Another episode in our Dressing up series! This time we are looking at a mid 17th century - roughly 1635-50s, middle class ( but not only...) enjoy! www.priorattire.co.uk
I know people really like court style dresses and all the bold stuff. But this actually appeals a lot to me! The 17th century was the Dutch golden age and I love the clothing on paintings from that time. So thank you so much! Love from Belgium !
Lady, you are amazing! I look at all your costumes with awe and wish I were about 50 years younger so I could learn to sew and try to copy some of those costumes.
Although the looks of extremely wealthy people through history are great eye candy, I just love seeing clothes that represent what more ordinary people might have worn on a daily basis. I'd love to see more about working women's clothes through history!
Thank you so much for doing these videos! They are fascinating to watch - it is neat to see how women actually put these clothes on, and it is neat to see the various pieces of clothing. I am learning a lot. It's one thing to see artist renderings of period attire, and quite another to see the clothing on a real body. Brings history alive.
i love these videos! i've been watching the bbc's the musketeers, which is set in a similar time period (1630s) and though the costumes are lovely, after watching this i get the feeling that they're probably not the most historically accurate! thank you for taking the time to make this series, they're fascinating :)
Alex Robertson while watching season 1 I had to deliberately ignore almost all of Constance's outfits, because she was literally wearing underwear most of the time.
The petticoat could be worn nowadays as a summer dress, on top of the bathing suit, as an afternoon dress, for a coctail, it is just splendid! The laces at the side are charming, so feminine :) Absolutely fantastic. So casual :) What a brilliant idea for a dress! Cheers.
be nice if we could could see wealthy lady's gown on 17th century, there just isn't much on it. I like the portraits of the off the shoulders gown look. :)
I just found your channel today and love it! We live in the U.S. and my Irish Grandmother had a dress apparel store that was truly a salon. It carried everything from wedding dresses to boas. She had a very large poster that showed fashion through the ages and your videos have reminded me of that poster! I've always wondered at all the pieces of clothing and I am now learning! Thank you!
I have to say, once I discovered you, I have been binge watching the eras gone by!!!! I just LOVE this so much, I can't even tell you. You are so talented and amazing- the touches you add on, the attention to detail, just amazing. You obviously have a passion and it shows! Thank you very much for sharing your talents with the world. I do have to say one little thing, a question more than anything really. How in the WORLD did these women keep from passing out on a hot July day as they lived and worked in the sun with all these layers???? I just can't even imagine it!! I live in tanks, tees and yoga pants, ESP when it is summertime, and I still sweat like crazy. I imagine these outside layers didn't get washed too often, and the inside layers you said in one of the videos was washed as much as was practical but they would still sweat clean through to the dresses and skirts. I can only imagine the smell after a while was... um... potent? How did they deal with that??
Another wonderful video. Thank you. Every time I watch one of yours I realise that I just haven't asked myself enough questions about how people used to dress, not least whether or not they were able to dress themselves.
I absolutely love your videos. I know you briefly discuss what they would have worn in court but would love to see one more in depth if at all possible.
I love watching your videos! and I learn so much...i still am shocked how often a woman did not don a corset but instead used layers of supportive and shaping clothing.
in that era there weren't corsets per se - just stays. supportive petticoats and kirtles were known for centuries and were much easier to make than stays - so even when stays started to appear at the end of 16th century, both styles were in evidence till the end of 17th century
I like the kirtle shown in your medieval video, and the boned petticoat in this video. Both look comfortable. Which era of women's dress do you think was most comfortable? Many women wearing stays or corsets would have had to work at household and farm chores, and would need to be able to move...
Lovely as usual. I’ve been to Blickling Hall a few times and it’s beautiful in all seasons. The probable birth place of Anne Boleyn, there is a beautiful statue of her on the staircase in the entrance hall.
Love these videos! So cool to see how they would dress in different eras. Could you do 1750s French fassion? Everything you've done is either 1650s and before and 1800s and after.
