century and as you can see, it a)differs from what is seen in period art and b)reminds of the pleated gowns found in Herjolfsnes (the "stripes" below the overbust seam are gathered pleats). This drawing of course can't replace the information in her text, but since it's in norwegian it's of little use to most of you anyway.

Comments

[mmy-me.livejournal.com]

wow! thanks for that - that's really interesting. I'd love to see your interpretation of this.
Hmmm. Christmas is coming up. Maybe I can wrangle a copy of that book after all...

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

Handelsgillet has it, but it's pretty expensive.

/Eva

[mmy-me.livejournal.com]

yess... rather.

So are the pleats separate or part of the skirt panels? are there gores? inquiring minds are bursting here! :-)

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

Yes, the pleated part is the top of the skirt pieces. Marianne thinks there may have been gores to provide enough width, but the find is not preserved well enough to show that. I'm using gores.

/Eva

[mmy-me.livejournal.com]

and it's open all the way? closures? is that trim or just an edge?

sorry. I should just be patient and wait and see. but I'm just very curious.

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

Nope, not open. it is sewn together as long as it is preserved, which would be somewhere around the waist. Marianne therefore thinks that the strips continue to the hem. It's from the same fabric as the rest.

/Eva

[ginger-dragon.livejournal.com]

It looks very interesting. I look forward to how the pleats will look!

[katarinaw.livejournal.com]

Looks very interesting! Can't wait to see your version of it!

[sismith42.livejournal.com]

how bizzare! Are there any photos of the remnants of Uvdal 31? My initial reaction is "why on earth would anyone put a seam at the top of the bust like that?" though I'm sure if it lands on a figure where you've placed it, there probably was a very good reason for it...

Are the "racing stripes" on the arms seperate material/bands down the back of the arms, like those seen in two Italian paintings?

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

The racing stripe are the same fabric and colour (undyed grey/brown wool) as the rest of the sleeves/bodice (since they are one).
I think it looks funny with a seam right over the bust too, but it's definitely not below the bust. And modern aesthetics may not be the same as those vaild here. There are several examples of folk costumes from Norway who have a pleated skirt on an extremly short bodice, where the pleated fabric goes all the way over the bust.
I think this cut will look better if you're slender and have a small bust though. The original wearer was 15-17 years old and maybe this was a style worn only by the young?

/Eva

[sismith42.livejournal.com]

hmm, or perhaps something specific to Scandanavia, since it's also found as Norlund type Id? Intersting that they're all carbon dated to 14th century...

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

Yes, probably only Norse. But it could be limited to young women too. There is another find from Uvdal, a child's gown with a similar look.

/Eva

[sismith42.livejournal.com]

which of your daughters are you making the reconstruction for? I look forward to seeing it!

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

It's actually for myself. I'm not convinced that it was a style only for younger women, it is just an idea I toy with. And the girls don't go to many events so it would be a waste to spend that much time on agown for them; especially since they're still growing.

So, we will know fairly soon how it would look on a not-so-slender mature woman with big boobs ;)

/Eva

[fluffy-badger.livejournal.com]

I think it looks really spiffy! I'm not young but at least I'm fairly slender and have a small bust...

I assume it is sewn shut at the front and that the thin strips going from the neckline down to the hem are of the same fabric as the rest of the dress?

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

Yep!

/Eva

[merastra.livejournal.com]

Neat. I like seeing the interpretation on a figure with normal proportions. I admit that images with gothic proportions don't inspire me, so I'm probably missing out on interesting costume ideas.

[http://users.livejournal.com/aure_/]

Is it possible that you could post some progress pics at some point? I know I'm asking this all the time, but your reproductions are super cool.

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

I will. Right now I'm sewing the bodice/sleeves, but as soon as those are finished there will be a photo.

/Eva

[kass-rants.livejournal.com]

Eva, this is so very cool! I've been interested in this gown since I saw the photos in the Aftenpost online. Thanks for making things easier for those of us who can't read Norwegian!

[jauncourt.livejournal.com]

I'm commenting before I read the other comments, but I have to comment on the body-shaping tucks and pleats - there seems to be a definite similarity, in that detail, between this and the Irish gown that Kass McGann reconstructed.

Probably meaningless, but interesting, nonetheless.

[kass-rants.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't think I'd compare them. The Shinrone gown is a decidedly different construction -- bodice and skirt attached at the waist -- where this is pleated only on the torso and the skirts are not. The Shinrone gown isn't shaped to the body by pleats. The pleats are all in the skirts. It's also a gown from 200-300 years later.

[jauncourt.livejournal.com]

I know it's not really comparable, but seeing pleats used structurally in *another* dress is really neat, even if it's totally unrelated.

[kass-rants.livejournal.com]

You know what it reminds me of? That "dress of the virgin" with the stuffed pleats in front. Again, different way of making the pleats and different time period, but also very cool.

I love pleats. =)

[joyeuse60.livejournal.com]

This is fascinating. I have never seen anything quite like it before, but you are right, it does remind me of the herjolfsnes gowns. A question: it looks as if there is no seam for the sleeve attachment at the shoulder and so this was built as all one piece for the 'bodice'? I will be very interested to see your intrepretation.

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

The sleeve and bodice are in one. Except for that strip on the top of teh arm; maybe it helps with shaping?

/Eva

[jauncourt.livejournal.com]

Isn't there another gown, similarly constructed (sleeves-as-bodice), but without these interesting pleats?

[tailordrews.livejournal.com]

That is a very interresting find. How is the cut of the dress. Is it with a seam hidden in the pleats, i mean in the horizontal direction? Or are the width of the skirt cut in panels?

Bjarne

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

It's cut in panels, and possibly with side gores.

/Eva