Hem & H.A*
(Historically Adequate)

This ruff is another piece that was originally planned for my presentation at the  Westcoast Elizabethan Clothing Symposium  ( "Wearing vs Styling: Accessorizing to Create a Period Look" ), which focused on using accessories to build a richer, more period wardrobe.  Specifically, it was meant to feature in  Part 3  of my talk, which centered on re-styling the same black fitted gown for various different decades (from 1540-1650). 

As part of my talk for the  Westcoast Elizabethan Clothing Symposium ( "Wearing vs Styling: Accessorizing to Create a Period Look" ), I decided to attempt to make a pair of late 16th / early 17th century embroidered and decorated leather gloves.

I decided I needed a quick, last minute project for this year's Renaissance Faire (I like to try for at least one new piece every season, even if it's just an accessory) and settled on the short waistcoat from The Typical Tudor.

Welcome to the "Little Black Dress Experiment"! This is truly Mixing & Matching gone mad. For a bit of context... Ages ago I got it into my head that it would be fun to re-style a black fitted gown in as many different ways —and for as many different decades—  as possible.

INTRODUCTION: Welcome to a summary of a recent talk I gave at the Westcoast Elizabethan Clothing Symposium entitled: " Wearing vs Styling: Accessorizing to Create a Period Look ". As it says on the tin, the talk focused primarily on the use (and sometimes the misuse) of accessories.

PART 1: ELEVATIVE (Previous post: Introduction ) Welcome to a Part 1 of a recent talk I gave at the Westcoast Elizabethan Clothing Symposium entitled: " Wearing vs Styling: Accessorizing to Create a Period Look ". ~ Elevative Accessories can often be one of the greatest factors in taking your historical clothing to the next level.  And I think the best way of demonstrating that is to explore how the opposite can also also true...

PART 2: COST EFFECTIVE (Previous post: Part 1 Elevative ) Welcome to a Part 2 of a recent talk I gave at the Westcoast Elizabethan Clothing Symposium entitled: " Wearing vs Styling: Accessorizing to Create a Period Look ". ~ Cost Effective By their very nature accessories are an extra expense; either in money, labour, or resources. And some pieces (like weapons, hats and shoes) can end up representing a significant percentage of the final cost of an outfit. 

PART 3: TRANSFORMATIVE (Previous post: Part 2 Cost Effective ) Welcome to a  Part 3  of a recent talk I gave at the Westcoast Elizabethan Clothing Symposium entitled: " Wearing vs Styling: Accessorizing to Create a Period Look ". ~ Transformative In the previous section we experimented with building a basic capsule wardrobe by accessorizing a single foundational garment. It focused on creating variations on a similar look from broadly the same social status and period in time  (and in the case of the “Field of the Cloth of Gold” all the looks were originating from the exact same moment).

In  preparation for a presentation for the "Westcoast Elizabethan Clothing Symposium", I decided to attempt to recreate several of the outfits worn by women in the crowd of "The Field of the Cloth of Gold" (1545). The idea was to use my red kirtle as a base and then accessorize it as needed to create four different looks (as highlighted above).

Yet another take on my trusty blue waistcoat!  These photos were taken as part of my talk, "Wearing vs Styling: Accessorizing to Create a Period Look" for the Westcoast Elizabethan Clothing Symposium. (You can read more about the how and why in Part 1 of the talk HERE .)