How to increase your amount of garb without actually sewing

[frualeydis]

Loose weight.
Suddenly I can wear lots of my old garb. (Of course it means that there is also garb that has become too big, including most of my elizabethan stuff)

I had a friend over who was interested in one of my old loose 15th century surcoats (not wide enough to justify the term houppelande I think). So I had Rickard take down the "15th and some 16th century chest", which I hardly ever touch. Well, I looked in it and tried on most of the clothes. Result:

Cotton damask ca 1500 french/flemish gown with wide-ish sleeves and v-opening in back: fits, but needs kirtle and a band of contrasting fabric around the hem since it's too short. And I could stand to lose another kilo or two. Last (and first) time worn: November 1995

16th century Saxon court gown in dark yellow cotton velvet and light blue cotton damask, of the less common type with gored skirt (can be seen in a few Cranach paintings): Almost fits, see gown above. Needs petticoat and new headwear + new lacing cords. Last (and first) time worn: November 1997

Burgundy 15th century tight-fitting overgown with gored skirt in thin wool, based on french illuminations of dancing peasants: Fits, but needs short-sleeved kirtle. Last time worn: autumn 1999

Red and black german gown from 1525, in wool and velvet: Fits, may have to be taken in a little at the waist. Needs petticoat, gollar and headgear, and better lacing cord. Ideally the bodice should be shortened a little too. Made in 1997, last time worn: Renaissance days in Kalmar 2000. Here's a bad photo, and the inspiration:



As you see I had bad headgear but a gollar. Unfortunately I lost the latter when being very drunk at the aforementioned Renaissance days. Another picture from that event can be seen here, I'm the one wearing a cap. That was however the night after, when I was sober.

Comments

[pinque.livejournal.com]

Speaking as an A not quite B cup, there is no way I'm going without support between me and the Brustfleck! It's almost as vital as for larger ladies for a sort of similar but different reason. Being small means you can easily slip under things... and also one layer of support tends to flatten more than if you have two. The Dorothea stays are brilliant for this if made in linen. The linen stretches over the bust and eventually forms cups while the boning smooths and moulds the body. There are enough examples of smooth vertical lines seen under the lacing that suggests some slats of stiffening agent used in an inner layer. I get the exact look with my single layer of silk over my stays as the silk sits in the furrows between boning.
The irregular folds and creases in other paintings are a different kettle of fish but I also don't think they represent the chemise and nothing else. If they did there would be more poofing over the lacing because the lacing digs into the flesh and thus the fabric.
Inner support also means less stress on the lacing which creates less pull on the opening which can bring the waistline up.