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Dressing the Part of a 16th Century Florentine Lady

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This project began when I finally got up the nerve to enter the Italian Renaissance Costume Challenge #10 (IRCC 10) through the Realm of Venus.  The challenge because it is the 10th anniversary included 10 pieces to be completed in 10 months starting April 1, 2020 and ending January 31,2021. I knew this would be a skin out project that entailed all of the pieces and parts of dressing appropriately as a noble lady of Florence.  This page is going to serve as a dress diary for all of the pieces and parts, showing how I accomplished them, along with a page of resources and sources that I used for information. These are not meant to be tutorials since there are loads and loads of them already on the interwebs, but more of posts on how I did each piece.  I will warn you now, I am a firm believer in the use of my serger for keeping expensive fabrics from fraying, and using my sewing machine to make my life a little easier, with hand finishing pieces to give them that historical feel.   So if you are looking for that completely hand sewn outfit to be 100% historically accurate this is probably not the place for you.  Work Smarter not Harder is my motto when it comes to sewing.

Portrait from https://history-of-fashion.tumblr.com/

For the challenge I chose to draw on the overall style of the Portrait of Selvaggia di Baldo Fieravanti from Florence, by Niccolò di Giovanni Betti from approximately 1570.

 

I will also be drawing on several other portraits and extant pieces for the different parts of the completed outfit to make something that is entirely my own. This is not a true recreation of the gown that is shown in the portrait. I will include portraits and photos of extant pieces where appropriate. Some of the items are SCA hacks like my Chopines.

The planned pieces for the completed outfit are:

  • Stockings

  • Drawers (bloomers)

  • Camicia (shift)

  • Stays (16th Century version of a corset)

  • Petticoat

  • Sottana (Kirtle or Undergown)

  • Veste or Zimarra (Overgown)

 

Accsesories will include:

  • Garters

  • Soccacia (Pocket)

  • Jewelry

  • HairAccessories (Coif with plans for a snood and veil at a later date)

  • Chopines

  • Muff & Cape

  • Gloves

  • Zibbelino (Flea Fur)

  • Handkerchief

  • Apron

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Because the challenge is only 10 months long with one piece to be completed each month, my planned accessories will probably go much further into 2021 than just January 31st.

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At the end of the challenge, there were a few modifications to my initial plans. I originally planned a snood and veil which got changed to a coif because of medical hair loss (I had to have something that would hide my bald nugget).  I still have plans for a beaded snood that is made using a net technique with a veil to go over it. Also because of medical issues that I was dealing with at the time of the contest, I dropped the cape, gloves, handkerchief, and apron off of my plate. I will get to them I promise it just might be awhile before I am ready to work on this project again.  There are also a few other garb projects that really need to be taken care of first... dang child has outgrown almost all of his garb AGAIN! I will try to add some blog posts about those projects as we move along.
 

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