cl-Elzabethan-msg

Stefan's Florilegium

cl-Elzabethan-msg

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cl-Elzabethan-msg - 12/25/02

Clothing of Elizabethan England. Pattern sources.

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NOTICE -

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.

Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: ewright at convex.com (Edward V. Wright)
Date: 16 Oct 91 23:17:37 GMT
Organization: CONVEX Computer Corporation, Richardson, Tx., USA

Well, there are indeed people interested in sources
to confirm the period use of pockets, so...

The best source on this subject is Janet Arnold's
Patterns of Fashion, Vol. III: The Cut and Construction
of Clothes for Men and Women c. 1560-1620.  Arnold shows
photographs and detailed pattern reconstructions for
nearly all the surviving garments from this period.
There are examples of pre-1600 trunk hose and pluderhosen
with pockets.  There is also a pair of venetian hose, or
venetian breeches, which have pockets in the seems at the
side.  These date from 1615-1620; however, I see no reason
to doubt that earlier Venetians would have had pockets also,
since other types of hosen clearly did.  There is also a
*doublet* with a pocket: It is the leather doublet worn by
Nils Sture when he was murdered in Upsula Castle in 1567.
The doublet has a short skirt that covers the lacing strip
for the points that attached the pluderhosen, with a pocket
set into the front of the skirt on the righthand side.  The
pocket is covered by a flap that is closed by three small
buttons which match the buttons that close the front of this
doublet.  There is a matching flap on the opposite side, but
no pocket underneath it.  (I am currently making a copy of this
doublet.)

Arnold also quotes a story from John Bulwer's "Anthropometamorphosis:
Man Transform'd or the Artificial Changling" (1653) referring to
an earlier time whne "the Law was in force against wearing Bayes
stuffed in their Breeches." A man with "breeches very full" was
arrested and brought before a judge, where he "drew out of his
breeches a paire of Sheets, two Table Cloaths, ten Napkings, foure
Shirts, a Brush, a Glass, and a Combe, Night-caps, and other things...
saying... your Highnesse may understand... I have no safer a store-house,
these pockets do serve me for a roome."

A similar story is told by a period song, a recording of which was
brought to dance class some weeks ago. The song, whose title I
unfortunately do not know, tells the humorous story of a man who
believed his breeches were full of devils: it turned out that the
breeches, in which the man stored cheese, had become infested with
rats. :-) The breeches in both these stories were probably trunk
hose, a highly padded style popular in the second half of the 1500's.

In "A Yorkshire Tragedy," an Elizabethan play of uncertain authorship
sometimes attributed to William Shakespeare, the character Sam enters
in scene 1 with "an almanack in my pocket, and three ballads in my
codpiece." This by itself would not be very strong evidence, however,
since the Oxford English Dictionary says the word pocket first meant a
bag or sack. The example usage given for 1570, however -- "He bare always
about hym, in hys bosom or pocket, a little booke contayning the Psalmes of
Dauid." -- might be taken to indicate a doublet with a breast pocket.

A pair of wide breeches, called galligascons after their origin in Gascony,
made in England for the Court fool in 1575, were recorded in Egerton
Manuscript #2806 as having "pocketts, poyntes & a peire of netherstockes
to them." It seems unlikely that pouches would have been recorded as
part of the breeches.

There is also strong negative evidence that comes from examining
Elizabethan-era portraits: pouches are seldom, if ever visible. It
seems reasonable to assume, then, that the men who wore these costumes
had some hidden means of carrying small personal articles. Interestingly
enough, the only leg wear in Janet Arnold's book that does not have
pockets is the pair of pluderhosen worn by Nils Sture, who had a pocket
in his doublet. Based on this evidence, it seems that, from about 1560,
a man's suit that did not have a pocket somewhere would be the
exception rather than the rule.

From: ewright at convex.com (Edward V. Wright)
Date: 18 Oct 91 20:13:59 GMT
Organization: CONVEX Computer Corporation, Richardson, Tx., USA

After posting the requested information on pockets in Elizabethan men's
clothing, the question occured to me, "Did women have pockets also?"
So, last night I opened up Janet Arnold's book and started looking
at the female costumes.  Sure enough, there is a skirt or petticoat
in the Nationalmussel in Copenhagen that has a slit in the side for
a pocket (although the pocket bag is now missing).  This particular
skirt dates from c. 1615; however, women's fashions changed slowly
during the early 17th Century, so it seems reasonable to think they
might have been used before 1600.

Another possibility is pockets in women's doublets.  These were virtually
indistinguishable from male doublets not only to modern eyes (the
one example Arnold shows was originally misidentified as a boy's
doublet) but to Elizabethans as well:  There are numerous period
writings commenting on this fact, one of the most famous being
Stubbes's "Anatomie of Abuses."  Since a small minority of men's
doublets did have pockets (as proved by the surviving specimen
which belong to Nils Sture), some women's doublets may have had
them as well.

