The Aubergine Linen Gown, Take I

Over the weekend I attended 12th Night at the Barony of the Steppes, which was a fun, and fine event.  During the day my friend who traveled with me and I sat in on the final round of Eistedfodd, the kingdom Bardic competition. It was amazing to watch, and so much fun!

My Bff:  "Idk, how DO you solve a problem like Maria?"

This is me there (at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, where the event was held), in the aubergine linen under-gown that I made to go with the rest of what I'm putting together for Candlemas.  It works great as a stand-alone gown, and it was very comfortable.

Aside, that is, from the fact that it was a bit loose, and therefore kind of gappy and saggy in the bust - because I've apparently lost nearly two inches around the middle in the past month, since I sized it and cut it out!  That's a great reason for an alteration, but, it left me self-conscious about my appearance, and now I have to fix it. Argh!

I got several compliments on the "hat", which surprised and pleased me.  This was a last-minute contraption based on a nifty headdress I saw in a painting of Christine de Pizan recently.  The hat she's always pictured as wearing is an attor de gibet; this is nowhere near that - not tall and pointy, but wide and lumpy, and *easy to throw together* and not my normal veil situation, and it was a fun experiment.

In fact, it wasn't a "hat" at all, though everyone who remarked on it called it that.  I simply put my hair up in two buns with big plastic claw clips, wrapped my long turban around the entire thing (which on its own somewhat resembles the double straw hat thing in the construction pages on this page), and then layered and folded a large veil on top of it.  It's not anywhere near as pointy as a proper attor, but I liked the square and gently-cornered shape; and it was very comfortable and light to wear.  I'll definitely be doing it again, but I think I'll work on making it more pointy.

But first: the gown needs to be altered; and I have to finish the other half of the ensemble for Candlemas (I cut it out and got the back finished last night).

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