Tuesday 24 March 2009

So close and yet so far...


This Northern Renaissance dress is gorgeous.  It fits exactly as it should, with a tight bodice and a full skirt.  It sports an ornamented panel over the bust, with black lacings over a white placket below.  The hanging, pointed cuffs are absolutely correct.  In keeping with the use of beading and velvet, which suggests nobility, the skirt has three stripes to indicate high rank.  I can't see details of the hat, but it looks accurate enough from the photo and the ostentatious plumes of feathers are perfect.  

There's just one problem: the colours.  I've looked at a lot of these gowns, and patterns emerge pretty quickly after you've poured over Cranach and Dürer.  The most popular colour was red, followed by black and by green.  Occasionally you do see a blue one, but never with a blue front panel.  It should be gold brocade, or black and patterned with beading.  I've never seen this much white used either, and it looks really bizarre.

That said, I would still give it an emphatic pass.  I myself was once lauded for a German gown in black and silver — not a period colour scheme, but it was otherwise correct and looked just so damn gothy.

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