If you could make garb to match a portrait........

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

I like this portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. The gown is simple enough. A deep Burgandy velveteen would be indeed striking. Finding the right tarnished gold trim would be the challenge. The overskirt appears to close as well as open. I prefer the open look to show the underskirt forepart.

[Lady Rebecca]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__YfwK4DqANw/S8I9-gkeE2I/AAAAAAAAG1s/FQcpyC-_4mo/s1600/Picture+1.png

(the latter one is my favourite, both details and silhouette. And it's made of paper! Amazing!)

Is there a blog that goes with this one, or is it just the image.

And thanks for all the info! It was Kerri's reproduction showing up on a google image search that led me to this gown in the first place.

[Anna Iram]

I've always loved this gown. My monitor shows almost a dark olive for the sleeves, a terracotta for the silk gown and black (or possibly olive) velevet trim on the bodice. Along with the soft and very full sleeves of the chemise, well ,I think it's just lovely.




I'm wondering if anyone can tell me more about this style of dress. I can't make much of it. Fur lined? Loks like an overdress of some sort? The hat is unusual, and I really like it. Anyone have pictures of something similar? My curiosity is piqued.

[Dinobabe]

I've always loved this gown. My monitor shows almost a dark olive for the sleeves, a terracotta for the silk gown and black (or possibly olive) velevet trim on the bodice. Along with the soft and very full sleeves of the chemise, well ,I think it's just lovely.

That is so interesting because I see Eddie Bauer green sleeves, salmon gown, and DEEP teal trim.  Funny how monitors show differing colors.  Very beautiful regardless.

[DonaCatalina]

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me more about this style of dress. I can't make much of it. Fur lined? Loks like an overdress of some sort? The hat is unusual, and I really like it. Anyone have pictures of something similar? My curiosity is piqued.

I'm curious about this too. This type of rigid flat brimmed hat isn't common outside of Spain (Sombrero Sevillano) before 1570.
Anyone have some insight or other information?

[LadyFae]

I've always loved this gown. My monitor shows almost a dark olive for the sleeves, a terracotta for the silk gown and black (or possibly olive) velevet trim on the bodice. Along with the soft and very full sleeves of the chemise, well ,I think it's just lovely.




I'm wondering if anyone can tell me more about this style of dress. I can't make much of it. Fur lined? Loks like an overdress of some sort? The hat is unusual, and I really like it. Anyone have pictures of something similar? My curiosity is piqued.

Someone was selling a reproduction of this gown a year or so ago on Ebay.  The sleeves weren't quite right but overall the look was great.  The colors were closer to what you describe (those are how I see them, too.)

[operafantomet]

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me more about this style of dress. I can't make much of it. Fur lined? Loks like an overdress of some sort? The hat is unusual, and I really like it. Anyone have pictures of something similar? My curiosity is piqued.

That's one of Tiziano's many "courtesans" - that is, variations that seems to be the same woman. He's said to have depicted her in the Urbino Venus and the "La Bella" too, so it seems she was a real model. But for all we know it might have been his generic idea of beauty.

What she's wearing is a chemise under a loosely draped "zimarra" (overdress). The zimarra was much in vogue both in north and mid Italy. These might give a better impression of how they looked when worn (properly...  ):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/countessliviabyveronese.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/micheli1565.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/roma/altissimo1535giuliagonzaga.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze3/dog1560-70.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze2/bronschooledt1550s.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/domenicoriccio1567palazzothiene.jpg

The zimarra is throught to have been imported from/inspired by the Ottomans and their kaftans. The wide shape and decorative frog closings they usually had reminds of the kaftans. They could be sleeveless, or with sleeves, sometimes removable. They were overclass garbs, which implies that they were also worn by well-to-do courtesans (as the lady in your portrait probably is depicting). They could be lightly lined with silk for summer, or with fur for winter. "Moda a Firenze" writes that the Tiziano lady has a zimarra lined with sable. Her plumed hat has ostrich feathers and a medallion with a motif I can't depict. Probably an allegory. Such hats were common enough for noble ladies, especially when out riding or in public. Eleonora di Toledo, who loved the zimarra, wore such hats over snoods.

There is also a variant where the lady only wears a sleeveless zimarra, without hat and camicia. If I'm not mistaken that is the original of the two versions. It originally showed a richly dressed lady in a traditional Venetian dress. It was later overpainted, but don't ask me why. The overpaint is by Tiziano, though, and he followed up with the lady you posted picture of. Here's the other one:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/tizian1537fur.jpg

The latter is in the Kunsthistorischen Museum in Vienna, the former in Hermitage in St. Petersburg. They were painted (I think) the same year - but double check so I don't mislead you... Whatever the case, the zimarra were a rather new fashion item in Italy in the 1530s, which might be why it's so central in the paintings/portraits.

Tiziano also painted a similar "Venus" in two versions, wearing a draped zimarra. Those are later in style:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/tizian1555mirror2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/tizianvenusspeil.jpg

[operafantomet]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__YfwK4DqANw/S8I9-gkeE2I/AAAAAAAAG1s/FQcpyC-_4mo/s1600/Picture+1.png

(the latter one is my favourite, both details and silhouette. And it's made of paper! Amazing!)

