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The Lady Jane Project is a costume design thesis project centered on the life and tragic death of Lady Jane Grey, a brilliant young scholar who fell victim to the machinations of her 16th century power-hungry kith and kin. This uniquely intelligent young girl was abruptly pushed onto the throne of England becoming the first Queen Regnant, only to be betrayed, deposed, and executed at the tender age of 16. My proposal was to design and realize a costume based on her final moments, as well as from an imaginary coronation, in an attempt to shine light on a seldom told story of a young, incredibly brilliant girl. My research is drawn primarily from both costume and historical biographical resources, namely "The Tudor Tailor" by Ninya Mikhaila and Jane Malcolm-Davies, "Patterns of Fashion 3" by Janet Arnold, "Tudor Fashion" by Eleri Lynn, "The Visual History of Costume: The Sixteenth Century" by Jane Ashelford, "Shaping Femininity" by Sarah A. Bendall, "Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery" by Eric Ives, "The Children of Henry VIII" by Alison Weir, "The Wives of Henry VIII" by Antonia Fraser, and the podcasts "Talking Tudors" by Natalie Grueninger and "Noble Blood" by Dana Schwartz.
Research: Who is Lady Jane Grey?
“Jane’s learning was one of the few consistent factors in her life, and one which she clung for comfort when events spiraled out of her control” (5)
Lady Jane Grey was born in 1537, the granddaughter of Henry VIII's beloved sister, Mary Tudor, the French Queen, thus making her the great granddaughter of King Henry VII. This royal inheritance would ultimately lead to her downfall, being executed for treason on the 12th of February 1554.
Growing up, Jane and her sister's were considered one of the most educated women in the kingdom and were instructed in "languages and history. It was here that Jane particularly excelled: ‘Jane was very versed in Greek as well as Latin letters and was also very learned in matters of the Bible’…if you were to number her languages, this one spoke eight’…not only did she excel in her lessons , but she enjoyed them, and found great pleasure in the pages of books…Florio claimed that Jane was the most learned and religious youth in the kingdom”(5). In 1547 Jane was sent to live with the dowager Queen Catherine Parr, herself an accomplished and highly educated woman, as well as Catherine's new husband and their ward, Jane's cousin the teenage Princess Elizabeth Tudor, the future Queen Elizabeth 1. Jane, like Catherine Parr and Elizabeth Tudor, was outspokenly protestant in a time of deep conflict between protestants and Catholic. However, Jane and her family were close with their cousin, the very Catholic Princess Mary Tudor.
Originally Jane was destined to marry her cousin, the young King Edward VI, a protestant king, but the king reached marrying age his health took a turn for the worst and the issue of succession became apparent. His father, Henry VIII's will originally planned for the recently legitimized Mary and Elizabeth, followed by Jane and her sisters, to succeed Edward. However, Edward's extremely protestant faith made it inconceivable to name his catholic sister Mary as his heir, but nixing Mary but not Elizabeth became difficult, so both sisters were re deemed illegitimate again, thus leaving the Grey sisters as the next in line. A new will was secretly drafted by Edward's Lord Protector, John Dudley, who planned to marry his son Guildford to 15 year old Jane in hopes of puppeting the young couple on the throne. Jane, who was more interested in her education than marriage was less than impressed with her fiancé, and when she was informed of the impending marriage, Jane "did not bother to hide her contempt…Jane was forced to accept what she could not change” (5). Jane and Guildford's marriage remained cold, and Jane was quickly annoyed with Guildford's immaturity and rudeness.
