Recreating the Blue Italian Dress

This is one of my favorite paintings of a Biblical scene. So often in portrayals of Mary Magdalene she is a passive victim. Many people see her as a whore, passed from man to man, due to very early church tradition linking her with the unnamed 'sinful' woman who anoints Jesus's feet in Luke 7:36.

She is possessed by seven demons, and trapped by cultural norms where she was seen as beyond hope, the ultimate lost cause.

That may have been true but the Bible is quite clear that she was at the crucifixion when the majority of Jesus's male followers had run away or watched from 'far off.' She was there, she had some real courage. 

Luca Signorelli's Crucifixion

What is less clear in the 4 gospels is what she thought when she was at the foot of the cross. Did she see this as Jesus becoming the ultimate lost cause?

I like how the painter has a little 'fan fiction' moment. He's taken a stance or a guess which is that Mary Magdalene felt angry. She was like Jesus get OFF that cross, call the hosts of heaven and let's take these Roman bullies down! She really believed He was the son of God and wanted him to act like it.

In this portrayal Mary Magdalene has agency - she is not only not a victim, she is not only courageous, she is clever and she has a plan for how to work this out.

Only Jesus had a better plan. He took the punishment all humanity deserved to satisfy the wrath of God and build a bridge between heaven and earth. 

But when He rose on the 3rd day, she was among the 1st to see Him. So she was probably among the 1st to understand. And the 1st to believe.

A similar dress in a different painting also caught my eye in 'Penelope Weaving on her Loom' in Lives of Famous Women. I liked the red kirtle behind the dress for a bit of contrast. There's more detailing of the sleeves. I like the story of Penelope, the faithful wife, though recently I did wonder why she didn't just leave her weaving and go find Odysseus - I reckon she could have taken all those adventures and ordeals in 20 minutes, not 20 years. But it's a nice dress.

Penelope Weaving On Her Loom

I decided to recreate a dress based on these two paintings.

I chose royal blue cotton velvet. The kirtle underneath is red linen. There's also a white linen shift under that. 

I asked my friends who have done Italian gowns for advise and they were most helpful! One of them let me trace her kirtle pattern. 

I made the kirtle 1st but it was quite loose and the fabric relaxed so I've had to take it in multiple times. I'd probably do it in white next time and just pin a red piece of fabric to the front, so it would be more versatile.

I did about 5 'muslins' or trials for the bodice out of an old curtain. It's three layers of fabric so it is a bit smaller than the muslins so I wish I'd added bigger seam allowances.

There's no boning or zip tie or other similar support in any of the garments. Just fabric.

I pleated the skirt before attaching it. It's ankle rather than floor length. The hem is bound with bias tape in royal blue.

The ribbons are just the literal cheapest satin ribbons ever. They looked better than the fancy soutache I bought to be honest.

The pendant is a unicorn necklace my mother gave me.

Gold piping finishes the sleeves, to prevent the excessive red-white-and-blue thing that was going on.

There was a lot of hand sewing. I don't recommend Italian gowns if you don't like hand sewing but also can't bring yourself to machine sew visible seams.

Surprisingly it's not too hot, I'd say it would be good to wear in 5 to 16 C weather. It did get up to 18 yesterday and I was too hot though.

I definitely like how flexible the gown is in terms of I feel like I could wear it if I gained 10 pounds or if I lost 10 pounds. I think this is a really clever solution to the problem of fast fashion, before really stretchy fabrics were a thing. 

Eating Out

 I am probably the worst person to ask about eating out generally but we just got back from a big trip where we ate out every day so clearly I am now the expert. Here are a few epiphanies I have had whilst traveling in the UK.

• get the app for whatever restaurants you may end up needing to eat at - sometimes they come with some money off vouchers for the first use!
• research to see if it behooves you to go on a birthday and get something free! And plan your life around eating out, obviously.
• Snag the 'early bird' deals for dinner. If you order before 5 pm, you can often order off the lunch menu which can save you as much as 50% per person!
• sometimes if you are booking a hotel with an attached restaurant they have deals to save you money! And not just on breakfast - sometimes you can get a free dinner thrown in!
• if you walk into most supermarkets they have 'lunch saver' deals for sandwiches, juice and a bag of crisps which is cheaper than eating out at most places - or even better, buy a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter and do it yourself on some park bench!
• taking food away is cheaper than eating in the shop normally - tell them at the till which you plan to do
• When you need it, you need it. Sometimes we have been forced to buy a coffee to be able to use a toilet or wifi.
• church cafes often have reasonable prices and you can admire the inside of an old church. The food is not kid friendly usually - lasagnas and salads and sandwiches with all sorts of vegetables inside generally - so research on the internet ahead of time! Try to find one with a soft play or kid zone, and then buy the kids icecream later from a street vendor (lol we are such good parents).
• combine travel experiences with eating - we have signed up for Scottish banquets which included entertainment like a bagpiper and highland dancer more for the experience than the fine cuisine.
• pack zip lock bags and squirrel away any uneaten food from a meal for a later snack - one of my favorite professors in college taught me that one! You may be incredibly thankful for that bit of toast or that half eaten roll later! 
• beware the Here Be Dragons zones of the UK. Everyone knows the islands of Scotland are beautiful - but what they don't realize is that most of the islands have only one restaurant. This restaurant has a monopoly so they charge a fortune for their bad service and tepid, poor-quality food, so plan accordingly! The more remote you go, the fewer options for food you'll have and the more they'll try to squeeze the handful of tourists who pass through. 

