Re: Medieval Wedding dress

[Stephanie Malone Thorson <smt2@st-andrews.ac.uk>]

On Wed, 14 Feb 1996, Matthew Allen Newsome wrote:

> A mundane friend of mine is planning on having a medieval style wedding, 
> and naturaly came to me, her crazy SCA friend, for a medieval wedding 
> dress pattern.  Seeing as I would never wear a medieval wedding dress, I 
> had no pattern for her, but promised to help her find one.  She has no 
> specific location or time frame in mind.  She just wants a medieval or 
> Rennesaince flare.  Does anyone know of a simple pattern for a medieval 
> dress, or a modern pattern that could be easily altered?  Any help I 
> could give her in finding one would be appreciated.

AFAIK, the "medieval wedding dress" was simply one's best dress, cut in 
whatever was the fashionable style of the time, and in whatever colour 
was fashionable or suited the wearer's tastes.  The custom of wearing a 
white dress for one's wedding dates from the Victorian era, when 
well-to-do families like to show that they could afford to buy their 
daughters dresses that they would wear only once.  Past Patterns and 
Period Patterns are two pattern companies that make medieval and 
renaissance dress patterns, in varying degrees of complexity.  The 
patterns are available by mail from Amazon Drygoods and doubtless from 
other sources as well.  I'm an inveterate pattern-drafter, so I don't buy 
patterns - who out there has addresses for companies that sell 
reproduction patterns?

Hope this helps some.

In service,
Alianora

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Stephanie M. Thorson			*  SCA: Lady Alianora Munro
University of St Andrews		*  
St Andrews, Scotland			*  Clan White Wing
email smt2@st-andrews.ac.uk		*  Tarkhan, Khanate Red Lion
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