Brown Fitted Gown: Mix 'n Match

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It's been a bit of a quiet year on the blog.
But I promise more has been going on behind the scenes.
(Well, slightly more...)

Since finishing the brown fitted gown last summer I've been assembling various accessories (sleeves, petticoats, jewelry etc) in the hopes of eventually doing an epic 16th century "Mix 'n Match" photoshoot!
After all, I'd been planning on making a fitted gown for so many years...and now that I finally had one I wanted to show how functional and versatile it could be as a piece of clothing, and how many different looks could be achieved by just swapping out a few key accessories.

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However, like all things (when it comes to me and sewing) it hasn't quite gone according to plan...

It's taken longer than I'd anticipated to put everything together.  And even though I've had quite a lot of the accessories finished for a while now (5 pairs of sleeves and counting!) there always seems to be something missing to complete the look.
Add to that the fact that getting dressed in just one outfit can take up the better part of an afternoon and the prospect of photographing everything in a single day quickly becomes impractical.
So instead of doing one grand post I think I'll have to roll out the different looks as opportunities present themselves.

And there's already been an unofficial kickoff of sorts to the Mix 'n Match series: the Lucas de Heere outfit I wore for last year's Nottingham Faire!

Granted, it wasn't 100% finished at the time...which is why the official kickoff is happening right now with the updated and complete version!

I know, it's pretty similar and therefore perhaps a bit of an anticlimax...but there are some notable differences.

While the huik and apron are the same, the linen petticoat has been swapped out for my new wool petticoat bodies (which have the same black trim pattern at the hem as the orignial de Heere image).

This has the added benefit of supporting the bust and smoothing out the bodice, as well as improving the overall silhouette.
I've also made a new pair of half sleeves that are a little closer to the inspiration image.

I tried to mimic the horizontal pattern in the original with narrow rows of slashing.  The wool/cotton sateen is also more in keeping with the de Heere pallet, being closer to cream than white. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out! I will definitely be playing with more slashing techniques in the future...

So now this look is now officially done!
(or at least until I decide to tackle a more period correct construction method for the huik)

 

And that's it!
Hopefully I'll have more looks to show in the near future.

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