Parti-coloured blue and pink dress

I kept thinking of this as my medieval party frock. It definitely feels like something one might wear on a festival day rather than whilst doing the messy chores around the manor. 

The image I based my dress on:

It is from a manuscript dated to 1410, but my reenactor friends say this style was popular in the 1370s. I like to imagine an elderly monk, drawing on his memory of court fashion from his youth for styling his illuminations.

This dress came together petty fast so I don't have any 'making of' photos but I was really pleased to come up with a dress that fits whilst basically not knowing what I was doing.

I was enchanted with the idea of a 'six panel' dress which some friends told me was more historically accurate and more easy to alter the dress later if I changed size ... but in the end it looked like I had just reinvented the princess seam, only worse as it came out on the mock-up looking pretty pointy in the bust area. 

I made three mock ups in soft, thin cotton which hung very differently from this medium-weight cotton-that-is-supposed-to-look-like-linen. 

What I learned: I am not a draper, I am a pattern person. Also always do mock ups in a similar weight fabric.

I can do cloth buttons though.

Front view

Back view

See the cloth buttons! I hand embroidered the gold lines on the cuffs and neckline. I plan to do the hem when I am sure I like the length - after I dance in it at least once.

a spare button on the underside of the hem JUST IN CASE. And because I can. ;)

Cloth buttons on the other side. 

My sweet husband took this photo and taught me how to put the images together in paint!

 

Recreating 'The Portrait of a Lady' by Jacopo Zucchi

I asked my friends in the historical music and dance world about this portrait. What did she wear underneath the dress? They were unanimous in thinking she wore a pair of bodies - see here for how I made those! They liked the button attachment, that's a nifty detail, much faster to get on or off as opposed to lacings. 

See here for how I did all the undergarments!

Janet Arnold wrote a great deal about Eleanor Di Toledo's funeral dress, which I used as the basis for this gown.

This is an Italian portrait:

Some of the best preserved historic garments from this era are from Italy.

The bodice

I cut this out a few times. I just assumed I would be a larger size than Eleanor de Toledo but it turns out we were the same size! I lengthened the bodice a bit based on the portrait, it just seemed to extend quite low but now I wish I hadn't.

my pattern pieces. I taped together pieces of graphing paper.

I tried cutting one out of velvet and lining with the navy linen but I didn't like how the linen wrinkled and was a different color. It was during lockdown so I couldn't go to the fabric store, and most of my online sellers weren't functioning so I ended up lining it in more velvet. It's the same price as linen if not cheaper, y'all. It's also cotton velvet so it breathes. Supposedly.

The skirt

Measuring the skirt - no pattern pieces for this, it was huge! I cut it 10cm too short but it was still too long so whatev. I wish I had not folded the velvet back on itself to cut the skirt. By the time I realized the nap of the two front sections was going in different directions, I had run out of fabric. I had ordered 8 metres, which I thought was a couple extra than required, so I was pretty shocked.

the sleeves!

My first attempt at the sleeves was a flop. I realized each scallop was its own piece. They took ages, but were surprisingly portable. I used to carry a pocketful of scallops to the park and sew whilst the kids played, or whilst people did their readings to me.

some of the buttons I got for this project. The plastic gold colored ones ended up being the winners for the sleeves. The square ones for the waist detail and headpiece.

The sleeve backs.

The sleeve fronts - they can stand on their own!

progress so far at this point

hand sewing the lacings took an epoch!

My amazing sister in law did this gold embroidery by the way!

Accessories

This is the part of my journey I definitely would have floundered if not with help from my friends.

A friend sent this jewelry, which she made, from Florida! 

Jewelry making is definitely not something I can ever imagine being good at!

My middle son helped me decide which headbands to order from ebay! We doctored the pearl one slightly.

