![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
labricoleuseOn 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.
Yosa in the full queen regalia.
Back view of the ruff, worn here with the rain gown
(a less ornate version worn for poor weather).
One challenge of this project was that Yosa needed to be able to put the whole gown on by herself. Not only do the performers playing kings and queens work the festival itself, but they often have to go do promotional appearances in malls or at community events--sometimes Yosa would be booked for such an appearance alone, with only a public restroom to change in. The dresses and ruffs and such had to look as period-accurate as possible, yet easy to put on swiftly--the ultimate "quick-change Elizabethan"!
Note the large strips of velcro to anchor the ruff to the dress.
Here Yosa shows the ruff itself, minus the underpropper.
Note how wide a diameter it is!
The ruff is supported by a flatlined-understructure of heavy nylon crinoline mesh (think of horsehair braid, and imagine it woven into a fabric 60" wide). The channels are filled out with rolls of the same material to support their shape:
Another view of skintone velcro where the underpropper attaches to the gown's neckline.
And, another couple of fun images to share, aside from the ruff itself--shoe and hat tricks!
Queen shoes!
Period shoes are out of the question when you are spending long hours in blistering heat, driving rain, muddy fairgrounds, and concrete floors and lots doing promotions. You really need some shoes that will stand up to that kind of wear! Yosa got these cute, comfy mary-janes and added trim from her gown--since the shoes are rarely glimpsed, they just need to NOT stand out like say, tennis shoes might. What a fun solution to the problem!
Plastic canvas instead of buckram forms the base structure for this courtesan's hat.
(Metal pieces are two hatpins for anchoring the hat on the hair.)
Buckram loses its structural integrity in water, so when you need a historical-shape hat to stand up to harsh weather conditions, it's not an option for construction. Yosa used plastic canvas from a craft store to create the crown of this cute hat. Unfortunately, my photo of the finished product didn't turn out, so i can't show you what the outside looks like. Sorry!
For more images of the Queen of Spain costume, check out Yosa's photo galleries from the 2004 festival!
And, another quick off-topic delving into the question of, what does one do for fun in rural Southwestern Utah? Well, what about trying to eat the 24-scoop Zion Sundae at GranDee's Ice Cream Parlor in Cedar City? Since there were a whole host of us from PlayMakers Repertory working at the Shakespearean Festival this summer, we decided as a group to try to tackle it. If you eat it all (even the melty sludge!), you get your name engraved on a plaque on the wall! So, what do 24 scoops, 12 sauces, and 6 toppings PLUS a can of whipped cream look like?
Before
Yes, that's a huge mixing bowl.
After
We conquered the Zion! Oogh.
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.
Yosa in the full queen regalia.
Back view of the ruff, worn here with the rain gown
(a less ornate version worn for poor weather).
One challenge of this project was that Yosa needed to be able to put the whole gown on by herself. Not only do the performers playing kings and queens work the festival itself, but they often have to go do promotional appearances in malls or at community events--sometimes Yosa would be booked for such an appearance alone, with only a public restroom to change in. The dresses and ruffs and such had to look as period-accurate as possible, yet easy to put on swiftly--the ultimate "quick-change Elizabethan"!
Note the large strips of velcro to anchor the ruff to the dress.
Here Yosa shows the ruff itself, minus the underpropper.
Note how wide a diameter it is!
The ruff is supported by a flatlined-understructure of heavy nylon crinoline mesh (think of horsehair braid, and imagine it woven into a fabric 60" wide). The channels are filled out with rolls of the same material to support their shape:
Another view of skintone velcro where the underpropper attaches to the gown's neckline.
And, another couple of fun images to share, aside from the ruff itself--shoe and hat tricks!
Queen shoes!
Period shoes are out of the question when you are spending long hours in blistering heat, driving rain, muddy fairgrounds, and concrete floors and lots doing promotions. You really need some shoes that will stand up to that kind of wear! Yosa got these cute, comfy mary-janes and added trim from her gown--since the shoes are rarely glimpsed, they just need to NOT stand out like say, tennis shoes might. What a fun solution to the problem!
Plastic canvas instead of buckram forms the base structure for this courtesan's hat.
(Metal pieces are two hatpins for anchoring the hat on the hair.)
Buckram loses its structural integrity in water, so when you need a historical-shape hat to stand up to harsh weather conditions, it's not an option for construction. Yosa used plastic canvas from a craft store to create the crown of this cute hat. Unfortunately, my photo of the finished product didn't turn out, so i can't show you what the outside looks like. Sorry!
For more images of the Queen of Spain costume, check out Yosa's photo galleries from the 2004 festival!
And, another quick off-topic delving into the question of, what does one do for fun in rural Southwestern Utah? Well, what about trying to eat the 24-scoop Zion Sundae at GranDee's Ice Cream Parlor in Cedar City? Since there were a whole host of us from PlayMakers Repertory working at the Shakespearean Festival this summer, we decided as a group to try to tackle it. If you eat it all (even the melty sludge!), you get your name engraved on a plaque on the wall! So, what do 24 scoops, 12 sauces, and 6 toppings PLUS a can of whipped cream look like?
Yes, that's a huge mixing bowl.
After
We conquered the Zion! Oogh.
