The Tudor Revolution

Many of us who love historical costume were completely smitten with the production shots we saw before Wolf Hall aired earlier this year. Now the series is available for sale through PBS, BBC, and even national retailers like Target. With the popularity of this series I want to take a moment and give those new to Tudor fashions a few notes before you take everything in the series as gospel. This is one of the most accurately costumed historical dramas that I have seen in years. The color palate, cuts, underwear, and fabrics are impeccable. But don't forget to do your own research into the clothing as you make your own ensembles. Odd Piece #1: French Hoods I appreciate the costume designer here for acknowledging French hoods need veils. I doubt though that you will find a single portrait from the 1520's or 30's in England or France that uses fine silk chiffon. Typically you will see a solid black veil on the French and English hoods. Medals done in profile from the time

Anne Boleyn by Lucas Horenbout Strawberry Hill ID: sh-000468 My pattern for the kirtle was based on the Henrician kirtle in The Tudor Tailor . I constructed it using 2 layers of linen canvas and on outer layer of white silk. As an experiment I did not stiffen this kirtle with reeds or boning as the Tudor Tailor originally suggested. Now that I have worn the kirtle a few times I may change my mind and add channels for reeds to be inserted and stiffen the bodice front. This bodice does not feel as supportive as my previous kirtles. I will give this style without boning a few more chances though before I stitch in all of the channels required to apply reeds or boning. I hand stitched the side seams of the bodice using white silk and I bound the bottom of the kirtle in scraps of white silk. All of the eyelets were worked by hand using an awl and metal rings. I chose to use the button hole stitch for working the eyelets, in cotton embroidery floss. These rings can be purchased thr

Anne Boleyn by Lucas Horenbout Strawberry Hill ID: sh-000468 My newest Tudor project has been researching this portrait to reproduce it the image. Scholars have identified this as Anne Boleyn, from her time serving in the household of Catherine of Aragon. The gold frame now around the miniature identifying this miniature as Catherine was added in the 19th, century. This miniature also bares a good resemblance to Anne's commemorative medal which was struck in 1534, with a more fashion forward version of the English hood. This medal is now housed in the British Museum. Anne is known to have used her clothing to make political statements. During this period of history, people used their clothing to show alliances. Fashion was very political. Anne is famous today for her preferences for French fashions, manners, and politics. What is commonly overlooked or forgotten is that she was English first. Anne wanted to be seen as a virtuous, English Queen. To better fit this role for stat

The costume department at Phoenix Comic Con hosted its second Silhouettes of History fashion show. The show was even larger this year than last year. I chose to model my red and gold Venetian gown. These photos were all taken by Patti Jo Collum, a member of the Costume Department staff. Thank you to the staff for another beautiful show.

Yesterday I went to an SCA event 4 1/2 hours from my home to watch a dear friend of my receive an award I have known he was destined for since I first met him almost 8 years ago. My people call moments like that stardust. It is something special to watch someone who has given so much time, talents, and self to a group to be recognized with their highest award in that area. I also had a bit of stardust sprinkled on my head when the Queen of Atenveldt chose my display on 16th century corsetry and accessories as her favorite of the day. On my drive home I reflected on the experience and decided to post an edited version of an article I wrote for USITT Desert Conference's news letter about my experiences with costume and stardust in the SCA. I hope it warms a few hearts out there in cyberspace even a fraction as much as mine was warmed yesterday. A Different kind of Apprenticeship Costuming in the Society for Creative Anachronism Maridith Feher                 The Society

Tintoretto Portrait of a Lady Over the last several months I have been haunting the jewelry sections at my local craft stores and beading shops. My goal has been to find supplies to make a new belt. There are plenty a beautiful pieces on the market right now,  just not what I was looking for. Being picky with my design also gave me time to research pieces. The two principal styles of belts worn by middle to upper class Venetian woman  between 1550 and 1600 could be thought of as jewelry more than accessories as we see them today. The first style wraps around the waist and has a tail dangling down the center front of wearers' skirts. Style number two also wraps around the wearer's body, but does not extend down. It appears that wealthier women would have a large "belt buckle" while the middle class would simply hook the two ends together. I already have 3 belts with dangling pieces, so I decided to try the second style. Cross from the late 16th century. Gold w

