My sister has agreed to come to faire with me if I make her a nun costume. But I don't know what to make it out of - I don't want to spend the money on wool since she doesn't care if she's accurate or not, but I want something that at least looks a bit like wool so she doesn't look like she's wearing a Halloween costume. And it has to be mostly natural fibre too.
Also if anyone has any images of nuns in the 15th-16th centuries that would be helpful as well, I only have a few to go on right now.
You could use a Med weight Linen.
Quote from: PrincessSara on May 06, 2010, 02:24:00 PM
Also if anyone has any images of nuns in the 15th-16th centuries that would be helpful as well, I only have a few to go on right now.
Any particular order you're looking for, or just in general?
Elena Anguissola, painted by Sofonisba Anguissola:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0n9IExEpmh8/S00j6uuQSCI/AAAAAAAANx4/aJeeFYKNQ3U/s400/The+artist%27s+sister+Elena+Anguissola+in+the+garb+of+a+nun+%5B1551.jpg
Princess Isabella Clara Eugenia:
http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Image:Isabella-Clara-Eugenia-as-a-nun.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Isabella_Clara_Eugenia_as_a_nun.jpg
Abbess Jerónima de la Fuente, painted by Velazquez:
http://homepage.mac.com/xcia0069/Review/velazquez-nun.png
St Anthony of Padua with a Nun, School of Gerard David:
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O118814/painting-st-anthony-of-padua-with/
This one is often called "The Nun", but at best she would have been a novice. She doesn't wear a nun habit, at least:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze1/bugiardini1506.jpg
I'm always apprehensive about anyone dressing up as clergy of any kind (just like anyone dressing up as police officer or a doctor can be bad). Honestly, I'd try to talk her out of it!
I also don't care for people dressing up as clergy. With one exception, so far. There is a man who dresses as a priest at Bristol. On Sunday mornings, he leads the Prayer service. And it turns out, he is actually an Episcopal priest. So I am pleased about that.
I think it shows disrespect to the actual clergy, especially seeing nuns and priests drinking (and we've seen some stumbling down drunk) and carrying on. I understand it's faire, and people can dress and act as they want, and it's none of my business, but my personal opinion is that I don't like it. There are enough other things and characters to dress up as.
Actually, the portrayal of clergy as comic or dastardly is pretty common in Ren lit thanks to the Protestant reformation so there actually is a historical basis for it. Personally, I have no problem with it but it has to be a bit of balancing act. There is a wonderful nun at the MiRF who is a hoot and gets it just right.
My sister definitely won't be getting drunk, she's 16. She also definitely won't be doing any "acting", she's way too shy - she doesn't even like faire. She'll basically be following me around all day and only talking to me. She wanted to be a nun because she liked the idea of being my sister the sister.
Although I respect the view of others, I want to throw some thought into this debate.
In pre-1800 Europe, religious figures (be it priests, nuns or monks) was an important part of the everyday life. They played a social part as well as religious one, as both hospitals, schools and libraries could be run by them.
And it was a decent career - if a family couldn't afford a proper dowry to a daughter, she would often have a better life in a monastery. Not because she was particularly pious, but because she would get education and a safe future there. She could also do a career, by becoming an abbess or teacher. Same with younger sons. If they weren't to inherit, they could have a great future within the church.
So thing is that religious figures were a part of the everyday life. Not including this in historical reenactments which aims to be historically accurate is falsificating the past. I think it's sometimes a false kind of respect for anything religious.
When that is said, I agree that anyone depicting them should have worked out a character and not just wear it because it's "fun". Behaving like a drunk inn maiden is not the way to go... If they're depicting a certain order, there might be rules or traditions connected with it which is different from another order. Some orders were rich, others poor, some highly educated, others more focused on practical work. Nuns often functioned as a teacher or "apron" of unmarried women, which might be an idea for the faire.
