Maybe some of you may have heard that Showtime is going to be airing a miniseries based on the life of King Henry VIII starting in April, 2007. Well, one of the producers of a related show asked the members of one of the online forums I belong to to help her understand what “Tudor Style” is, and see if any modern clothing would fit the bill as being “Tudor Inspired”.
I won’t go into all the details of the many posts that went back and forth, especially after the members of the group saw some of the promotional photos of the miniseries where the actors are dressed in Elizabethan garments.
At any rate, the producer asked us to show her photos of ourselves in Tudor clothing, so I pulled out my old Katherine of Aragon gown (it still fits 15 years later!), but I decided that it really wasn’t accurate enough to submit. I had modified the construction of that gown to make the sleeves detachable so that I wouldn’t have heatstroke in the Florida heat at the faire I performed at. At the time, I had justified it saying that Katherine was inspired by Italian clothing, and made her sleeves detachable. There’s an extant portrait of her wearing Italian styles, so I could justify doing that at the time.
At this time, however, especially after all the grief we gave the poor producer for the Lizzies in the series, I wanted to have something that was just, well—-right.
(UPDATE 4/13/07- If you watch “The Tudors: Royal Stylemakers”, you will see me wearing this gown in the first segment…just don’t blink or you’ll miss it!)
So, here is the result. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed making it!
Here’s a shot
of me sitting
while wearing
the dress.
I made the
gown with
the intention
of using a
farthingale
underneath,
but the chair
I rented
for the
photoshoot
didn’t permit
it (being too
narrow in
the seat).
And besides, they didn’t always use one, so I figure I’m OK…
This picture
shows a
different angle.
See the fur-
lined sleeves?
They’re HEAVY!!!
And they’re
also not
real fur.
They’re from
a really soft
and cuddly
throw I cut
up to use…
Nothing is
sacred when
I’m on
a mission…
Here are two more pictures, this time showing full-length shots of the front and the back. You’ll notice that I’m wearing a fathingale in the first one–but not the second–see the difference it makes? I posed for that picture before I realized I wouldn’t fit in the chair if I kept it on. It shows the conical shape of the Spanish Farthingale really well, and I think I prefer the look better while wearing one than not.
I’m going to add a page for the details of the finished gown, and another one for the construction pictures…but not today…I need to go work on my taxes!!! (I’d much rather be sewing…)
Hello
I have just come across your fantastic photos of you in Tudor dress, I am a British based author who is in the process of self-publishing a book for young adults called “Travels of the Tudor Roses” (see www.lulu.com under the name Rosusa Mansuran) and I wonder if you are able to help?
I needed a photo a lady in Tudor garb for the front cover, as you can see if you look at the website my image doesn’t quite convey what I want to convey and you look ideal! You are beautiful, elegant and your dress is fantastic.
Would I be able to use one of your photos for my front cover? You probably get requests like this all the time but I am hoping that you will give your permission.
Thank you.
Rosusa
Thanks for the request! I’d be happy to discuss the use of some photos for your cover. I’ll email you privately and we can take it from there. Thanks again!
Your gown is absolutely beautiful! I’m trying to find somewhere/someone to help me in a quest for something historically accurate, none of this Tudor series stuff- I was a Anne Boleyn fanatic before the Tudor Series & The Other Boleyn Girl. Anne seemed to be more basic, black fabric, etc. Although something like your gown would be my personal cup of tea. Do you have any recommendations? I am a terrible seamstress (lucky to sew on a button), so making my own would not be wise.
Thanks & best of luck with your acting career!
Thanks for the compliments, Sara! I’ll email you privately on some ideas as to folk who do custom work. Depending on what part of the country you live in, it may not be so hard to find. Let me see what I can come up with for you.
I’ve been looking all over to find a good pattern for an Anne Boleyn costume. I’ve been sewing my own costumes for the past few years. I’ve always had a love of this era and it only seemed to fit to be Anne Boleyn. Where did you look for your pattern? How long did it take to sew the entire thing and how could I make the skirt and sleeves a bit bigger (fluffier?) Thank you so much. Your dress is gorgeous and so are you.
~Amelia.
Hi, Amelia!
The dress was made over the span of a marathon sewing weekend plus a few after-work evenings. I have the exact number of work hours cataloged somewhere, but IIRC I think it was around 40 hours roughly from start to finish including pattern drafting (but excluding the beaded forepart and matching undersleeves which were re-used from an older gown).
The pattern I used for the over-gown was adapted from a basic bodice pattern that fits me well with some adjustments to achieve the desired “look” which were derived from suggestions in The Tudor Tailor. This book has small-scale patterns that you can enlarge for your own use & it can be purchased online from the authors’ website.
Once you’ve started working on the gown, you’ll probably find that you’ll need to make some adjustments in order to tailor the gown to your specific body type, and the folks at the Tudor Tailor discussion group found in Yahoo Groups are another good resource for advice and support.
I hope the info helps. Thanks for posting your comments (and compliments!) and *DO* send an update on your own project, OK?