#tudor Costume

[athousandtales]

Bella Ramsay as LADY JANE GREY

BECOMING ELIZABETH (2022)

[sunnylighter]

This is what I’ve been working on the last week. Here’s another fun vacation story. The vacation I mentioned going on when I went on hiatus for Trials of Trust was a trip to England. I joined my mother on a history tour for Queen Elizabeth I, and on one of the last days of the tour we got to dress up in Tudor costumes to walk around the castle. I never turn down a chance to cosplay, so this was one of the highlights of the trip. But, of course, I tripped over the dress train and fell. And of course my mother caught it on camera. Still, it was a fun trip.

[the-embroidered-screen]

Becoming Elizabeth, 2022 Costume design by Bartholomew Cariss

Alicia von Rittberg as Elizabeth in Embroidered smock similar to a 17th Century smock in the V&A collection

English Smock, c.1615-1630 Linen embroidered with Silk in Stem Stitch

[madamemoonscosplay]

Don't even know why I'm bothering to share anything these days, but heres the tudor kirtle I've been working on all week.

I still have some small bits of sewing to do, then it's onto making the loose gown/coat and the chemise. I'll be working on my mums tudor outfit next.

[himikochan]

it’s been a while since I’ve shared any of my costuming work but y’all were so sweet when i mentioned it last week so here’s a few pictures of a Tudor-esque ensemble I made for myself

Full disclosure- my trunks were borrowed from my job because I just haven’t had time to devote to drafting that pattern lately but I’m still so proud of the doublet I made!!

Also- in the dress form pictures you can see how much longer my smock is than my doublet :) as I mentioned in my other post, the extra length of the smock is to tuck between your legs

[tudorcostume]

Catherine's Parr Purple Gown (Becoming Elizabeth, 2022)

[magnetos-favorite]

🥀Alas, my love, you do me wrong,

To cast me off discourteously…🥀

The nb urge to dress up as Anne Boleyn and take pretty pictures at the park.

(They/them)

[addictedbespoken]

Men Blue Velvet 3pc French Nobleman Costume 18th Century Inspired Carnival Of Venice Rococo Wedding Outfit With Free Lace Jabots And Cuffs

This 18th Century vintage costume for men is inspired from the magical Venical Carnival & Late Baroque fashion. The costume can become the zest of any carnival or themed festival and can also be a perfect costume for wedding groom.

This 3Pc court suit include: •Blue velvet justaucorps embellished with paisley & floral embroidery & metal button detailing •Off white paisley print vest embellished with paisley & floral embroidery & have button closure •Blue velvet Breeches with floral embroidery on bottom & metal button detailings & closure •Laced jabots & cuffs

Features: •Intricate embroidered •Lightweight •Soft & Breathable •Comfortable wearing in all seasons

Material & Caring: •Premium Velvet & Eco friendly material •Dry Clean •Dry on low heat or hang to dry for best result

[delyth88]

I have a historical camping event coming up next week, so of course I'm madly sewing a dress for it. 🙄

So far I've got three bodice pieces, one back panel is sewn together, the front piece I've sewn the canvas layers but still need to assemble with the wool and the linen lining. The last piece, I've only cut out the layers.

Then I need to sew eyelets in the sides of the bodice, attach the back bodice pieces, lace it and check it fits 🤞, then gather and attach the skirt panels, and hem it.

[katherinanott]

[laceanddoodles-doodles]

A little bit of costume design fun!

[cuddlytogas]

So I accidentally almost got into an argument on Twitter, and now I'm thinking about bad historical costuming tropes. Specifically, Action Hero Leather Pants.

See, I was light-heartedly pointing out the inaccuracies of the costumes in Black Sails, and someone came out of the woodwork to defend the show. The misunderstanding was that they thought I was dismissing the show just for its costumes, which I wasn't - I was simply pointing out that it can't entirely care about material history (meaning specifically physical objects/culture) if it treats its clothes like that.

But this person was slightly offended on behalf of their show - especially, quote, "And from a fan of OFMD, no less!" Which got me thinking - it's true! I can abide a lot more historical costuming inaccuracy from Our Flag than I can Black Sails or Vikings. And I don't think it's just because one has my blorbos in it. But really, when it comes down to it...

