A quick run-through of Elizabethan Fashion

Since I am making a gown based off of images of Elizabeth I (Good Queen Bess) I thought it would be a good idea to do a brief history lesson so those viewing the gown will not be completely lost.  Let us begin with some basics.

Elizabeth Tudor was born on September 7th, 1533 at Greenwich Palace to King Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn.  Her nicknames have come to include: Good Queen Bess, The Virgin Queen, and the childless Elizabeth.  She was also the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. Aside from the fame these nicknames have given her over the centuries, and all that they imply, she is also very well known for her eccentric sense of fashion.

It's got to be something about being a monarch that makes people go for all those fancy clothes.  Something about the wealth goes straight to their heads. But I digress.

Thanks to her, the fashion of the 1500's changed.  Many of the undergarments remained as well as the general shape, but the other intricacies changed. Her early clothes were still very much in the Tudor style with a farthingale (early hoop-skirt) over a shift, followed by the kirtle - which was a form of an under-dress with supports built into it, so there was no need for a corset.  After that you had the gown, which is the main part of the dress, and it would tie up the back.

During a more transitional phase between a distinctly Tudor fashion and what would become common place in Elizabeth's time was the use of a bum roll. Some people would put it over the farthingale, or under it, or later under the wheel drum.  Some who were not as wealthy as other court ladies would wear just the bum roll to simply give the skirts a little extra lift.  All a bum roll is is a stuffed tube that ties around the waist and helps to hold up the heavy skirt layers.


 Elizabeth I would end up keeping the upper portion of the dress similar, but the skirts would be changed dramatically.  There was the introduction of the wheel drum, a type of hoop-skirt that allowed the skirts to project from the body and then drop dramatically.  At one point it was still fashionable to have the front of this skirt split open, allowing the rest of court to view a contrasting underskirt. However, this would slowly change from year to year depending on the queen's mood.

Later on the sleeves would change into a three-layered (in some cases more) effect.  While you would maintain your chemise sleeves, often showing their expensive and lacy cuffs, you would also have the sleeves of your gown and then an additional set of sleeves that would tie onto your bodice.  See, the over gown now came in two parts - a top and a bottom - and often had multiple, interchangeable sleeves.  You could tie on one set of "over-sleeves" that would drape nearly to the floor and then also have a set of shoulder cuffs aside from your other two, basic sleeves.  That is a total of four "sleeves"!

So there is a quick history lesson before I begin to post about the dress itself.

May your stitches be straight, and may your thread never tangle.