Not long after the marriage, Edward VI died, and Jane was informed that she was to be his heir. Shocked, Jane's response to the news was a "dramatic one. She fell to the ground and wept… Jane’s actions made the point very publicly that she has not sought the crown and that it had been imposed on her… When Jane stopped weeping… she accepted her kingdom, with modest claims of inadequacy, but prayed that God would grant her ‘such grace as to enable me to govern…with his approbation and to his glory’ and with that England’s first Queen regnant made it clear that she intended to rule and not be a mere cipher” (4). Jane saw the importance of maintaining protestantism as the dominant religion, and every bit of a firebrand herself, accepted her role as Queen to maintain the faith of her country. Jane was an active queen and took to her responsibilities without shame. An independent thinker, when encouraged to name Guildford as King, she refused, preferring to make her husband " ‘a Duke but not a King’…Jane had asserted her role as Queen, independent of her duty of obedience to her husband” (4). A Queen regnant of England would not refuse her husband the position of king until Queen Victoria in 1840. The public however was less than interested in their new queen, and preferred Princess Mary, who was popular with the people. Mary herself lead an army to take back her claim to the kingdom, and within 9 days of being proclaimed queen, Jane was deposed and imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Now Queen, Mary was sympathetic to Jane and acknowledged how little choice she had in the entire situation. Jane and Guildford would stand trial of course and be sentenced to death, the expected punishment for treason, but Mary had no intention of seeing the final sentence through and “she had intended to grant Jane a pardon after her trial had run its course” (4) and wanted to wait until "she was married and had produced a Catholic heir"(7). Months passed and Mary turned to the idea of marriage, preferring to marry her cousin the catholic Prince Phillip of Spain. The English people were not impressed with the idea of this match, fearing the rule of a foreign prince, and public protests became prevalent, leading to Wyatt's rebellion in early 1544, which intended to remove Mary and place her sister Elizabeth on the throne. Spain refused to move through with the marriage until the unrest in England was calmed, and Charles V would not "permit Phillip to come to England until Jane was removed” (7). Mary, who was already desperately in love with her younger fiancé, reluctantly agreed to the terms, and Jane and Guildford's executions were quickly scheduled.
Jane, who had been imprisoned for 7 months, upon being informed of her impending death, felt "'ready and glad to end my woeful days’ In a prayer she composed soon afterwards she described herself as a ‘poor and desolate woman, overwhelmed with miseries, vexed with temptations, and grievously tormented with the long imprisonment’"(7). Mary, in an attempt to 'save Jane's soul', sent her bishops to convert Jane, but she remained steadfast in her religion. Upon being offered the chance to say goodbye to her husband prior to her execution, she refused, meeting only again as she walked past his mangled corpse on her way to the scaffold, letting out a small cry. Jane asked to crowd to pray for her before removing her gown, refusing the assistance of the execution, tying her blindfold, and briefly struggling to find the block. At the moment of her "death she would be remembered for her strength, her bravery” (5). After her death, Jane was used a religious martyr to promote the protestant faith, becoming especially popular in the 19th century. Unfortunately, no verified portraits of Jane exist, as the majority were destroyed after her execution, and it is difficult to ascertain the difference between Jane, her sisters, and Princess Elizabeth, as they were all known to be visually similar. However the above portraits are considered likely possibilities.
Growing up, Jane and her sister's were considered one of the most educated women in the kingdom and were instructed in "languages and history. It was here that Jane particularly excelled: ‘Jane was very versed in Greek as well as Latin letters and was also very learned in matters of the Bible’…if you were to number her languages, this one spoke eight’…not only did she excel in her lessons , but she enjoyed them, and found great pleasure in the pages of books…Florio claimed that Jane was the most learned and religious youth in the kingdom”(5). In 1547 Jane was sent to live with the dowager Queen Catherine Parr, herself an accomplished and highly educated woman, as well as Catherine's new husband and their ward, Jane's cousin the teenage Princess Elizabeth Tudor, the future Queen Elizabeth 1. Jane, like Catherine Parr and Elizabeth Tudor, was outspokenly protestant in a time of deep conflict between protestants and Catholic. However, Jane and her family were close with their cousin, the very Catholic Princess Mary Tudor.
Originally Jane was destined to marry her cousin, the young King Edward VI, a protestant king, but the king reached marrying age his health took a turn for the worst and the issue of succession became apparent. His father, Henry VIII's will originally planned for the recently legitimized Mary and Elizabeth, followed by Jane and her sisters, to succeed Edward. However, Edward's extremely protestant faith made it inconceivable to name his catholic sister Mary as his heir, but nixing Mary but not Elizabeth became difficult, so both sisters were re deemed illegitimate again, thus leaving the Grey sisters as the next in line. A new will was secretly drafted by Edward's Lord Protector, John Dudley, who planned to marry his son Guildford to 15 year old Jane in hopes of puppeting the young couple on the throne. Jane, who was more interested in her education than marriage was less than impressed with her fiancé, and when she was informed of the impending marriage, Jane "did not bother to hide her contempt…Jane was forced to accept what she could not change” (5). Jane and Guildford's marriage remained cold, and Jane was quickly annoyed with Guildford's immaturity and rudeness.