I love that you did something on the 17th c- it's overlooked so often... between the more 'popular'/ 'famous' 16th & 18th/ 19th centuries, yet it was an era with as much political, social & religious drama as either. I know that your outfits in the clip cover roughly between 1635 & 1650's, but could you discuss a little the differences/ changes, from the late Elizabethan - Jacobean eras, & the 'Carolingian'-Civil War (I always thought of the Carolingian era as being in early Middle Ages' France, but I heard that the era of Charles I was called this, too- am I wrong?) I believe the Jacobean era was highly ornamented, is that right?
Hi, just chiming in--Carolingian became a fancy name for Charles, of course giving a nod to the much earlier Middle Ages use of the name. So sometimes it was used in place of "Charles" for that reason plus it sounded very fancy as well. Hope that makes sense.
I really enjoyed watching this video! I just finished reading THE MINIATURIST, and was wondering what their clothes were like. You look authentic in those clothes, and quite pretty, too! Thanks for sharing this video! ~Janet in Canada : )
Interesting video's. also very practical how the lacing adjusts for pregnancy. which got me thinking; how did they breastfeed in those? even a wet-nurse would be wearing the same style.
It seems from the pictures that the shoulder staps and the undergarment would still be in the way. But you having worn them would know better. Thanks for replying. ( though I'll stay with my feeding bra, button shirt and skirt combination)
I would love to see more clothes from different classes. More than that, though, I would love to see an example of some of the clothes worn in England before sumptuary laws were created (both male and female, pretty please!!).
We make videos with the stuff I have here from my own wardrobe and sometimes stock items - so a selection of different statues, centuries etc - but not all, our wardrobe is based on whatever work we are hired to do. We can be commissioned to make a specific video on demand - the costs (research, making of the clothes, hiring premises, production team, editing etc) usually start from about £2000 depending on period and complexity. If if interest, please contact me via my website…
+Cynthia Jossart - But sumptuary laws have almost always existed, I believe; most of Henry VIII & Elizabeth I's laws related to either food or clothing- there's an entry in Wikipedia on sumptuary laws - it seems they were attempts to largely control the ascendant middle classes, who were mostly super-wealthy merchants
Really awesome! I actually saw a play of Shakespeare's 'As You Like It' and the character Rosalind wore a very similar oufit like yours except it was dark navy blue. (:
I notice that no pockets were a part of this outfit. But I thought I saw pockets (the type tied around the waist) as part of both earlier and later garments? Or perhaps I'm wrong? But surely everyone needs pockets of some sort?
Pockets that hung from the waist under their clothes were introduced in the late 17th century, a little after this outfit. Before then I assume that when they went out they would use a small bag or purse hung from a belt/girdle (though there is no mention of a belt in the video) for coins, writing tablets (a middle class woman would usually read and write, and would use wax tablets for notes, which remained popular for a long time) and other small items. The Scottish sporran is one of the last remaining examples of this. Chatelaines had also been around since at least Roman times, and a housewife could use one to keep keys handy (spices were usually locked away, and the still room would be locked). She might also have had other items on it such as scissors (still quite a valuable item at this time) and a needle case (needles were also expensive).
+Laura Walker videos i make are based on what I have in my own wardrobe and since we are usually hired to play upper class characters, that's what we have...
You can change playback speed on TH-cam. Click the three vertical dots and a menu with playback speed should come up. Click on that and select the speed that suits you
I have always wished to have more friends that love historical fashion like i do. Next one in line is middle ages i hear? Good. I need more research on that. Hard to find stuff on medieval periods, isn't it?
Is linen used to stay cool, as opposed to wool?? Also, I understand that linen will scorch but not burn as dresses or petticoat often brushed against hot coals on the hearth??? This series is magnificent !!! Ax :)
I know how purple was made (putrefied mollusk method), and I know that lime green, fuchsia, and blue can also be made by (error in) the same process. How were other colors typically achieved, like the red seen here? I'm reminded of Gone With the Wind, a scene where the women come sailing down the grand staircase at Tara. They had on gowns of many different colors, some of which I'd say were "typical" or "common" for the time...and others, not so much. If bright or "gay" colors were available, (such as yellow, goldenrod, red, pink, for examples), how were they achieved?