I bought these gloves years ago from a theatre sale. They are a little discolored but you can't tell in the portrait. I don't know anything about Elizabethan glovemaking so I daresay these are entirely wrong but the lady in the portrait has gloves - so token gloves here.

Costs

If you are my mom, don't read this. You would be horrified.

Remember everyone who does read this that this was my hobby for a year. Some people spend more on a gym membership or a personal trainer or sewing classes or going out for coffees!

39 in thread and buttons on ebay

24 in thread on amazon

67 in dress fabric - 8 metres

25 on linen

2 lace

26 on shoes

=£157 materials, £183 including shoes

Thoughts on the lady

I have been staring at this portrait for a year now. At first I thought she was a lady about to get married. Maybe the portrait was taken to the suitor her father selected who lived far away, like how Albrecht Durer sent his future wife a self portrait.

Then I realized this woman doesn't seem like a dewy-eyed, just-off-leading-strings debutante. There's some softening of the chin and neck and she's quite well developed (more than I, but that has less to do with age!). She is a mature woman.

Perhaps she got married later in life?

But after spending a small fortune on the materials, I think she's a wife of a wealthy merchant or a lord. You wouldn't spend this much on a daughter. You would bedeck your wife with this to show off your good fortune, to sell your wares.

She is also wearing rings on both hands.

Another reason to have your portrait taken other than to send to prospective suitors was to have something for your family to remember you if you died in childbirth, as one in three women did. Your child might survive and never remember his or her mother, so a portrait could be the only visual link. 

The final project!

It is actually quite a warm dress. I am standing in snow and perfectly warm. The sleeves are so easy to get on - I'm glad she put buttons on it! My children trod on the train a few times the day I wore it but otherwise it is a mostly functional dress.

Portrait of a Lady allowing herself a friendly smile

Shift and undergarments for 'Portrait of a Lady' project

There is a theory that you ought to begin your historical costuming projects inside-out, that is starting with the skin and working from there. Being interested (cough, obsessed) with doing things The Right Way, I duly sewed the shift first. It was a disaster. It never matched up to the finished outer garment. I ended up having to redo it. 

The original monstrosity - the sleeves will never puff enough and the neckline is wrong. The embroidery was botched by me trying to do it all on the sewing machine! It's coming undone on the side...but I digress.

Here is the new, improved shift:

closeup with both sleeves

The sleeve detail

I cheated on this embroidery. I used black tatted lace for the large leafs. I did the zigzag stitch in black and the gold straight stitches by machine. The small leafs and swirls were by hand.

I forgot to add this lace at the last minute - there's always something!

I made this bum roll first thing just out of fabric round the house - I had an 'Elizabethan' pattern for it.

I also had a Victorian set of hoops. I adjusted the hoops to being a LOT narrower, eventually 100 inches circumference but it ought to have been 90 inches tops I reckon.

Full length of shift

quite the wingspan so the shoulders can 'fluff through' the buttons.

Pair of bodies/stays of Sabina Von Neuburg

Who doesn't love Janet Arnold? I borrowed this book before lockdown and the library system said I should keep it for most of the YEAR. I ought to be breathing and thinking in sync with Janet Arnold now.

The pair of bodies of Sabina Von Neuburg - National Museum, Munich were the inspiration. They were made in ivory silk now discolored to yellowy-brown. Ivory wasn't in stock in the attic so I went with hot pink.

It had a busk. And whalebones, which I didn't do obviously. I did plastic boning. Three layers of linen. 6mm (1/4 inch) apart stitching, 26 channels. 

Janet Arnold assumes that one layer of linen and silk were stitched together, then lined with the last layer of linen. Neckline is bound with ribbon giving 6mm finish width on the right side. She says, feels as if it was originally 13 mm or half inch wide, folded in half over, the raw edges of the armholes finished in the same way. A 5/8 inch seam allowance is visible. Back is tied with the original ribbon, now dark brown and 3/8 of an inch wide.

I was sharing the craft table aka the kitchen table with the kids! 

Back holes were supposed to be level and have a metal ring on front and back and then bound with thread, quite bulky at 3/8 inch wide. I ended up ordering grommits -- didn't know where to find 3/8 inch wide metal rings - and then bound with thread. Took AGES! Weeks. Was very dubious - but turns out it's easier to lace them this way. The ribbon doesn't try to come undone every time you blink.

7 meters of ribbon 4 mm wide to tie it up! 

I finished the pair of bodies! Or so I thought. I realized later I  need to recover it in matching velvet to my outer dress, otherwise I keep flashing bits of hot pink between lacings and at the shoulders!