Not long after the marriage, Edward VI died, and Jane was informed that she was to be his heir. Shocked, Jane's response to the news was a "dramatic one. She fell to the ground and wept… Jane’s actions made the point very publicly that she has not sought the crown and that it had been imposed on her… When Jane stopped weeping… she accepted her kingdom, with modest claims of inadequacy, but prayed that God would grant her ‘such grace as to enable me to govern…with his approbation and to his glory’ and with that England’s first Queen regnant made it clear that she intended to rule and not be a mere cipher” (4). Jane saw the importance of maintaining protestantism as the dominant religion, and every bit of a firebrand herself, accepted her role as Queen to maintain the faith of her country. Jane was an active queen and took to her responsibilities without shame. An independent thinker, when encouraged to name Guildford as King, she refused, preferring to make her husband " ‘a Duke but not a King’…Jane had asserted her role as Queen, independent of her duty of obedience to her husband” (4). A Queen regnant of England would not refuse her husband the position of king until Queen Victoria in 1840. The public however was less than interested in their new queen, and preferred Princess Mary, who was popular with the people. Mary herself lead an army to take back her claim to the kingdom, and within 9 days of being proclaimed queen, Jane was deposed and imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Now Queen, Mary was sympathetic to Jane and acknowledged how little choice she had in the entire situation. Jane and Guildford would stand trial of course and be sentenced to death, the expected punishment for treason, but Mary had no intention of seeing the final sentence through and “she had intended to grant Jane a pardon after her trial had run its course” (4) and wanted to wait until "she was married and had produced a Catholic heir"(7). Months passed and Mary turned to the idea of marriage, preferring to marry her cousin the catholic Prince Phillip of Spain. The English people were not impressed with the idea of this match, fearing the rule of a foreign prince, and public protests became prevalent, leading to Wyatt's rebellion in early 1544, which intended to remove Mary and place her sister Elizabeth on the throne. Spain refused to move through with the marriage until the unrest in England was calmed, and Charles V would not "permit Phillip to come to England until Jane was removed” (7). Mary, who was already desperately in love with her younger fiancé, reluctantly agreed to the terms, and Jane and Guildford's executions were quickly scheduled.
Jane, who had been imprisoned for 7 months, upon being informed of her impending death, felt "'ready and glad to end my woeful days’ In a prayer she composed soon afterwards she described herself as a ‘poor and desolate woman, overwhelmed with miseries, vexed with temptations, and grievously tormented with the long imprisonment’"(7). Mary, in an attempt to 'save Jane's soul', sent her bishops to convert Jane, but she remained steadfast in her religion. Upon being offered the chance to say goodbye to her husband prior to her execution, she refused, meeting only again as she walked past his mangled corpse on her way to the scaffold, letting out a small cry. Jane asked to crowd to pray for her before removing her gown, refusing the assistance of the execution, tying her blindfold, and briefly struggling to find the block. At the moment of her "death she would be remembered for her strength, her bravery” (5). After her death, Jane was used a religious martyr to promote the protestant faith, becoming especially popular in the 19th century. Unfortunately, no verified portraits of Jane exist, as the majority were destroyed after her execution, and it is difficult to ascertain the difference between Jane, her sisters, and Princess Elizabeth, as they were all known to be visually similar. However the above portraits are considered likely possibilities.