I'm a bit late replying to this, but here goes. Yellows and reds-and pinks, being a light red- are fairly easy colors to find as natural dyes. Yellow can be found in such easy and free option as onion peels and birch leaves, and a dozen other options. It's actually the easiest dye to find in nature. Reds are also easy. The best red dye at this time, however, would come from madder root, which was grown on a commercial scale.
Deeper colours were the more expensive in the time before mass dyeing - black was sometimes achieved by over-dyeing indigo or woad (indigo was the more costly blue dye)- there was an Italian or Spanish breed of sheep that produced naturally black wool, as well- I have a book on herbs that has a section on herbal dyes; it’s by no means exhaustive, but there are some 33 plants listed, that produce 47 colours- most (34 or so) were shades of greens & yellows... However, there were also colours like soft pink-brown, violet-grey, charcoal black, purple, coral pink, rich tomato red, black, orange, soft pink & blues. One plant, elder, can produce 3 colours alone- *but* , that depends on what part of the plant is used, & the mordant- which was how natural dyes were ‘fixed’ - virtually all natural dyes need alum, because it brightens. Iron- known as ferrous sulphate, was used as a ‘saddening’ agent, to dull & deepen- it was often used when dyeing black, & copper sulphate adds a blue-green tint- there are more mordants, too. While pre-mid-19th c dyes were hardly technicolour, there’s a subtle beauty to them; if you’re ever fortunate enough to see pre-Industrial Era dyed clothes at a museum, you might see it for yourself- I know that the ‘coral pink’ produced by lady’s bedstraw probably didn’t look like Jane Seymour’s S2 dress in ‘The Tudors’, though.
This is also how English women dressed when helped build their American colonies in the 1600s. What days they must of been.! PS: my ancestoral ladies wore this :-)
Do you know why there was a change from side lacing to back lacing when corsets became popular? Even though you show that it's easy enough to lace yourself up (with back lacing), surely side lacing would have been more convenient?
Corsets having front split busks made it WAY easier to dress yourself and lace them in the back. Also, the sillhouette of a corset versus stays is quite different- stays tended to give a conical torso shape that didn't pull your figure in at the sides very much, whereas corsets emphasize an hourglass figure. You couldn't get an hourglass figure in side laces on an actual corset, it would leave bumps of both lace and flesh popping out from underneath (remember, the side is almost the squishiest part of your body, especially compared to your back), would interfere with where the boning is placed (to get that hourglass figure, boning needs to go down the sides) and generally be a big strain on the garment.
I am curious, does anybody know how long does a handmade dress like this last, if worn on everyday basis? What would be the average size of a townswoman wardrobe, how many dresses would she own at once?
I'd guess a well-made dress would last years, especially because the owners of these dresses would also know how to mend them if something tore or broke. And the number of dresses probably varied based on wealth. I think most people would have at least two "outfits" though (if they could afford it), everyday clothes and their Sunday's best.
I own a wool cape. I wear it as a coat in the winter. I made it around the year 2000. In 2010, I put a new lining in it and turned the wool. (So the side that had been on the inside is now on the outside.) Sometime around 2020, I'll put a velvet capelet over the shoulders to hide the thinning there, and velvet bands down the front and back, along with a new lining. That should take me another ten years; of course, by 2030, I'll be sixty years old, and maybe I'll want a different outer garment. Or not.... I could always replace the velvet and lining again.... the wool will still be warm. People wore clothes down to rags.
Just out of curiosity, why would you tuck the apron's top edge under the outer-layer bodice? It seems a little impractical to leave those portions exposed like that. Wouldn't you want to protect as much of your clothing as possible?
Question: what is that high-crowned hat called? I mean, I might call it a pilgrim hat or something but I don't know if that's the correct term. Isn't it associated with a particular set of people? If I knew what it's actually called I could google it better....anybody? Thanks in advance :)
Would baleen have been used at this time, say, for an upper class woman? And also, on the separate stomacher, would it be in danger of slipping down or would it be pinned to the stays/bodice underneath?
Baleen was for everyone! Everyone who could have afforded it. The poor would still be using reed. This particular stomached is held in place by the bodice lacing, but there were styles where it was pinned, and pinning became the norm in 18th century gowns with separate stomachers.
just found your channel and subscribed, I see lots of videos here I would like to watch. thank you. Do you rent these costumes to make your videos or do you have your own collection. Fabulous clothing, I love the ancient garments.