Is there a blog that goes with this one, or is it just the image.

The paper version is by an artist called Isabelle de Borchgrave. She's made lots of garbs based on Medici portraits, and they're all OH SO gorgeous. Most are featured in a book called "Paper Illusions", here:
http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Illusions-Art-Isabelle-Borchgrave/dp/081097133X

She's also made a couple of the "Kyoto" dresses. Drool, drool, drool!

As for the hat in the Tiziano painting, it's not wildly uncommon in Italy. But it rarely shows up in portraits, as it was an outdoor/traveling garb, while ladies are usually depicted in their finest dresses. It derived from the male wardrobe, which is why some snotty moralists found it improper for ladies to wear (in Milan there were even a law (of 1565) allowing women to wear hats ONLY in case of illness and foul weather...) This might add another aspect to the Tiziano painting, as Venetian courtesans were no strangers to the subject of blurring the distinctions between the genders in their dressing, as seen in this later image:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/vecelliostreetwhore.jpg
(doublet and breeches and transparent skirt... kinky!)

The wearing of such "male" hats is one thing the "Moda a Firenze" for sure ascribes to Eleonora di Toledo's influence. Lots of Spanish fashion is said to derive from her, but the books hows how much of it were already in use, and/or bound to come into fashion shortly with or without her. But due to her highly active life and big demand of traveling clothes, she set a new standard in female traveling gear, and she made the hat fashionable in the mid 16th century at least in Tuscany. She had hats made of both straw, felt and linens; the finest in her collection is said to be one from 1546, in white, "with two white feathers fastened by a precious medal portraying the biblical heroine Judith". That's not too unlike the Tiziano painting!

[Auryn]

I've always loved this gown. My monitor shows almost a dark olive for the sleeves, a terracotta for the silk gown and black (or possibly olive) velevet trim on the bodice. Along with the soft and very full sleeves of the chemise, well ,I think it's just lovely.

In both my monitors (home and work) I see this gown as a bright reddish orange(with some gold undertones) with black trim and dark green sleeves.

I am finally sitting down planning out my reproduction of that dress and thats the colors I will be going with (since I already have the orange fabric for it).

[operafantomet]

Oh God, I'm spamming this thread today.... Sorry! But to throw in my two cents on the colour of the Moretto portrait:

The trims are dark bottle green velvet, not black. Such green shades have a tendency to appear black - something similar can be seen in a velvet costume I made some years ago (not sure how this looks on other peoples computer, but it's definitely a green fabric, that one!):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/elissa/details/hnblbeads1.jpg

The sleeves are of a rather different green shade; it isn't as blue in colour as the velvet trims (but I wouldn't call it teal, I don't see it as that blue). As they appear to be tie-ons they might not have been made exclusively for this dress originally. To my eye the bodice and skirt seems to be made of a salmon silk, but I guess it depends on the reproduction.

[Anna Iram]

SPAMMER!!! 

Opera, as always you are a bounty of information. 

Thank you everyone! I appreciate the input. I do see now that the trim has a bit of blue to green in it. Yes, exactly like your gown, Opera. As for the color, I can see a dark salmon, but I call it terracotta because of a fabric I purchased some time ago and the thread that seemed to match best was "terracotta". I don't know if I have enough for this gown, but I love this color so I'll look for something dark Salmon to light Terracotta.

Auryn, that's so cool that you are making this gown. I'll enjoy reading along as your work. Perhaps we'll both have the chance to show them off next season. Even if we were to wear them at the same event, the nice thing about making your own is that with the different choices of fabrics they will each still be unique.

..and thank you for the information on Titian's Courtesan. Dona said she might be such a Lady and I figured as much with the half undress. . I'll have to look into the zimmara more. Might be too big of a project, but it'd be such a nice change from a cloak on cold days, and it would be fun to know the inner story of this lady if I were able to match the garb well enough. Any thoughts on where to start for a pattern?

[Auryn]

Anna,
I actually think that would be kinda cool. Plan to both go to BARF in a similar dress. That would totally mess with people hehehe

[operafantomet]

Eureka! Here is a now-and-original picture of one of the Tiziano portraits which was mentioned in the previous page. You can see how the X rays reveal the lady fully dressed, with the right arm hold down rather than in front of the torso. Sorry for the bad quality, it's the best I could find:


The overpainted version reminds me quite a bit of Tiziano's "La Bella". The lady is by all accounts the same. Again, it might not be meant as a portrait of a specific lady, but rather a depiction of beauty, or a depiction of a well-beloved courtesan or professional model. The one above might have been painted after the same cartoon as "La Bella", especially the placement of the hands are similar. But the later overpaint has changed the pose and clothes, dunno why. Maybe because an eventual patron wanted a pin-up for his collection? 

[DonaCatalina]

Thanks for sharing this...its very informative.
Have you considered posting in The person behind the portrait?

[Anna Iram]

How interesting! Thank you for looking for that. Love the pin up theory.   

Yes, please do add that to the above mentioned thread as well.