Hem & H.A*
(Historically Adequate)

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 .)

Another attempt at "Medieval Cosplay"! But this time with my new red kirtle. I know basically nothing about clothing pre-1500, so this is very much me playing historical Dress Up... But I do love this ridiculous bycocket hat (originally made for a similar attempt at styling my blue kirtle ) and will take advantage of any opportunity to wear it.

A peak into the underwear drawer... I was taking some photos for another big "Mix & Match" (teaser for a future post), when I realized that I don't have many --if any--  photos of what I'm wearing these days as foundation garments. So here they are! Over the linen smock are my trusty  black pair o' bodies and a red wool petticoat (with black worsted wool guards).

( NOTE: The bulk of this post was written in 2022 but it was not completed and published until two years later, so the timeline it describes might be a bit confusing) *** Like so many of my other outfits, this project started out as something entirely different. Well, not entirely ...  I've been in love with these images of Bavarian camp followers since I first started down the rabbit hole of 16th c. costumes (now many years ago).

I'm still working through the backlog of pieces that I completed during lockdown but never got around to photographing. Next up: A 1590s loose gown. I realize that it's getting a bit cliche to describe every new outfit as having been "on the go for a while" but man...this one has REALLY been on the go for a while. Looking back at my old posts, I've been planning and working on this project for at least the last 10 years.