La Bricoleuse

The First Book of Fashion (ed. Ulinka Rublack and Maria Hayward) encompasses two books, in fact: essentially 15th and 16th century "dress diaries" of a father and son, Matthaus and Veit Konrad Schwarz of Augsburg. The two men hired a series of artists to draw miniature full-color portraits of their clothes, a project which encompassed forty years of the father's life and six years of the son's adolescence. The men were serious clothes-horses and major fashion mavens, with the books serving as amazing windows into the daily clothing choices made by men of their class at the time.

This full-color edition depicts the two volumes in their entireties, along with translations of the Schwarz's accompanying diary text, which is often both illuminating and endearing, describing the materials of the clothing and personal details. Some examples:

• ...silk from Arras lined with Siberian squirrel fur...


• The riding gown had 40 pleats.


• This is when i began to be fat and round.


• At this time i greatly enjoyed hunting.

In a lengthy section at the back of the book, a scholarly analysis of each plate is appended, in which every element of dress and adornment is discussed, as well as any socially-significant elements shown in the background. Two lengthy scholarly articles by the editors serve as Introductions I & II, which provide a historical background for these men's lives, the town/country in which they lived, the general state of clothing production/techniques/styles at the time, and the larger historical picture of the era.

At only $45 for this 410-page hardback  volume, this is an excellent and reasonably priced resource for costumers seeking primary research for this time period and location. It's also a fun glimpse into these guys' lives, and their witty, self-conscious comments feel as familiar as any fashion blog or social media feed.

Some examples:

On my cross-country trek to and from Utah, i stopped over as a halfway-point with an old friend and costuming colleague, Yosa Addiss. Yosa is the principal designer and proprietress of the wedding and fantasy gown atelier, Silks & Velvets, based in Lawrence, KS.

In addition to her couture gown and corsetry business, Yosa is a long-term performer and participant in the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. Costuming performers for a renaissance faire presents a whole host of unique problems--the costumes must stand up to extreme weather exposure, and be worn all day long in all kinds of climatic change. Yosa graciously allowed me to document some of her tricks for constructing an ornate standing ruff of gold guipere lace, which she wore for the duration of the 2004 season, portraying Anna Maria, the Queen of Spain.

( pictures! )