Anne Boleyn from Wolf Hall. Photo from bbc.com After months of waiting, Tudor history fans in the USA finally got access to the series Wolf Hall. Many costume bloggers have been gushing or ranting about the costumes since the first press release photos hit the internet last year. Personally, I was skeptical the drama would live up to the dream many of us have of a period correct drama for this time period. Now that I have taken the time to watch the first episode on pbs.org I am hooked. No huge farthingales in the 1520's. All the ladies and gentlemen are wearing hats. One of the details I was most impressed with was the period correct table manners during a banquet scene. Notice what Cromwell and other are doing with their napkins and how large they are compared to modern napkins. The entire production team's work, love, and research shows in each frame. I hope all of you will take advantage of this airing for free on PBS. If you are like me and can not always commit to b

Yesterday was the closing date for Anabelle Wake's Italian Renaissance Costume Challenge 5. Part of me wishes I had signed up, but the practical side of my mind reassures me that life is a bit too busy to join the fun and games this year. Maybe next year. I also realized that I failed to share my final product of the IRCC4 here. I am honored to say I won 2nd place in the competition and received the designation "Best Handwork." My progress reports have been archived by Anabelle and the link below will take you to the archive. IRCC4 Maridith Feher  What I learned! My goal in making this dress was to create a dress patterned off of Elenora di Toledo's funeral dress as described by Janet Arnold in Patterns of Fashion. As a result I did lots of research into women's clothing from 1540-1560. One of the biggest changes this research yielded what the average silk fabric used in Europe usually around 20-22inches wide. I cut the dress with this in mind and

Over the last several months members of the SCA have approached me and asked for help working on various embroidery projects. First I volunteered to embroider a stylized heart for a friend's elevation to the Order of the Laurel. The heart is worked in silk and sterling silver purl. The fleur was filled with silver plated tube beads replicating bullion. The ground fabric of the design is on white linen. A band of hearts like these were appliqued along the hem of my friend's dress. Each heart was made by someone who touched her heart and assisted on the path she took in some way. The next piece I worked on are for the Queen of Atenveldt's dress. I completed 4 1/2 suns in splendor used along the hem of her dress. This embroidery was done using DMC cotton floss on linen. Her Majesty wore this dress at grand court of Estrella War 2015 and at other important occasions. These suns were incorporated into a larger design by the Elizabethan Sweatshop in Phoenix, AZ. The final

The Tudor Project was invited to provide ambiance for two current exhibits at the Phoenix Art Museum on February 14-15, 2015. Everyone involved in The Tudor Project is honored and grateful that we have been invited to enhance the experience of museum goers in Phoenix, Arizona. We wandered through the exhibition of Da Vinci's Leicester Codex  listening to talks about the observations on pages of the famous notebook by local academics. Many of the observations in this codex are devoted to how Da Vinci thought water worked. I highly encourage everyone to go to the museum and see this exhibit. The codex is on loan from Bill Gates and will be here for a limited time. Remember there is no photography allowed in this exhibit!  Mary Magdalene by Master of Astorga ca. 1500-1525. Tempera and gilt on wooden panel. We then wandered through the Mysteries from Europe exhibition which is filled with beautiful art from unidentified artists. The collection is filled with religious work

Dull dressing pins needing some TLC.  I have been raving to anyone who would listen about the dressing pins made by Irene Davis of The Treasury. After a few years of steady use my brass pins were getting dull. The Tudor focused group I play with called F.I.R.E. was starting to bend pins while dressing me and other ladies. I took this problem to to Irene, as the maker and asked about the card and feeding of my pins. Problem 1- My pins are dull. what is the best way to sharpen them? Answer- Don't use a metal file use sand paper. I tried a few different weights and a regular nail file for the bluntest pins. For sharper pins wet or dry sand paper of 400 grit works well. I just sharpened 32 pins this way in less than 2 hours. The technique will take time to get down. Sharpening pin on sand paper strip. Problem 2- My pin heads are coming loose. Answer- Put down a piece of wood or an acrylic board used for leather tooling and smash the heads a few times. This should secur