From: j_mohler at wmc34c.wmc.edu (Jason)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: How do I make a ruff?
Date: 8 Jun 1996 03:48:55 GMT
Organization: Western Montana College, Dillon MT

My wife suggests you check out the book "Elizabethan Costuming for the Years
1550-1580" by Janet Winter & Carolyn Savoy published by Othertimes Publications
in Orlando, California. It has a whole section on different kinds of ruffs.

Erik Blackwood

From: urthmomma at aol.com (UrthMomma)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Date: 09 Aug 2001 03:53:49 GMT
Subject: Re: Elizabethan on the Cheap

Robert,

The health of your finances depends on what class of an Elizabethan persona you
wish to portray. A courtier's outfitting can break the budget, but if you wish
to portray a man at arms or tradesman, the dress is much more modest : linen
and wool and leather shoes. Sumptary laws were in effect at the time, although
it was a mark of status to afford to pay the tax.

Linen shirt, woolen hose, woolen breeches or slops, a leather jerkin a woolen
cap and leather shoes is the basic ensemble.  Do a Google search for "
Kentwell" "Tudor" and you will get a number of hits for  a Tudor reenactment
with over 200 in costume at an English country house. All clothing is handsewn
and period fabrics. Lots of school groups go through and take lots of pictures
which end up on the Web.  Not  a primary source, but great for getting a
general idea of what the non gentry class wore in the 16th century.

Ellin Richardson

From: "james rich" <7152 at cableone.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Elizabethan on the Cheap
Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 16:14:30 -0500

Inexpensive Elizabethan *can* be done.  A few years ago, at one of our
events, we had a competition category "Elizabethan Garb: under $20.00".  It
had to be documented not only as to style, but as to cost. ( Reciepts,
etc. )  We had several beautiful entries.  I can tell you that most found
their fabric at Thrift Stores or bargain tables, or cannibilized other
clothing.  Ingenuity is everything.
AElfwenna

"Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make them
all yourself."

Robert A. Uhl <ruhl at 4dv.net> wrote in message
news:slrn9n3ulk.8so.ruhl at latakia.dyndns.org...
> Well, I've been playing a Saxon for awhile now.  Mundane
> considerations have lead me to shave my beard, leaving naught but a
> goatee and mustache.  Since this is more appropriate to an Elizabethan
> than to a Saxon, I've been thinking of putting together the
> appropriate garb therefor.
>
> The problem is that every instance of Elizabethen garb I have seen has
> been extraordinarily complex and expensive.  Granted, that is the
> nature of the beast.  OTOH, it would be unpleasant were I not able to
> have at least _some_ of the leeway I have when cutting tunics &
> trousers.
>
> So my questions are these:
>
> 1) what's a good site for basic Elizabethan patterns?
> 2) how cheaply cna one put together such garb?
> 3) what hints/tips/advice can one give towards this end?
>
> I want to do the style as right as possible.  I also want to be able
> to buy food, and have time for other things.  So I am in something of
> a quandry.
>
> The poss. of having an immense codpiece, of course, doesn't enter into
> the equation at all:-)
> --
> Robert Uhl <ruhl at 4dv.net>

From: "Tanya Guptill (Mira)" <tguptill at teleport.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Elizabethan on the Cheap
Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 22:32:18 -0700

> "Robert A. Uhl" wrote:
>
> 1) what's a good site for basic Elizabethan patterns?

Try http://www.vertetsable.com/ --- it just keeps expanding and getting
better and better.

Mira Silverlock
An Tir

From: margali <margali at 99main.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Elizabethan on the Cheap
Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 17:50:55 -0400

Margospatterns.com just released one heck of an elizabethan
pattern set - 3 different ones covering different portions of
garb. Well worth the money and impeccably researched.
margali

From: Mary Temple [mtemple at primemedical.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 17, 2002 1:08 PM
To: bryn-gwlad at ansteorra.org
Subject: RE: [Bryn-gwlad] Elizabethan Persona

>I am looking at merchant class. I have champagne tastes, so I tend to like
>some richer fabrics. LOL I also have questions about the heat here.
>Luckily, in Germany, we were able to wear heavy (heavenly) fabrics because
>it was cold (sometimes extremely so), so I'm going to have to rethink some
>of my outfits.
>
>Lady Grace

You might try the Elizabethan Costuming page as well -
http://www.costume.dm.net

Drea's done an amazing job with it.

Mary/Katerine

From: Lord Phelippe Descors [descors at sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2002 12:44 AM
To: Ansteorra
Subject: [Ansteorra] Fw: Elizabethan Gentleman's Wardrobe Pattern:

I haven't seen this on the list so this is forwarded from the Rialto.

Phelippe Descors

"Margo Anderson" <margo at margospatterns.com> wrote:
> We are pleased to announce that we are now accepting advance orders
> for the Elizabethan Gentleman's Wardrobe Pattern. Featuring the same
> quality, content, and support as the already reknowned Elizabethan
> Lady's Ensemble, this pattern will include patterns for doublets,
> jerkins, slops, Venetian breeches, canions, and shirts. A 100+ page
> instruction manual will also be included. Expected to ship in
> November.
>
> To see technical drawings and to order, go to
> http://www.margospatterns.com