+Kathy Brinkman as stated in the credits, hey are made by us and they are my working wardrobe- bough occasionally we use stock items is available. Check the website!
Can be crossed, can be strait, or spiral- all were used , though spiral was a bit out of fashion for main garments- was still ised for stays for another 200 years or so! Once corsets arrived, cross lacing for undergarments was used too
dependng on a class yes - just a bodices petticoat., lots of references to it. later on , in Restoration period, boned bodices were used on their ow, without stays too.
yes, - you still need another petticoat anyway. also, several variations were used depending on fashion, status, finance etc. in the restoration period the gown bodice was so heavily boned no stays were required.
Heh, I always thought stomachers were pinned on 100% of the time, I never realized they could just be held in place and laced overtop!
I like that you didn't need to buy a whole maternity wardrobe! So smart.
I know people really like court style dresses and all the bold stuff. But this actually appeals a lot to me! The 17th century was the Dutch golden age and I love the clothing on paintings from that time. So thank you so much! Love from Belgium !
Lady, you are amazing! I look at all your costumes with awe and wish I were about 50 years younger so I could learn to sew and try to copy some of those costumes.
I need more mid-to-late 17th century in my life
Although the looks of extremely wealthy people through history are great eye candy, I just love seeing clothes that represent what more ordinary people might have worn on a daily basis. I'd love to see more about working women's clothes through history!
IT'S SO WEIRD HOW ADDICTING JUST WATCHING YOU DRESS IN DIFFERENT TIME ERAS BUT HERE I AM PLEASE DO MORE
Really wonderful! All your videos are excellent, but someone doing 17th century well is rare. Thanks!
Thank you so much for doing these videos! They are fascinating to watch - it is neat to see how women actually put these clothes on, and it is neat to see the various pieces of clothing. I am learning a lot. It's one thing to see artist renderings of period attire, and quite another to see the clothing on a real body. Brings history alive.
These outfits are absolutely beautiful and very fascinating! Your videos are so addictive!
This is my favorite Era! Thank you 💙
Same, love this era of dress
my two year old daughter LOVES watching these with me :)
I wish this fashion was still popular....
Skylar Bot not me... just puting a shirt and a jean is "urgh" for me so THIS dress like no x) (plus I hate dress)
i love these videos! i've been watching the bbc's the musketeers, which is set in a similar time period (1630s) and though the costumes are lovely, after watching this i get the feeling that they're probably not the most historically accurate! thank you for taking the time to make this series, they're fascinating :)
Alex Robertson while watching season 1 I had to deliberately ignore almost all of Constance's outfits, because she was literally wearing underwear most of the time.
I was sold on that costume when you said the lacing was just adjusted for pregnancy. Practical clothing and informative channel. Thank you.
Have to admit this is one of my favorite channels🎈
Critter T mine too.
Really love these videos! I also love that you include the 17th century, which is often ignored when it comes to fashion history.
You do such beautiful work. I wish I could sew clothes this well!
I love these videos, I see pictures of women in different period clothing, but never thought about all the parts and layers.
I would love to dress in all periods of historical costume and just go out and have fun.
The petticoat could be worn nowadays as a summer dress, on top of the bathing suit, as an afternoon dress, for a coctail, it is just splendid! The laces at the side are charming, so feminine :) Absolutely fantastic. So casual :) What a brilliant idea for a dress! Cheers.
be nice if we could could see wealthy lady's gown on 17th century, there just isn't much on it. I like the portraits of the off the shoulders gown look. :)
Side laced bodice. I need one. LOL.
omg. i've been looking for sources in period fashion!! This channel is excellent!!
I just found your channel today and love it! We live in the U.S. and my Irish Grandmother had a dress apparel store that was truly a salon. It carried everything from wedding dresses to boas. She had a very large poster that showed fashion through the ages and your videos have reminded me of that poster! I've always wondered at all the pieces of clothing and I am now learning! Thank you!