What is the difference between this and this?

Here's the thing. Leather pants in period dramas isn't new. You've got your Vikings, Tudors, Outlander, Pirates of the Caribbean, Once Upon a Time, Will, The Musketeers, even Shakespeare in Love - they love to shove people in leather and call it a day. But where does this come from?

Obviously we have the modern connotations. Modern leather clothes developed in a few subcultures: cowboys drew on Native American clothing. (Allegedly. This is a little beyond my purview, I haven't seen any solid evidence, and it sounds like the kind of fact that people repeat a lot but is based on an assumption. I wouldn't know, though.) Leather was used in some WWI and II uniforms.

But the big boom came in the mid-C20th in motorcycle, punk/goth, and gay subcultures, all intertwined with each other and the above. Motorcyclists wear leather as practical protective gear, and it gets picked up by rock and punk artists as a symbol of counterculture, and transferred to movie designs. It gets wrapped up in gay and kink communities, with even more countercultural and taboo meanings. By the late C20th, leather has entered mainstream fashion, but it still carries those references to goths, punks, BDSM, and motorbike gangs, to James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Mick Jagger. This is whence we get our Spikes and Dave Listers in 1980s/90s media, bad boys and working-class punks.

And some of the above "historical" design choices clearly build on these meanings. William Shakespeare is dressed in a black leather doublet to evoke the swaggering bad boy artist heartthrob, probably down on his luck. So is Kit Marlowe.

But the associations get a little fuzzier after that. Hook, with his eyeliner and jewellery, sure. King Henry, yeah, I see it. It's hideously ahistorical, but sure. But what about Jamie and Will and Ragnar, in their browns and shabby, battle-ready chic? Well, here we get the other strain of Bad Period Drama Leather.

See, designers like to point to history, but it's just not true. Leather armour, especially in the western/European world, is very, very rare, and not just because it decays faster than metal. (Yes, even in ancient Greece/Rome, despite many articles claiming that as the start of the leather armour trend!) It simply wasn't used a lot, because it's frankly useless at defending the body compared to metal. Leather was used as a backing for some splint armour pieces, and for belts, sheathes, and buckles, but it simply wasn't worn like the costumes above. It's heavy, uncomfortable, and hard to repair - it's simply not practical for a garment when you have perfectly comfortable, insulating, and widely available linen, wool, and cotton!

As far as I can see, the real influence on leather in period dramas is fantasy. Fantasy media has proliferated the idea of leather armour as the lightweight choice for rangers, elves, and rogues, a natural, quiet, flexible material, less flashy or restrictive than metal. And it is cheaper for a costume department to make, and easier for an actor to wear on set. It's in Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings, King Arthur, Runescape, and World of Warcraft.

And I think this is how we get to characters like Ragnar and Vane. This idea of leather as practical gear and light armour, it's fantasy, but it has this lineage, behind which sits cowboy chaps and bomber/flight jackets. It's usually brown compared to the punk bad boy's black, less shiny, and more often piecemeal or decorated. In fact, there's a great distinction between the two Period Leather Modes within the same piece of media: Robin Hood (2006)! Compare the brooding, fascist-coded villain Guy of Gisborne with the shabby, bow-wielding, forest-dwelling Robin:

So, back to the original question: What's the difference between Charles Vane in Black Sails, and Edward Teach in Our Flag Means Death?

Simply put, it's intention. There is nothing intentional about Vane's leather in Black Sails. It's not the only leather in the show, and it only says what all shabby period leather says, relying on the same tropes as fantasy armour: he's a bad boy and a fighter in workaday leather, poor, flexible, and practical. None of these connotations are based in reality or history, and they've been done countless times before. It's boring design, neither historically accurate nor particularly creative, but much the same as all the other shabby chic fighters on our screens. He has a broad lineage in Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean and such, but that's it.

In Our Flag, however, the lineage is much, much more intentional. Ed is a direct homage to Mad Max, the costuming in which is both practical (Max is an ex-cop and road warrior), and draws on punk and kink designs to evoke a counterculture gone mad to the point of social breakdown, exploiting the thrill of the taboo to frighten and titillate the audience.