Another option might be a novice/laywoman outfit, like the one Maria Salviati wore after her husband died:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze2/pontormo1537mariagiulia.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze2/pontormo1543mariasalviati.jpg
Some women were connected with monasteries and had the title novice, although they never intended to formally become a nun. I think Maria Salviati was one of these. Instead she took care of the children of Cosimo I and Eleonora di Toledo, being the children's grandmother, and she lived in a palace and followed the court around Tuscany.
Quote from: serenamoonsilver on May 06, 2010, 07:49:01 PM
There is a wonderful nun at the MiRF who is a hoot and gets it just right.
We love our Mother Superior, We do!
So...is there anything that looks similar to wool, but isn't wool? I didn't want to use linen for the outer garments because it doesn't look like wool, and it's just as expensive anyway.
Quote from: PrincessSara on May 27, 2010, 02:57:13 PM
So...is there anything that looks similar to wool, but isn't wool? I didn't want to use linen for the outer garments because it doesn't look like wool, and it's just as expensive anyway.
Some thicker rayon/viscose weaves can remind of wool. Rayon/viscose is a semi synthetic fiber made of cellulose. I find it very comfortable, and according to online sources it doesn't insulate body heat, making it cooler to the skin than various other fibers.
Sara, it's really hard to say, because wool as a fiber is so incredibly versatile. I have some beautiful tropical weight worsted in my stash that you would *swear* was silk, and some that looks more like denim. What is the look of wool you're after? You can get wool blend suitings for a lot less than pure wool--but wool blends are typically wool + nylon, or wool + polyester ( not something lovely like wool + cotton or wool + linen!), and the synthetic content might be uncomfortable... and late May is a really bad time to shop for wool anyway (unless you're in New Zealand!).
For habits like the ones shown in Anea's links, I think almost any firm, tightly-woven fabric with a little drape to it could pass, including an upholstery-weight cotton, so long as it wasn't terribly *shiny.* It's my understanding that twill was available as a weave, so a cotton twill would probably be in your budget, comfortable to wear, and easy to work with (since I know you're not a fan of linen!). For the gown I'm working on now, one of my sample swatches was actually a beautiful red cotton twill I found at Joann (until I found the perfect cotton curtain fabric in their upholstery department. But I digress. Ahem.), and when Lara (silverstah) had her garb business, most of her beautiful gowns were made from cotton twill. Unfortunately, I can't find any pictures online right now, but they had a wonderful weight and drape to them.
I don't know how you feel about ordering from the US, but I've had fabulous customer service from Ron Hamilton at Period Fabrics (http://www.hamiltondrygoods.com/woolswatch.html). It looks like they've changed their website a little, and aren't showing specific fabrics they have in stock (just examples), but I've gotten fantastic bargains from him in the past (that silk-like worsted I mentioned was only $3/yard!!). If possible, I would call or email him, since he really knows his stock *very* well.
Another good source for less-expensive wool is Fashion Fabrics Club (http://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/catalog_items.aspx?TypID=5). They have NO customer service, and I don't know if they ship internationally, and sometimes it takes forever to get the order, and they have an iffy reputation for inaccurate fiber information (ie, wool that's not really 100% wool)... but you can get fairly decent prices.
Thanks gem! I'll see what I can find in the way of cotton twill - I might even be able to get it at Fabricland. :P
Here's an image by Danish artist Melchior Lorch from 1569, "Nun Standing by Ruined Tower"
(http://files.wag.ca/uploads/collections/g-70-18_med.jpg)
Lorch seems to have done a lot of period costume studies, but something about this one strikes me as perhaps being more historical or allegorical in nature (ie, she just doesn't *look* like she's from 1569).
Most of the older orders didn't update their habit from the time they were founded to when they either ceased to exist, amalgamated wit other orders, or stopped wearing the habit when it was phased out for all but enclosed orders.
Existing closed orders still wearing the habit would not be out of place in any time from the 1100's onwards. This doesn't necessarily apply to some of the newer orders after the reformation, when some of the dress codes were more in keeping with the era of formation.