I have to say, once I discovered you, I have been binge watching the eras gone by!!!! I just LOVE this so much, I can't even tell you. You are so talented and amazing- the touches you add on, the attention to detail, just amazing. You obviously have a passion and it shows! Thank you very much for sharing your talents with the world. I do have to say one little thing, a question more than anything really. How in the WORLD did these women keep from passing out on a hot July day as they lived and worked in the sun with all these layers???? I just can't even imagine it!! I live in tanks, tees and yoga pants, ESP when it is summertime, and I still sweat like crazy. I imagine these outside layers didn't get washed too often, and the inside layers you said in one of the videos was washed as much as was practical but they would still sweat clean through to the dresses and skirts. I can only imagine the smell after a while was... um... potent? How did they deal with that??
see our video on that....
Can you do a how to lace a corest and varyos lace stlys
this looks like what my ansestors wore when they arrived in America off the Mayflower
Mine too
Another wonderful video. Thank you. Every time I watch one of yours I realise that I just haven't asked myself enough questions about how people used to dress, not least whether or not they were able to dress themselves.
This was so helpful! While I'm trying to learn more about the 1630s-early 40s it gave me some visual clues
I absolutely love your videos. I know you briefly discuss what they would have worn in court but would love to see one more in depth if at all possible.
+emgoalie then contact us through the website for consultation rates!
priorattire I wish I could but will only be in England another month and am so busy until I leave.
You look like you're about to accuse me of witchcraft.
selena phile 'I saw goodie Goode with the devil!'
(Oh, 10th grade).
I do love that your apron looks as though you use it
the music gives me very strong cut the rope vibes
I love watching your videos! and I learn so much...i still am shocked how often a woman did not don a corset but instead used layers of supportive and shaping clothing.
in that era there weren't corsets per se - just stays. supportive petticoats and kirtles were known for centuries and were much easier to make than stays - so even when stays started to appear at the end of 16th century, both styles were in evidence till the end of 17th century
I like the kirtle shown in your medieval video, and the boned petticoat in this video. Both look comfortable. Which era of women's dress do you think was most comfortable? Many women wearing stays or corsets would have had to work at household and farm chores, and would need to be able to move...
Looks like the most comfortable era that you've done. w
You are so good with your laces.
Wonderful! Thanks a lot, it helped me for my fic.
Really enjoy these dressing up videos! Thanks!
I so enjoy watching your videos! You always wear the loveliest dresses. Someday I hope to have some of my own!
Lovely as usual. I’ve been to Blickling Hall a few times and it’s beautiful in all seasons. The probable birth place of Anne Boleyn, there is a beautiful statue of her on the staircase in the entrance hall.
Could you please do one of these for a court lady from the late Elizabethan age (1590-1600)? I would simply love that!
Can you post videos from the Jacobean era?When the Stomacher became one with the dress or baring some skin below neck was okay? Loved this.
I'd be really interested in you doing some videos on what the lower classes wore.
videos on demand start from 2k....
Love these videos! So cool to see how they would dress in different eras. Could you do 1750s French fassion? Everything you've done is either 1650s and before and 1800s and after.
I love that petticoat and jacket!
I love that you did something on the 17th c- it's overlooked so often... between the more 'popular'/ 'famous' 16th & 18th/ 19th centuries, yet it was an era with as much political, social & religious drama as either. I know that your outfits in the clip cover roughly between 1635 & 1650's, but could you discuss a little the differences/ changes, from the late Elizabethan - Jacobean eras, & the 'Carolingian'-Civil War (I always thought of the Carolingian era as being in early Middle Ages' France, but I heard that the era of Charles I was called this, too- am I wrong?) I believe the Jacobean era was highly ornamented, is that right?
Hi, just chiming in--Carolingian became a fancy name for Charles, of course giving a nod to the much earlier Middle Ages use of the name. So sometimes it was used in place of "Charles" for that reason plus it sounded very fancy as well. Hope that makes sense.
Thank you
OcarinaSapph1r3 -24
“Carolingian” means “of Carolus”, with Carolus being a latinised form of Karl/Charles.
I love how much modest they were!!
Wow...this has become my new favourite channel! I can't wait until I have the money to commission something from you!
