Oh my. I want these.

I guess I've always been a great believer in the idea that the underclothing makes the girl.

While poking about on the Internet for information about making cloth stockings I came upon what may be the most wonderful pair of stockings ever worn.

How I want a pair like these!

(From the website of The German Hosiery Museum. There's a German hosiery museum...who knew?)

Hmm what do you suppose is the relationship between "strumpet" and "strompf" (with double dots over the o) which appears to be German for stockings or hose? Interesting....

IRCC II - So confused ....

So, when does this thing start anyway?

12:00 a.m. on April 15th, I get that part. But I remember that last year I carefully waited for my clock to say it was time to start, only to find out that other people had been madly working for ages since the contest was running on Australian time!

Does anyone know if we are working with Aussie time or our own local times?

(I kinda want to get started... )

:)

IRCC II - My Silk Came Today

OMG.

Enough said.

IRCC II - The Prep Work Continues

Well, today I ordered linen for my camicia and the lining of my bodice and hem. It was quite nerve wracking to try and color-match the blue silk of my gown fabric when I haven't yet received it but I haven't the patience to wait...and one can always find a use for blue linen.

I've made a bit of progress on my ideas about my under layer too. It's all still in the speculative phase, of course, but I've been contemplating making a second attempt at the more fitted & gored style of camicia. Among other things I have been wondering if it would be possible to use the bust supportive techniques of the Gothic fitted dress in a low-necked camicia. Certainly my bust can use all the support it can get and it does seem like it might make a great combination with a supportive bodice and a partlet...

I hope to actually do some bust support experimenting this time around.

And I may have the beginnings of a workable idea for the embroidery!

IRCC II - So Excited!

I just took a look at the challenge entrants page and we are up to 24 participants! WooHoo! That should make for some really interesting exchanges, and many pretty pictures!

In terms of my own plans, I've been busily reading about padded bodices, and hems, and pondering the need for chopines--and the extra height they bring-- to balance out the deep point of 1590's gowns. (although I really suspect it was the other way round. Longer skirts lead to an increase in the depth of the waist to trick the eye into normalizing the proportions of the figure.)

I think my available fabric will prevent my going for chopines and a train on this gown so I expect to be concentrating on the details of fitting the gown and making fabulous accessories.

Possibly fabulously naughty accessories!

I've yet to explore the Courtesan aspect of my persona in any depth. A shame, really, as there are endless opportunities to spice up my garb in a way that would resonate with Venice in the late 1500's. So, I'm thinking about:

Embroidered drawers - I'll probably leave the entire crotch seam open. For(ahem) convenience. And embroider some truly raunchy period poetry along the opening. I'm thinking one of Arentino's banned works.

Erotic jewelry - years ago I bought a phallus-shaped natural pearl on e-bay with the intention of making it into Courtesan jewelry. I hope to make a classic 'winged phallus' pendant to wear...probably on a gold chain....hmm...maybe even one with a collar and leash?

Figs - as a symbol of the female, figs would be highly appropriate for use as a topic of embroidery on my camicia. And they would be rather easier to wear on my more modest days than the, also tempting to continue, winged phallus theme!

I'm still working on ideas for how to really play up the Courtesan aspect in this outfit. It's especially interesting for me because I find most period 'erotica' to be both misogynistic and sex-negative, at least the written stuff, and yet it can also be so delightfully forthright! I expect I could have a lot of fun putting forward my modern sex-positive, feminist spin with period-sourced words and images.

IRCC 2 Planning. OK, I Admit It. I'm Weak.

Well, many of my 2nd IRCC gown choices have just been decided (by implication, at least) by my purchase of some fabric. Not quite as much as I'd like--there were only 4.75 yards available and I prefer to have 10 yards on hand when I start on a gown--but such stunning fabric that I just couldn't resist any longer!

I am going to make the best outfit I can based on this cloth:





In a way having such a scarcity of cloth feels authentic to me. I'm going to have to wait until it gets here to figure out how to make the best use of the fabric--I certainly don't have any to waste! And this may just be the outfit which makes me let go of my modern insistence on matching the pattern...I guess we'll see!

I have to admit that even the simplest of dresses would be amazing in this fabric.

(And it's mine! All MINE! Bwwahahahahaha!)

Things I'm wondering about

I realized that my response to comments in response to my last entry was oh-so-full of...let's call them typographical errors. So I decided to see if I could edit my comment. Being the enterprising I-will-learn-to-use-blogger,-I-will! kind of girl I am, I decided to go poke around in the features of the comments tab and see what I could do.

Presto! No more comment.

What, I wonder, is the purpose of having both a delete option and a modify comment option if the modify comment option simply deletes it also?

I'm thinking it's all about entrapment.