I had been wanting to do something
different then Elizabethan but still keeping in the same time era of my
persona. Then I came upon something in QEWU. Arnold wrote how Queen Elizabeth
would purchase (or be given) gowns from foreign lands. These gowns would
then be duplicated by the English tailors who would usually put an "English"
slant on the overall design. I decided to do a German style gown. I had
problems finding a "pattern" for the bodice so I decided to do exactly
what my persona would have done. I took a pattern from one of my regular
gowns and altered it to look "German".
I had an older Elizabethan gown that I had
made when I really did not know what I was doing. The dark green velvet
was too yummy to hang in the closet and never worn. I dismantled the old
gown. added some new brocade and created an entirely new gown. This
is another thing that a lady living in Elizabeth's time would have done
since fabrics were expensive. Arnold wrote in QEWU about Elizabeth sending
her older gowns to get refurbished and reworked since the Queen did have
a good sense of economy.
One of the household felines, Zert, decided
that she *had* to be in the pictures. |
Full front view |