Research: Understructures, Shoes, and Hats
“The basic and universal undergarment was still the smock. On to of this, kirtles, and petticoats were worn, and now very fashionable Spanish farthingale increasingly completed the ensemble underneath. Outerwear for elite women consisted of sleeved gowns of various types, usually named after the region from which they originated-Flanders, Spanish, French, Italian, Venetian, and Polish-as well as loose gowns that provided an extra layer of warmth”(3)
The base of all Tudor clothing, be it for men or women, was the linen smock, made of square and triangle pieces, and sometimes embroidered decoratively with black or gold thread, called 'black work' or 'gold work'. There is no evidence that women wore drawers, popular in Venice, in England during this time. Additionally, “full length hose were worn by women too…cut on the bias…Mary’s own hose were made from cloth…the first knitted stockings appear in Queen Elizabeth’s wardrobe in 1561, and were made from silk garters were also used to hold up nether hose. These were usually plain, functional lengths of ribbon”(1).
On top of the smock women wore linen petticoats, or farthingales, a 'hoop skirt' of sorts of Spanish origin and originally introduced during by a young Catherine of Aragon, but only gaining popularity from the 1540s onwards. Usually stiffened with reeds, there is also evidence that “all the early farthingales that were made for Queen Elizabeth were stiffened with ropes”(1).
Over the farthingale and resting low on the waist is a small bumroll, made of linen and stuffed with horsehair, designed to show off the pleating on the gown. As years progressed the bumroll would grow larger and more exaggerated and become the 'French farthingale' or 'Wheel Farthingale'.
The next layer would be a kirtle, an underdress with a stiffened bodice, achieved by "paste on linen or cardboard inserts that stiffened the material of the bodice. However, these fitted bodices often still showed the contours of the female body underneath” (3). There is no evidence of boning being used in the garment, even as far as into the reign of Mary I for “although Mary I was increasingly influenced by southern fashions…there is no evidence to prove that bodies were stiffened with anything other than heavy fabrics during her reign”. Stays, also known as a pair of bodies, are not mentioned until the reign of Mary 1, and even then don't appear to be boned until later in the reign of Elizabeth 1. Kirtles were laced in the back or on the sides for upper class women, while those of the working and lower class, who had no maids to dress them, laced them in the front.
The next layer is the gown, which can be of varying styles from French, English, Italian, and so on, though the most prominent style of the court of Henry VIII was the French gown, with long billowy sleeves, lined in fur or velvet, with elaborate under sleeves. These gowns were closed on the side front, with a stiffened front panel closed with pins. These can be visible in the Holbein portrait of Jane Seymour where you can see the gown “fastened by 13 gold pins…pins were used extensively in the wardrobe of Tudor women and were purchased in astonishing quantities”(1).
Outer layers, for both men and women consisted of coats and cloaks, while women had the option to cover the low necklines of their gown with high necked partlets, which they pinned to their dresses.
A woman's hair was always covered “as decreed by Saint Paul in the Bible, for modesty’s sake. Loose and uncovered hair was allowed only for maids or queens on ceremonial days such as coronations, and generally women wore their hair covered by hoods “(2). A woman typically styled her hair in the 'milk maid' style, with the ears being covered by hair and the braids circling the crown of the head.
Fashionable women of Jane's time wore a French hood, which consists of "several separate elements. There was always a white linen cap, which formed the foundation and could be washed…the French hood had a rounded top...the under cap was set back on the head to display more hair…it fitted closely to the head, with a brim curving forward to cover the ears. The brim was sometimes edged with a pleated strip of gauzy silk. A decorative band, the upper bilament, was then pinned to the cap, at the point where the underlying hair crossed over the head, adding height. This could be plain velvet, taffeta, or satin, and might be jeweled or consist entirely of goldsmith’s work. Frontlets and nether (lower bilaments) could be worn in addition to the upper. These were pinned to the front of the cap, following the shape of the brim. The veil…either hung down the back or was flipped up…the under cap was always white, the veil always black… and bilaments were limited to black, red, white, or gold”(1). Though usually painted out of portraits, a neck strap of soft leather cut on a bias was necessary to keep the hood in place, as it was tilted so far back on the head.
Shoes at the time were made of leather and square toed, often known as the duck-bill style, or almond-toed, in an almost Mary Jane style, and usually had little, if any, heel.
On top of the smock women wore linen petticoats, or farthingales, a 'hoop skirt' of sorts of Spanish origin and originally introduced during by a young Catherine of Aragon, but only gaining popularity from the 1540s onwards. Usually stiffened with reeds, there is also evidence that “all the early farthingales that were made for Queen Elizabeth were stiffened with ropes”(1).
