|
1560 Red Twill
Spanish Tourney
Gown
|
Completed by: |
Isabel Maria del Aguila |
|
On date / for Event: |
April 2006, Festival |
|
Picture: |
Above taken by Christian at Rowany Festival,
full length Image in Southron Gaard
Gallery |
|
IDENTIFICATION OF ENSEMBLE
|
Garment(s): |
Saya with bebederos & manga
rotonda
(Spanish gown with large verticle slashes in
doublet, round sleeves (that are split vertically in this
instance) and no train) |
|
Location: |
Royal Courts of Spain |
|
Year: |
1560 |
|
Social Class: |
Original: Nobility |
|
Historical
Purpose: |
Portrait Sitting |
|
Intended
Purpose: |
Mock Up / Travelling Tourney
Gown |
SCOPE OF ENSEMBLE
|
Number Discrete Garments
Made: |
Two |
|
List: |
Gown,
Underdoublet |
STYLE OF
RECREATION
Reproduction / inspired by
/ in the style of
|
SOURCES USED FOR RESEARCH
|
Extant Garments: |
Reference to Jerkin [Spanish]
(26.196). In Timeline of Art History. New York: The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/expl/hod_26.196.htm (October
2006) |
|
Archaeological
Evidence: |
Reference to Patterns of Fashion (Janet
Arnold) |
|
Period Depictions: |
Multiple portraits of Isabel Valois wearing the red
silk satin gown with the slashed doublet with particular
concentration on:
Isabel de Valois, Alonso Sanchez Coello, c1560,
Isabel de Valois, Anguissola Sofonisba, c1560,
and Isabel de
Valois, Pierre Noveliers, date unknown, private
collection |
|
Period Patterns / Cutting
Diagrams: |
Tailors Pattern Book (Juan De
Alcega) |
|
Other: |
Experience |
PATTERN(S)
|
Period Pattern / Source: |
Alcega |
|
Why This Pattern: |
Appropriate to location, and within 20
years |
|
Modifications: |
General issues of shaping for fit. |
|
Explanation: |
Alcega contains cutting diagrams that indicate shape
and placement of pieces. Wanting a personalised fit based on
portraiture necessitated drafting a bodice pattern from scratch with
reference to Alcega's diagrams. |
FABRICS
|
Original Fabrics: |
Cutte Silk Satin with gold embroidery and bias
cuttes on the skirt and white silk lining/bindings |
|
Fabrics Used: |
Cotton twill (red) and cotton tabby weave
(white). Also cotton canvas interlining. |
|
Substitutions / Variations: |
Cotton for silk and no cuttes on
skirt |
|
Explanation: |
The reason for the fabric substitution was cost as
this garment was originally a mockup to test theories. The lack of
cuttes on the skirt was due to the nature of the twill used and to
avoid scruffy, frayed edges that would limit its life once it was
made up as a gown for wearing. |
CONSTRUCTION
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Stitching Techniques: |
Machine for edging and basic long construction
seams, hand stitching for everything else. (Running & back
stitch, whip stitch and a hemming variant.)
Construct elements
and whip stitch (overhand) together or attach fasteners. Shoulder
tabs and back waist tabs made separately and inserted into doublet
edge, front waist tabs cut in one with body
Underdoublet sleeve
head inserted into shoulder of underdoublet. |
|
Lining Technique: |
Lined by hand (seam allowance stitched
down) |
|
Interlining Technique: |
Hand baste to outer shell fabric, then treat as
one. |
|
Subsitiutions / Variations: |
Use of machine. Otherwise, construction consistent
with various period examples. (Overhanding bodice to skirt
consistent with Eleonora of Toledo burial attire (Patterns of
Fashion, p104), and use off hooks and eyes to fasten sleeves to
shoulder consistent with red satin sleeves (Patterns of
Fashion, p39).)
Variation in treatment of waist tabs
required to get the look of the portraiture. Front tabs appear cut
in one with body, but insufficient fabric inside the curve of
doublet waist to generate tabs of the size shown in portraits. Thus
separate tabs made and attached to achieve correct
look. |
|
Explanation: |
Machine used for speed of construction, waist tab
treatment was simple and logical. |
ADORNMENT
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Original Placement: |
Ouches alternating along bebederos (doublet slashes)
and also at sleeve openings etc. Embroidery along edges of
doublet and skirt, and also sleeve. Ribbons with aiglets on
skirt and sleeves. Tabbed collar edge. |
|
Placement Used: |
Tabbed collar edge. Ribbons on sleeves and down
skirt opening only. |
|
Variation: |
Elimination of adornment other than ribbons and
tabbed collar edge. Also, no aiglets on ribbon
ends. |
|
Explanation: |
Primarily cost. Gold embroidery omitted as the gown
was only a mock up (and even now is simply a light travelling /
tourney gown). |
|
Original Technique: |
Ribbons attached in such a way as to close openings
in skirt and sleeve. "Fold over" collar tabs inserted into top edge
of collar. |
|
Technique Used: |
Ribbons sewn into seams between shell and lining and
then tied as seen on portraits. Collar tabs from folded,
straight grain strip of twill applied to collar edge between lining
and shell, and snipped into tabs (technique based cuff tabs of the
red satin sleeves in Patterns of Fashion
p39). |
|
Variation: |
No extant examples of ribbon attachment therefore
ribbons conjectured. |
|
Explanation: |
Method used seemed logical and simple. (Occam's
Razor) |
ACCESSORIES
|
Original Accessories: |
Belt & Carcanet, jewelled caul, hankerchief
& brown tabbed gloves |
|
Made to Match: |
Belt and Carcanet. |
|
Acquired to Match: |
Needle-lace edged handkerchief & brown leather
gloves (cuffs then tabbed to match portrait). |
|
Substitutions / Variations: |
Non jewelled caul. Substituted white and
silver belt for gold belt |
|
Explanation: |
A jewelled caul appeared overly oppulent when worn
with the 'tourney' version of the gown. Swap of gold for
silver was again because gold looked overly rich next to a plain
gown. |
DIFFICULTY
|
Overall: |
Tricky, but not too difficult. (That may just
be because I'm now familiar with the general style.) Still, an
unadorned gown like this is rather less forgiving than something
with a lot of surface decoration to distract the
eye. |
|
Most Difficult Area(s): |
Getting the stripes to match perfectly on bias cut
sections of the under doublet.
Frustrating! |
NOTES
|
General: |
A mock up for yet another favourite gown that got
made up into a gown in its own right so that I would have something
red (and not too hot) to wear during the Heraldic Tourney at
Festival. (Their Excellencies requested that Southron Gaarders wear
red as a visual demonstration of their support during the
tourney.) |
|
Particular Successes: |
The bebederos (doublet slashes) because they worked
so well and I really like the look of them. |
|
Things Learned: |
Hemming a floor length gown over a farthingale by
yourself, when you have to wear the ensemble because you don't
have a tailors dummy, is a horrid way to spend several nights.
However, a long stick you can stab the spot with while you
bend down to pin it is really helpful. Also, the selveges on linen
are not necessarily fray-proof. |
|
Things to Try: |
I intend to make a gown where the fabric is cut as
seen on the skirt in both Sofonisba's and Coello's interpretations
of this gown. (Also, portraits of Anne of Austria and Isabel
Valois.) This, of course, depends on some suitable fabric arriving
in Christchurch. |
This is a summary of a larger body of work. Questions are
welcome if anyone wishes to know more. |
