Another 1480s Florentine Gown and Overgown

I enjoy wearing my 1480s Florentine gown so much that I had to make a second one.

The gown itself is made of a turquoise linen. Probably not a period color, but I enjoy wearing it. The bodice is interlined and lined, and has about five cable tie bones along the front of each side. It laces down the front with hand bound eyelets. In this version of the pattern, I eliminated the front curve from the pattern of my blue one - it laces much more smoothly. I also attempted to fix some of the shoulder weirdness present in the blue one, which was somewhat successful, but not completely. The skirt is simply a large rectangle, knife pleated into the waist.

The sleeves are of course, detachable. They tie into the shoulder of the gown at four points. They're solid until just above the elbow, and lace together with ladder lacing from elbow to wrist. I like this sleeve design much better than the sleeves on my blue gown. I couldn't seem to get the blue sleeves laced tight enough, and they shifted and looked odd. As I couldn't find any matching turquoise ribbon for lacing, I opted to go with a contrasting mulberry color.

The overgown is made of a completely non-period polyester cotton blend. It uses basically the same pattern as the bodice, but with a deep "V" in the front. The skirt is knife pleated to the bodice, and has a slight train. The only fastening is one hook and eye at the center front waist. I wanted to be able to put it on for court, and run around in just my linen dress the rest of the day. I tried it out this past weekend, and it fits the bill nicely. Here's another picture from another, much sunnier, day, before my sleeves were finished. With my friend Christmas, who made a similar dress.

As a bonus, here's a couple of pictures of me fighting the Frost Dragon in my dress.