I really enjoyed watching this video! I just finished reading THE MINIATURIST, and was wondering what their clothes were like. You look authentic in those clothes, and quite pretty, too! Thanks for sharing this video! ~Janet in Canada : )
Interesting video's. also very practical how the lacing adjusts for pregnancy. which got me thinking; how did they breastfeed in those? even a wet-nurse would be wearing the same style.
loosen up the lacing - and all stays etc are mid bust, so easy to reach!
It seems from the pictures that the shoulder staps and the undergarment would still be in the way. But you having worn them would know better. Thanks for replying. ( though I'll stay with my feeding bra, button shirt and skirt combination)
I would love to see more clothes from different classes.
More than that, though, I would love to see an example of some of the clothes worn in England before sumptuary laws were created (both male and female, pretty please!!).
We make videos with the stuff I have here from my own wardrobe and sometimes stock items - so a selection of different statues, centuries etc - but not all, our wardrobe is based on whatever work we are hired to do. We
can be commissioned to make a specific video on demand - the costs (research, making of the clothes, hiring premises, production team, editing etc) usually start from about £2000 depending on period and complexity. If if interest, please contact me via my website…
priorattire oh heavens. I would love to, but I just don't have that kind of money.
+Cynthia Jossart - But sumptuary laws have almost always existed, I believe; most of Henry VIII & Elizabeth I's laws related to either food or clothing- there's an entry in Wikipedia on sumptuary laws - it seems they were attempts to largely control the ascendant middle classes, who were mostly super-wealthy merchants
Really awesome! I actually saw a play of Shakespeare's 'As You Like It' and the character Rosalind wore a very similar oufit like yours except it was dark navy blue. (:
AWlpsSHOW36 Cool! A classmate of mine is doing the technical design for As You Like It in Stagecraft class. (I'm designing Moana The Musical)
thanks so much for your videos. It's so interesting to see them.
You are right, all of them so inspiring and something ( like ,wow :).
I love that blue dress. I can never find a pattern for it
Similar bodices are in the patterns of fashion books
Love this one so much! Yippy ate so talented. Thank you for sharing your beauty!
I'm in love with your channel
Lovely as ever!
I've been watching a few of your videos so far and surprisingly, I really like the style of it of the mid 17th century.
Very authentic!
I love your videos.
Marvelous video :)
I notice that no pockets were a part of this outfit. But I thought I saw pockets (the type tied around the waist) as part of both earlier and later garments? Or perhaps I'm wrong? But surely everyone needs pockets of some sort?
Pockets that hung from the waist under their clothes were introduced in the late 17th century, a little after this outfit. Before then I assume that when they went out they would use a small bag or purse hung from a belt/girdle (though there is no mention of a belt in the video) for coins, writing tablets (a middle class woman would usually read and write, and would use wax tablets for notes, which remained popular for a long time) and other small items. The Scottish sporran is one of the last remaining examples of this. Chatelaines had also been around since at least Roman times, and a housewife could use one to keep keys handy (spices were usually locked away, and the still room would be locked). She might also have had other items on it such as scissors (still quite a valuable item at this time) and a needle case (needles were also expensive).
I think I understand that you are a fine seamstress. I live in Turin in Italy and I am passionate about the history of costume; I like his videos
Can you show more vidoes of the lower class dress?
+Laura Walker videos i make are based on what I have in my own wardrobe and since we are usually hired to play upper class characters, that's what we have...
this sounds funny lol but i want to know what the husbands dressed like? this is such a cute outfit, im soooo curious to see the male equivalent
Love watching this! I just discovered you!
I love the red! I have a small collection of Victorian lace from France and England and New York
I love that jacket, and of course the whole ensemble! Can I ask, is the pattern you used for the jacket online somewhere? :)
Well she does have a shop...
I love these presentations. Does anyone else wished the typed words stayed more than 2 seconds? I spend a lot of time backing up to finish reading.
You can change playback speed on TH-cam. Click the three vertical dots and a menu with playback speed should come up. Click on that and select the speed that suits you
@@JB-vd8bi hey, thanks. I never knew that. I'm not very tech savvy.
@@danam8742 no worries 😀
@@JB-vd8bi Thank you a lot! I had the same problem.
