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

[gem]

Well, and I called you by the wrong name! Sorry about that!!

[DonaCatalina]

Since the dress is Spanish, I suspect that it is flat gored in the front and pleated to fit in the back.
See the construction on Eleonora de Toledo's burial gown which had the same look, very flat in front.

[amy]

Oh that is extremely helpful!    Thank you Dona!   I love that smooth front look.

[DonaCatalina]

Glad to help, and as an amusing side note.... Dune 1984

[Syrilla]

One of my favorite movies (yes, it is not a great movie) , and I have watched those costumes over and over!

[Kate XXXXXX]

Giggle.  Best part of the movie...

[gem]

I just skimmed through all 19 pages of this thread, looking for a particular portrait.

Somewhere around page 4 I totally forgot what I was looking for! Ha!  So much gorgeousness here.

[Magpie Flynn]

Just saw this looking through some Cranach paintings for ideas. I absolutely love the sleeves 

[Devangelon]

Oh, How I want to make it.



And this too. Just look at the ruff!

[ladyharrogate]

Since the dress is Spanish, I suspect that it is flat gored in the front and pleated to fit in the back.
See the construction on Eleonora de Toledo's burial gown which had the same look, very flat in front.

From what Ive read you are right, flat in front and then pleated although not sure if it's a cartridge or other type of pleating.  I want to do that look for my daughters dress.  It lays beautifully and nothing dances as well as gores.  I learned the magic of them making evening gowns for pageants.  It moves beautifully!!!!

[operafantomet]

Since the dress is Spanish, I suspect that it is flat gored in the front and pleated to fit in the back.
See the construction on Eleonora de Toledo's burial gown which had the same look, very flat in front.

From what Ive read you are right, flat in front and then pleated although not sure if it's a cartridge or other type of pleating.  I want to do that look for my daughters dress.  It lays beautifully and nothing dances as well as gores.  I learned the magic of them making evening gowns for pageants.  It moves beautifully!!!!

The zig-zags in front waist area shows where the pleats originally were. The skirt of Eleonora di Toledo's funeral dress was pleated all around. The contemporary crimson Pisa dress, however, have cartridge pleats. Maybe because the velvet is thicker and stiffer than the satin silk used in Eleonora's dress, and would not look as good if pleated flat?

The use of gores and panels is nearly identical in the Eleonora and Pisa dress, to the point of researcher wondering if it might have been made by the same tailor. The Pisa dress: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/extant/redpisa1.jpg

Note that although people mention Eleonora's Spanish origin and name her clothes as Spanish, it's not entirely accurate. She lived much of her youth in Naples (which was Spanish per se, but still in the Italic peninsula), and most of her life in Florence and Pisa. Her tailor was Florentine, and as the funeral dress as well as her portraits reveals it separate from true Spanish fashion by having a fuller skirt, more neckline, and also brighter colours. Florentine way of dressing was softer overall than Spanish fashion, with little or no use of farthingales and stays. Eleonora did however move the slightly old-fashioned Tuscan style into more continental style.

[operafantomet]

Just saw this looking through some Cranach paintings for ideas. I absolutely love the sleeves 

http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n571/magpieflynn/107395_594.jpg

I agree, those sleeves are spectacular! I love quirky German fashion.

[Magpie Flynn]

lol I need to stop looking at all these portraits, theres waaay too many pieces I need want, and not enough time or money to do it all!

[gem]

This one is for Lady Renee!  I found a really nice large image of Kate Elizabeth Bunce's "The Keepsake," which she posted about last (?) year:



The link takes you to a version that's even bigger!

[Auryn]

bbeauutiful
I dont know which i like better, the green or the white