Every so often, someone sends me a picture of a portrait so that I can offer a suggestion as to how a garment is constructed or, perhaps could I provide a pattern for said garment in portrait. Could I also include the many details as to how much fabric will be needed, what notions should be acquired and give a time estimation as to how much time the process will take to complete the item? Many assume these are simple answers, but for a tailor, the answer is not a simple one to construct. The following image is a constant among images that are sent to me, so for the purposes of edification, I will use this image as exemplar for the following demonstration of how a garment could be understood through the perspective of a skilled tailor. Step one: Know your garment and audience. I.E. 1.What do you know about the garment in the photo? 2.Who wore it? 3.When? 4.For what purpose? 5.What do you know or what can you surmise about the materials and construction? 6.How is going to wear the reconstruction? 7.Are they similar in appearance and statue to the exemplar in the image? 8.If they are not, what modifications will be necessary to create a similar effect? Background of the Tailor: With a cursory google search, this is the betrothal portrait of Bianca Maria Sforza who lived 1472 to 1510. She was the niece of the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, also known as il Moro. Records indicate that her marriage by proxy was completed in 1493 so one may determine that the portrait was painted by Ambrogio de Predis, who was court artist in Milan at the time painted this portrait. Il Moro was looking for a strong alliance and simply, this was a marriage for the money with a beautiful wife thrown in. The portrait is a conspicuous display of Sforza wealth. The headdress was reportedly worth 600 ducats or around 15,000 dollars USD today. The portrait was only a small indication of the wealth that accompanied her in her dowry, 400,000 ducats or, if you do the math, that’s 10.4 million. You can bet this lady knew her value. If we take a look at the reversed color image of the photo, we can see more of the detail of the headdress.
Step two: Figuring out the coif. A word about head shape, there are many head shapes, but the position of a coif on the head is directly affected by how much shape your face has. Do you have a five finger forhead like image 1? Or is your face more similar to Bianca’s, which is an image three? (word to the wise, don’t guess. Take a picture of your profile to figure it out.)
Step three: Are there any extant garments that we could use for guidance on construction? Here is a coif from a Medieval museum in Spain. The position and construction is similar to the coif worn by Maria. From the back, I can see two halves have been sewn together and the lower edge at the neck has a band of some sort. Two ties extend from the band, but they give no indication of exactly where they should be secured. Next I would make a few test coifs for trial and error before committing expensive fabric, embroidery, jewels, or time to ornamentation.
Once you have settled on a pattern that fits your head in the most pleasing manner according to the reference portrait, you are ready to cut you fabric, embroider, bead, pin to your hearts’ desire. Then on to the hair casing and the beaded ribbon. Allora—there you go.
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Baronessa Franca DonatoVandy Pacetti-Donelson is a milliner, costumer, illuminator and calligrapher, and researcher who is interested in all that is the Italian Renaissance. A true Florida Native originally from Saint Augustine, she now calls Daphne, Alabama her home. Vandy is known in the Society for Creative Anachronism as Baronessa Franca Donato, OL and resides in the Barony of the Osprey in the Kingdom of Merides. Archives
March 2021
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