@@danam8742 I didn't know about the speed either. I am technologically impaired
I have always wished to have more friends that love historical fashion like i do. Next one in line is middle ages i hear? Good. I need more research on that. Hard to find stuff on medieval periods, isn't it?
late medieval is already on, early one will be filmed in march i think:_)
Okay! Thank you!
Ive found it hard to find research or well made costumes with early medieval or ancient Greek/Roman costumes.
Is linen used to stay cool, as opposed to wool?? Also, I understand that linen will scorch but not burn as dresses or petticoat often brushed against hot coals on the hearth??? This series is magnificent !!! Ax :)
Wow, I love this. How do you store all of your costumes?
i love it!
I know how purple was made (putrefied mollusk method), and I know that lime green, fuchsia, and blue can also be made by (error in) the same process. How were other colors typically achieved, like the red seen here? I'm reminded of Gone With the Wind, a scene where the women come sailing down the grand staircase at Tara. They had on gowns of many different colors, some of which I'd say were "typical" or "common" for the time...and others, not so much.
If bright or "gay" colors were available, (such as yellow, goldenrod, red, pink, for examples), how were they achieved?
I'm a bit late replying to this, but here goes. Yellows and reds-and pinks, being a light red- are fairly easy colors to find as natural dyes. Yellow can be found in such easy and free option as onion peels and birch leaves, and a dozen other options. It's actually the easiest dye to find in nature. Reds are also easy. The best red dye at this time, however, would come from madder root, which was grown on a commercial scale.
Deeper colours were the more expensive in the time before mass dyeing - black was sometimes achieved by over-dyeing indigo or woad (indigo was the more costly blue dye)- there was an Italian or Spanish breed of sheep that produced naturally black wool, as well- I have a book on herbs that has a section on herbal dyes; it’s by no means exhaustive, but there are some 33 plants listed, that produce 47 colours- most (34 or so) were shades of greens & yellows...
However, there were also colours like soft pink-brown, violet-grey, charcoal black, purple, coral pink, rich tomato red, black, orange, soft pink & blues.
One plant, elder, can produce 3 colours alone- *but* , that depends on what part of the plant is used, & the mordant- which was how natural dyes were ‘fixed’ - virtually all natural dyes need alum, because it brightens. Iron- known as ferrous sulphate, was used as a ‘saddening’ agent, to dull & deepen- it was often used when dyeing black, & copper sulphate adds a blue-green tint- there are more mordants, too.
While pre-mid-19th c dyes were hardly technicolour, there’s a subtle beauty to them; if you’re ever fortunate enough to see pre-Industrial Era dyed clothes at a museum, you might see it for yourself- I know that the ‘coral pink’ produced by lady’s bedstraw probably didn’t look like Jane Seymour’s S2 dress in ‘The Tudors’, though.
wonderful job; thank you
Upon first glance, I thought that said: "Dressing Up a Mid 17th Century Transwoman"
A lot of these thick layers were worn during the little ice. I wonder how fashion/clothing may have differed if the climate was warmer?
Thinner textiles and/or less layers ^_^
This is also how English women dressed when helped build their American colonies in the 1600s. What days they must of been.!
PS: my ancestoral ladies wore this :-)
Do you know why there was a change from side lacing to back lacing when corsets became popular? Even though you show that it's easy enough to lace yourself up (with back lacing), surely side lacing would have been more convenient?
Emily A i'd think they transtitioned because the lacing was less obvious that way, but i'm not a historian, just a hobbyist😄
Corsets having front split busks made it WAY easier to dress yourself and lace them in the back. Also, the sillhouette of a corset versus stays is quite different- stays tended to give a conical torso shape that didn't pull your figure in at the sides very much, whereas corsets emphasize an hourglass figure. You couldn't get an hourglass figure in side laces on an actual corset, it would leave bumps of both lace and flesh popping out from underneath (remember, the side is almost the squishiest part of your body, especially compared to your back), would interfere with where the boning is placed (to get that hourglass figure, boning needs to go down the sides) and generally be a big strain on the garment.
Thanks!
I am curious, does anybody know how long does a handmade dress like this last, if worn on everyday basis?
What would be the average size of a townswoman wardrobe, how many dresses would she own at once?
