So here's the thing...

I have a picture I want to share with you from a costuming perspective but I also find it to be a very disturbing image of institutionalized violence against women.

I've been flipping back and forth about it, but today I decided that our history as humans is what it is--good an bad. That said, I found another very interesting image in that great book I have been looking at lately "El traje y Los tipos socials en El Quijote" by Carmen Bernis.

Bearing in mind that my contemporary Spanish is nearly non-existent and my archaic Spanish even worse, I gather that it is part of a series of mural paintings dating from the early 1600's from a monastery (possibly in Guadalupe), and that this particular scene portrays an incident in 1593 involving the exorcism of a courtesan.

Her clothing is interesting from a historic costumer's perspective but the whole image is so fraught with emotion and layers of meaning that I find it hard to look at.

And that would be my kind of warning regarding Adult Content Ahead

Detail

Curation milagrosa de una endemoniada, comienzos del siglo XVII
Pinturas murals del claustro del monasterio de Guadalupe


Anything I could say about her bodice/corset would only be speculative, but I note that the bottom of my hemp corded bodice behaves in just the same manner as her's is doing, and that the decorative detailing in the bands at the top and center front would be quite supportive if they were actually trapunto.

And trapunto could handle those corners...hmmmm.

IRCC II Tasty Nibble #11 - The seam-y underside of the sleeve

I thought you might like to see the pieced together madness that is my sleeve.

You'll never guess what I've been doing today...

Between bursts of cleaning the house in preparation for Mom and Bob's visit next weekend, and laundry, and reading fanfic, and catching up on some blogs, and watching episodes of Clarence's new show-to-watch "Teen Wolf," and cooking, and scouting the Internet for bloggers working on fancy dresses for Teslacon I've been...

(drumroll........)

Sewing my IRCC project!

Yep, back at work at last. :)

Today I've just been turning and finishing the edges of one of the hanging sleeves for my loose robe but it looks like I'll be ready to start putting on the gold trim soon. Maybe tonight!

The bug skirt continues

So my Clarence gave me a new iPad 3 for an anniversary present (our second) because, as he says, I needed a better camera for my blog. :)

Oh how I love that man!

I did my typical thing of waiting until after dark before deciding to take a picture. And my second usual thing of taking said picture in the totally inadequate lighting of our living room, and yet...

Well see for yourselves.

And isn't the hem on my soon to be finished bug skirt cute?

Steam punk musing continue...

I follow a lovely blog by Wilhelmina (http://wilhelminamarquart.blogspot.com/2010/10/tea-time-with-1870s.html) which is a marvelous source of pretty pictures of dresses and ladies from...well pretty much any time period which takes her fancy. The author doesn't tend to note details on her postings (rats) but the eye candy is fantastic!

I've been on the look-out for some visual sources for ideas for day dresses and I happened on the posting of this charmer

I think it has my name all over it, and I already own the perfect striped linen too.

Thank you, Wilhelmina!

I Did Promise...

Today I was looking at The Purple Files and I ran into another example of a sheer dark colored partlet and headscarf combination.

I've been unable to find it's location (the image is from wikimedia) but the painting is credited as

Guilia Gonzaga in mourning
Cristofano dell Altissimo, 1535









In it's present state I'd hesitate to call the partlet and veil black--they are really more 'dark'--but the transparency of her zebbillini calls into question the changes to the original color that may have occurred due to the deterioration of the paint over time. I hope I get the opportunity to see it in person someday so I can make a better judgement. For now I can quite comfortably assert that it is not white! :)

So that makes two images with a Florentine connection of some sort. (I haven't looked into the connection so I'm not asserting anything, but...) Interesting.

IRCC II - Bodice drafting quandary

I have been looking at patterns and blogs, ect. to gather my ideas and gird my loins (as it were) for the big jump into patterning a more period gown using a minimum quantity of fabric and in the process I've developed a burning question:

Has anyone tried making their shoulder straps with the fabric cut so they head diagonally *in* toward the center of the body (which I see in period tailor's guides) rather than out (which is consistent with modern practice and thus could be an example of 'seeing what we expect to see.'

It occurs to me that a strap cut as a bias strip would be pretty comfortable...but would it be able to stand the stress at the intersection with the bodice? Would it lay funny on the body? Would that strip solve the problems I have of bodice straps which seem to fit while in the sewing process stubbornly falling completely off my shoulder during wearing?

If some period bodices were cut that way, was it only to conserve fabric or is there an underlying logic that we are failing to realize?

Or have I simply missed out on the great resource which discusses strap design in detail?

Your input is invited. Should I try it?