Good evening all, In the SCA, my kingdom 12th Night for this season has a theme of the Court of Maximilian, Holy Roman Emperor, basically a Night in Vienna in 1500. 1500 is such an interesting year. :) I've looked at a lot of images lately. Seriously a transitional time for noble clothing. I've seen some things clearly based on Burgundian high-waisted gowns and some that look like early Tudor (Elizabeth of York, Katherine of Aragon, who was after all related to the Emperor....). There have even been some images that show Maximilian and his lady in older-style clothing: for example, the Empress in one of those drop-waisted gowns that have the massively voluminous skirts and the almost shield-shaped upper parts over a cotehardie-style under-gown. I don't think I'll go that latter route, but here's what I'm thinking.
I have Reconstructing History's Cranach gown pattern (1506-1520s, basically), as well as their under-kirtle and gown for the pre-Tudor 1490s. In the case of the former, it might be possible to work backward toward creating an earlier form of that--much as if the fashion was just starting and some lady wanted to be completely, daringly au fait and wear it to Court for 12th Night. In the latter case, it might be possible to start with the 1490s look and postulate forward to the vague era between the two fashion periods. Headgear could be anything from a truncated Burgundian cone over a transitional hood (seen this a lot in the images) or just a hood by itself with a brooch pinned to the fold-back... or... what? Were those fascinating linen German headdresses worn to Court-level functions? So many questions!! So! If you were able to go back in time and visit Maximilian's court in January of 1500 and wanted to fit in, would you start with the Cranach and try to work backward in fashion? Or would you start with the pre-1490s set and work forward? And what would you do for hair/hat styling? I figure if I start now, I have half a hope of actually finishing something.... :) Cheers, Meli _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