In particular, Ed is styled after Max in the second movie, having lost his family, been badly injured, and watched the world turn into an apocalypse. He's a broken man, withdrawn, violent, and deliberately cutting himself off from others to avoid getting hurt again. The plot of Mad Max 2 is him learning to open up and help others, making himself vulnerable to more loss, but more human in the process.

This ties directly into the themes of Our Flag - it's a deliberate intertext. Ed's emotional journey is also one from isolation and pain to vulnerability, community, and love. Mad Max (intentionally and unintentionally) explores themes of masculinity, violence, and power, while Max has become simplified in the popular imagination as a stoic, badass action hero rather than the more complex character he is, struggling with loss and humanity. Similarly, Our Flag explores masculinity, both textually (Stede is trying to build a less abusive pirate culture) and metatextually (the show champions complex, banal, and tender masculinities, especially when we're used to only seeing pirates in either gritty action movies or childish comedies).

Our Flag also draws on the specific countercultures of motorcycles, rockers, and gay/BDSM culture in its design and themes. Naturally, in such a queer show, one can't help but make the connection between leather pirates and leather daddies, and the design certainly nods at this, with its vests and studs. I always think about this guy, with his flat cap so reminiscient of gay leather fashions.

More overtly, though, Blackbeard and his crew are styled as both violent gangsters and countercultural rockstars. They rove the seas like a bikie gang, free and violent, and are seen as icons, bad boys and celebrities. Other pirates revere Blackbeard and wish they could be on his crew, while civilians are awed by his reputation, desperate for juicy, gory details.

This isn't all of why I like the costuming in Our Flag Means Death (especially season 1). Stede's outfits are by no means accurate, but they're a lot more accurate than most pirate media, and they're bright and colourful, with accurate and delightful silks, lace, velvets, and brocades, and lovely, puffy skirts on his jackets. Many of the Revenge crew wear recognisable sailor's trousers, and practical but bright, varied gear that easily conveys personality and flair. There is a surprising dedication to little details, like changing Ed's trousers to fall-fronts for a historical feel, Izzy's puffy sleeves, the handmade fringe on Lucius's red jacket, or the increasing absurdity of navy uniform cuffs between Nigel and Chauncey.

A really big one is the fact that they don't shy away from historical footwear! In almost every example above, we see the period drama's obsession with putting men in skinny jeans and bucket-top boots, but not only does Stede wear his little red-heeled shoes with stockings, but most of his crew, and the ordinary people of Barbados, wear low boots or pumps, and even rough, masculine characters like Pete wear knee breeches and bright colours. It's inaccurate, but at least it's a new kind of inaccuracy, that builds much more on actual historical fashions, and eschews the shortcuts of other, grittier period dramas in favour of colour and personality.

But also. At least it fucking says something with its leather.

[sunnylighter]

Day 7 Trip

I decided to redraw my Tudor dress tumble from this comic

https://sunnylighter.tumblr.com/post/692931775793627136/this-is-what-ive-been-working-on-the-last-week

It’s even more orange now.

[costumedump]

Costume For Margot Robbie As Queen Elizabeth I

Mary Queen Of Scots (2018)

Designed By Alexandra Byrne

Landmark Los Angeles

[madamemoonscosplay]

Tudor era outfit for an event in July is pretty much done now.

I found a partlet that seemed appropriate that I had made a while back, and threw the Sinamay hat I had made at it too. It has cute little deer ribbon on it.

I'm really proud of this and I can't wait to take proper photos of it soon.

[bastilaelendiri]

My costume is coming together beautifully. The kirtle is done and just now I ordered some ouches for the girdle belt to string on the hemp line I got. Those should ship from Canada on Saturday with the large centerpiece for the belt. I’m so excited to make it now I have a rough draft made lol. The outer gown will be black velvet and faux fur for the lining of the sleeves. I need to order a bit more of the fur lining then we can get cracking on the hood for the final piece to get this costume for ren fair together this year. I’m so excited and happy to work with my mom on this project. I cut the fabric and do everything except sewing the pieces together.