Over the farthingale and resting low on the waist is a small bumroll, made of linen and stuffed with horsehair, designed to show off the pleating on the gown. As years progressed the bumroll would grow larger and more exaggerated and become the 'French farthingale' or 'Wheel Farthingale'.
The next layer would be a kirtle, an underdress with a stiffened bodice, achieved by "paste on linen or cardboard inserts that stiffened the material of the bodice. However, these fitted bodices often still showed the contours of the female body underneath” (3). There is no evidence of boning being used in the garment, even as far as into the reign of Mary I for “although Mary I was increasingly influenced by southern fashions…there is no evidence to prove that bodies were stiffened with anything other than heavy fabrics during her reign”. Stays, also known as a pair of bodies, are not mentioned until the reign of Mary 1, and even then don't appear to be boned until later in the reign of Elizabeth 1. Kirtles were laced in the back or on the sides for upper class women, while those of the working and lower class, who had no maids to dress them, laced them in the front.
The next layer is the gown, which can be of varying styles from French, English, Italian, and so on, though the most prominent style of the court of Henry VIII was the French gown, with long billowy sleeves, lined in fur or velvet, with elaborate under sleeves. These gowns were closed on the side front, with a stiffened front panel closed with pins. These can be visible in the Holbein portrait of Jane Seymour where you can see the gown “fastened by 13 gold pins…pins were used extensively in the wardrobe of Tudor women and were purchased in astonishing quantities”(1).
Outer layers, for both men and women consisted of coats and cloaks, while women had the option to cover the low necklines of their gown with high necked partlets, which they pinned to their dresses.
A woman's hair was always covered “as decreed by Saint Paul in the Bible, for modesty’s sake. Loose and uncovered hair was allowed only for maids or queens on ceremonial days such as coronations, and generally women wore their hair covered by hoods “(2). A woman typically styled her hair in the 'milk maid' style, with the ears being covered by hair and the braids circling the crown of the head.
Fashionable women of Jane's time wore a French hood, which consists of "several separate elements. There was always a white linen cap, which formed the foundation and could be washed…the French hood had a rounded top...the under cap was set back on the head to display more hair…it fitted closely to the head, with a brim curving forward to cover the ears. The brim was sometimes edged with a pleated strip of gauzy silk. A decorative band, the upper bilament, was then pinned to the cap, at the point where the underlying hair crossed over the head, adding height. This could be plain velvet, taffeta, or satin, and might be jeweled or consist entirely of goldsmith’s work. Frontlets and nether (lower bilaments) could be worn in addition to the upper. These were pinned to the front of the cap, following the shape of the brim. The veil…either hung down the back or was flipped up…the under cap was always white, the veil always black… and bilaments were limited to black, red, white, or gold”(1). Though usually painted out of portraits, a neck strap of soft leather cut on a bias was necessary to keep the hood in place, as it was tilted so far back on the head.
Shoes at the time were made of leather and square toed, often known as the duck-bill style, or almond-toed, in an almost Mary Jane style, and usually had little, if any, heel.
Research: A Fitted English Gown
“Jane’s religious devotion and learning meant that she prized plain attire and modesty and thought ostentation a vanity”(2)
A fitted English gown gained prominence in England starting in the 1540s, and began to be regularly worn in the 1550s, becoming a popular style along with the loose gown during the reign of Mary 1 and the first decade of Elizabeth 1's reign.
I chose this more subdued style because of Jane's distaste of more elaborate styles, for “Lady Jae did not adhere to the concept that virtue was achieved through magnificence… Jane preferred plain attire, and upon receiving gifts from Mary (before becoming queen) of ‘tinsel, cloth of gold and velvet, laid of with parchment lace of gold…said “What shall I do with it?...That were a shame, to follow my Lady Mary against God’s word”(2). Plain styling was popular amongst the pious protestant set, and Jane's cousin and former house-mate Elizabeth Tudor preferred the plain black and white styling, saying that “although the king left her rich clothes and jewels she ‘looked upon that rich attire and precious jewels but once, and that against her will…I am sure that her maidenly apparel which she used in King Edward’s time, made the noblemen’s daughter’s and wives be ashamed to be dressed and painted like peacocks” (2).
