Historical costuming

While a lot of people spend a lot of time developing their personal style, few can say they have medieval dresses hanging in their closet. YouTuber Bernadette Banner has more than just a few. Furthermore, she’s made all of them by hand. “I study the history of dress through practical experimentation and reconstruction, exploring historical eras preceding the introduction of the electric sewing machine because technology is weird,” she says.

‘Time to think of the cool, sweet mornings and their gowns of crisp figured lawn; time to think of the drowsy afternoons with their hammock dresses of voile taffeta, mull and batiste; time to think of the summer evenings and their veilings, their silvered chiffons, their wonderful tissues and their transparencies. Time to think of … Continue reading Edwardian Lingerie Dress →

Do you want to make your own historical costumes on a budget? These are my 8 tips on how to get started in historical costuming!

I realized today with the 18th century gowns I have made I have only scratched the surface of how many different types there were. It's easy to fall into the idea that it was all Robe a la Francaise, Robe a l'Anglaise, Robe a la

Greetings fellow sewists! My name is Sarah and I am a historical costumer and maker of floofy things. I specialize in hand sewing 18th-century gowns using period-appropriate techniques, and you can find examples of these gowns and other costumes that I have sewn on my page @sewlateadoe For those of you who may be…

Why oh why is Keira Knightley the early 21st-century “It Girl” for period dramas? I don’t get it. She’s tall and lanky with big eyes, all of which is fine in a modern settin…

18th Century Jackets

Women don't have to wear skirts! If you have some puffy pants, those could work just as well.

I'm currently awfully busy trying to make my ambitiously planned Costume College wardrobe happen and when the accomplished people of Tampere announced that they were going to be hosting an 18th century masquerade, I knew I couldn't even think about making anything new to wear. Or even re-trim an…

During the medieval period, the noble women’s clothing was very complicated. There are layers of clothes to put on the body of women. Unlike the common women’s dress and tunic, noble women would wear underclothes, dresses, tunics, overcoats. The underclothes consisted of breeches, chemise and hose. They were covered with underskirts which was usually made of yellow or white linen or silk. Vintage Cotton Long Medieval Chemise Forest Princess Medieval Overcoat for Women Then the underskirt was…