Hem & H.A*
(Historically Adequate)

I'm not exactly sure what this garment is meant to be... A gown? A kirtle? The inspiration came from the Trevelyon Miscellany of 1608, a collection of images appropriated and later redrawn and coloured by Thomas Trevelyon.

Eeeash...It's been nearly a year since my last post! I've been very bad about keeping this blog updated.  A new job (and commute) has been taking up quite a lot of my time and sewing has really taken a back seat. However! I have several projects that are *this* close to being complete, I just need to finish off a few accessories or seams.

Another Faire season has come to an end and I was really hoping to have my 1590s gown finished in time for the last weekend. However, about a week out it was clear that I just didn't have enough time to get the various pieces finished and assembled, so I decided to do a last minute pivot back to my trusty  blue waistcoat .

Here is the second of my Mix n' Match posts featuring the re-styling of my brown fitted gown . While I've incorporated several reoccurring elements and accessories from similar images, it's primarily an homage to the 1559 Doesburch family portrait.

It's been a bit of a quiet year on the blog. But I promise more has been going on behind the scenes. 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!

So after a 2 year hiatus I'm returning to my 1590s gown, and if you've read the early posts it should come as no surprise that I've waffled again  and resurrected my original plan for a loose gown. However, this time I've decided to (temporarily) put the Esther Inglis gown to one side and focus on the similarly styled Elizabeth Field instead.

So I decided I needed a new foundation garment!  I also wanted to re-draft my kirtle bodice (again) and experiment with less boning...or in this case, no boning at all. To that end I made a my first set of petticoat bodies!

Here is what I hope to be the final construction/dress diary entry for my  brown fitted gown  now that all the loose ends have been (literally) tied up...Only this time it's been re-accessorized in the style of a Lucas de Heere print! This is the first time I've actually tried to reproduce a documented period image and while it wasn't totally successful the process was a lot of fun and definitely one I'd like to repeat.

At long last, the (at this point almost mythic!) Brown Fitted Gown is finally complete!!!   Frankly, I wasn't at all sure it would ever get finished! Especially considering that the first version was sketched out just shy of five ( FIVE! )  years ago, when I first conceived of the project and started this blog.  The design was tweaked several times along the way, with progress --or lack thereof-- chronicled in increasingly intermittent posts over the last few years ( YEARS! ).

So...um...this is why you should always make sure your fabrics are colour-fast. Goodnight, sweet partlet...