Because my design centered around Jane's execution, I researched contemporary description dress she wore for it, which was the same gown that she wore to her trial, where she was “dressed in the deepest of black as a symbol of her penitence, her black cape trimmed and lined with black; even the detailing on her French hood was black. She held a prayer book open in her hands to broadcast her evangelical piety, while another, covered in black velvet, hung from her waist” (4). The materials of her garment was described as "a black velvet gown and a black satin hood trimmed with jet” (7).
Tudor England was an especially cold time, and “studies of climate history suggest that 16th century people needed more clothing than we do…from around 1560 temperatures dropped significantly”(1). Worsted wool, a popular fabric of the time, was chosen, along with the above mentioned velvet, to further add warmth to Jane's final look.
I chose this more subdued style because of Jane's distaste of more elaborate styles, for “Lady Jae did not adhere to the concept that virtue was achieved through magnificence… Jane preferred plain attire, and upon receiving gifts from Mary (before becoming queen) of ‘tinsel, cloth of gold and velvet, laid of with parchment lace of gold…said “What shall I do with it?...That were a shame, to follow my Lady Mary against God’s word”(2). Plain styling was popular amongst the pious protestant set, and Jane's cousin and former house-mate Elizabeth Tudor preferred the plain black and white styling, saying that “although the king left her rich clothes and jewels she ‘looked upon that rich attire and precious jewels but once, and that against her will…I am sure that her maidenly apparel which she used in King Edward’s time, made the noblemen’s daughter’s and wives be ashamed to be dressed and painted like peacocks” (2).
Because my design centered around Jane's execution, I researched contemporary description dress she wore for it, which was the same gown that she wore to her trial, where she was “dressed in the deepest of black as a symbol of her penitence, her black cape trimmed and lined with black; even the detailing on her French hood was black. She held a prayer book open in her hands to broadcast her evangelical piety, while another, covered in black velvet, hung from her waist” (4). The materials of her garment was described as "a black velvet gown and a black satin hood trimmed with jet” (7).
Tudor England was an especially cold time, and “studies of climate history suggest that 16th century people needed more clothing than we do…from around 1560 temperatures dropped significantly”(1). Worsted wool, a popular fabric of the time, was chosen, along with the above mentioned velvet, to further add warmth to Jane's final look.
Research: Coronation Robes
I chose to recreate Elizabeth's cloth of gold coronation robes, which in turn were a repurposing of Mary's, because of Elizabeth and Jane's closeness in ideologies and manner of dressing. I also chose to recreate Elizabeth's coronation crown, which was a smaller version of St.Edward's crown that had been made for Annie Boleyn's coronation, because of Jane's slight size and need to use a smaller crown.
Costume Design Renderings
Keeping the silhouette simple, but historical was important for the designs, as not to pull focus from the dramatic moment if the scenes were to be presented on film. A white kirtle, instead of black was chosen as a slight step away from the historical description to highlight her innocence and reference the famous Paul Delaroche painting of 1833. It was also originally intended to have the kirtle drenched with blood, a la the 1994 film La Reine Margot, but it was eventually decided to save the original garment from destruction and create the blood effect digitally.
Concept Art Renderings
Originally an art installation was planned as a portion of this project, featuring media projections and a short film, inspired by the work of Pipilotti Rist. It was to feature scenes focusing on the thoughts, fears, and dreams flashing through Jane's mind as she prepared herself for her execution. The following renderings represent scenes from the planned video. Due to funding, the video and installation were no longer possible, and the scope of the project narrowed.
Work in Progress Fitting Photos
After completing the designs and technical renderings, I contracted costume artisan Nicole Peckens to drape and construct the gowns and farthingale.
Crafts: Work in Progress
The coronation crown was 3d printed in resin after a 3d digital model commissioned for this project and then painted with acrylic paint and attached to a cap made from heat set fosshape and red silk velvet.
The French hood was built by a Ukrainian milliner, with the veil being replaced by a silk velvet hood based off a pattern from The Tudor Tailor.