I'd guess a well-made dress would last years, especially because the owners of these dresses would also know how to mend them if something tore or broke. And the number of dresses probably varied based on wealth. I think most people would have at least two "outfits" though (if they could afford it), everyday clothes and their Sunday's best.
I own a wool cape. I wear it as a coat in the winter. I made it around the year 2000. In 2010, I put a new lining in it and turned the wool. (So the side that had been on the inside is now on the outside.) Sometime around 2020, I'll put a velvet capelet over the shoulders to hide the thinning there, and velvet bands down the front and back, along with a new lining. That should take me another ten years; of course, by 2030, I'll be sixty years old, and maybe I'll want a different outer garment. Or not.... I could always replace the velvet and lining again.... the wool will still be warm.
People wore clothes down to rags.
@@AlexandraLynch1 how is it now
Thank you! :)
Just out of curiosity, why would you tuck the apron's top edge under the outer-layer bodice? It seems a little impractical to leave those portions exposed like that. Wouldn't you want to protect as much of your clothing as possible?
depends on the activity . for lacemaking, not that vital, and that's what i usually do.
I believe there were full aprons (with a bodice) and smocks in all time periods for activities which got your clothes really dirty.
Very Interesting !
The song is fire what is it
Well done!!
i love this period clothes, and nice color, plz tell me where we can buy something like this????!!!
We make them...
priorattire u mean all by hand? thats amazing! are theyre parties or events to go to dressed like this? i live in nyc
@@jessiemayfield6749 There's a decent number of groups in NYC who do various costume-y things. They seem to mostly be organized on FB.
Question: what is that high-crowned hat called? I mean, I might call it a pilgrim hat or something but I don't know if that's the correct term. Isn't it associated with a particular set of people? If I knew what it's actually called I could google it better....anybody? Thanks in advance :)
Wish I knew! Hat reminded me of the old Welsh national costume which was sometimes still shown on TV in the 60’s/70’s
A steeple-crowned hat, or a capotain
My first thought was the Pilgrims too.
These hats are apparently the base from which witches hats sprung. Abby Cox has a video about it on her channel, highly recommend.
Would baleen have been used at this time, say, for an upper class woman? And also, on the separate stomacher, would it be in danger of slipping down or would it be pinned to the stays/bodice underneath?
Baleen was for everyone! Everyone who could have afforded it. The poor would still be using reed. This particular stomached is held in place by the bodice lacing, but there were styles where it was pinned, and pinning became the norm in 18th century gowns with separate stomachers.
Whale hunting was already very common in the early 1600’s. So mid century, everyone would use it
The lacing is inaccurate tho. No cross lacing in that period. I love this, but the bodice should have been spiral laced
IIRC, I’ve seen cross lacing in portraits from this time period and even before?
i was going to comment on that too!! it's one of my biggest pet peeves
Love this.
Where would they've been without the fullers!
Very nice! OH! How I appreciate zippers and velcro! :)
just found your channel and subscribed, I see lots of videos here I would like to watch. thank you. Do you rent these costumes to make your videos or do you have your own collection. Fabulous clothing, I love the ancient garments.
+Kathy Brinkman as stated in the credits, hey are made by us and they are my working wardrobe- bough occasionally we use stock items is available. Check the website!
What a neat channel subscribed :)
I love this videos! I can't understand everything because i don't know inglish.
I love your channel.
Greetings from Mexico. :)
Excelent vídeo!!!
Merveilleuses, ces femmes sont très belles, pourquoi ne fait - on pas ça en France?
J'admire et aime.
I notice the jacket is cross laced in front, was curious, about when did fashion move from straight to cross laces? It's a really neat look!
Can be crossed, can be strait, or spiral- all were used , though spiral was a bit out of fashion for main garments- was still ised for stays for another 200 years or so! Once corsets arrived, cross lacing for undergarments was used too
Very interesting, thank you
Love your videos
Would they really have had stays and petticoat all in one garment..?
dependng on a class yes - just a bodices petticoat., lots of references to it. later on , in Restoration period, boned bodices were used on their ow, without stays too.
yes, - you still need another petticoat anyway. also, several variations were used depending on fashion, status, finance etc. in the restoration period the gown bodice was so heavily boned no stays were required.
Thanks! :-)