The ermine caplet base was purchased off of Amazon, where the collar was removed, clasps switched out, and real ermine tails inserted.
The French hood was built by a Ukrainian milliner, with the veil being replaced by a silk velvet hood based off a pattern from The Tudor Tailor.
The ermine caplet base was purchased off of Amazon, where the collar was removed, clasps switched out, and real ermine tails inserted.
Final Product: Shift, Stockings, Latchet Shoes, and Hair Styling
Constructed in linen based on a pattern from The Tudor Tailor.
The stockings are silk and sourced from American Duchess.
The shoes are leather and also sourced from American Duchess.
The stockings are silk and sourced from American Duchess.
The shoes are leather and also sourced from American Duchess.
Final Product: Farthingale and Bumroll
Farthingale is constructed of linen and cotton rope, chosen as a less rigid undergarment than one made of reeds, to suit Jane having been under house arrest for months.
The bumroll is constructed of cotton and stuffed with poly-fill and sourced from Samson Historical.
The bumroll is constructed of cotton and stuffed with poly-fill and sourced from Samson Historical.
Final Product: Kirtle, Sleeves, and Cap
The kirtle is made of a cream worsted wool sourced in Chicago and the bodice is stiffened with a pasted linen, sourced from historical recreation company Burnley and Trowbridge.
The white cap is made of linen and sourced from The Tudor Tailor.
The white cap is made of linen and sourced from The Tudor Tailor.
Final Product: Fitted English Gown and French Hood
The English gown is made from worsted black wool, sourced from The Tudor Tailor, lined in black and white linen lining sourced from Burnley and Trowbridge, and trimmed in black velvet, sourced from Renaissance Fabrics.
The French hood is made from silk taffeta and black silk velvet, with a white organza trim. The upper bilament is decorated with faux black pearls, black crystals, and gold work.
The French hood is made from silk taffeta and black silk velvet, with a white organza trim. The upper bilament is decorated with faux black pearls, black crystals, and gold work.
Final Product: Photoshoot
In conclusion I am extremely pleased with the final product, which is elegant and simple. And although the project had to change in scope and scale during the process of creation, I believe it to be the right move, wanting to focus instead on the research and design elements that are central to my degree. In cross referencing both contemporary and modern resources and displaying my findings I created a valuable research tool for future costumers and historians on a rather tricky era of dress.
Works Cited
1.Mikhaila, Ninya, and Jane Malcolm-Davies.The Tudor Tailor: Reconstructing 16th-Century Dress. Costume and Fashion Press, 2015.
2.Lynn, Eleri.Tudor Fashion. Yale University Press, in Association with Historic Royal Palaces, 2021.
3.Bendall, Sarah A.Shaping Femininity: Foundation Garments, the Body and Women in Early Modern England. Bloosbury Visual Arts, 2022.
4.Lisle, Leanda De.The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Tragedy. Ballantine Books, 2009.
5.Tallis, Nicola.Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey. WF Howes Ltd, 2017.
6.Ives, Eric.Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery. Blackwell Publishing, 2009.
7.Weir, Alison.Children of England: The Heirs of King Henry VIII, 1547-1558. J. Cape, 1996.
8.Arnold, Janet.Patterns of Fashion: The Cut and Construction of Clothes for Men and Women c1560-1620. Macmillan London Unlimited , 1985.
2.Lynn, Eleri.Tudor Fashion. Yale University Press, in Association with Historic Royal Palaces, 2021.
3.Bendall, Sarah A.Shaping Femininity: Foundation Garments, the Body and Women in Early Modern England. Bloosbury Visual Arts, 2022.
4.Lisle, Leanda De.The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Tragedy. Ballantine Books, 2009.
5.Tallis, Nicola.Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey. WF Howes Ltd, 2017.
6.Ives, Eric.Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery. Blackwell Publishing, 2009.
7.Weir, Alison.Children of England: The Heirs of King Henry VIII, 1547-1558. J. Cape, 1996.
8.Arnold, Janet.Patterns of Fashion: The Cut and Construction of Clothes for Men and Women c1560-1620. Macmillan London Unlimited , 1985.