| Queen Mary of Hungary Dress Original made: 1520 - 1530 Also known as: Maria of Hapsburg, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Regent of the Netherlands __________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
Image Galleries
Gallery of the original dress (Many thanks to Holly!)
Gallery of my finished project (still in progress)
Gallery of my finished project (still in progress)
Information on the original garment:
Additional Sources:
Hispanic Costume 1480-1530 by Ruth Matilda Anderson
Development of Costume by Naomi Tarrant
Development of Costume by Naomi Tarrant
My Dress Diary for this project can be found here.
Project Statistics:
Mission: to recreate the extant garment which belonged to Queen Mary of Hungary
Project Started: 3/5/05
Project Completed: Still in progress
Cost: a couple of extra toddlers for an afternoon/evening
# Broken Needles: 0 to date
# Injuries: None, knock on wood...
# Hours Spent: around 20 so far
Materials: 6 1/2 yards puke green rough silk, 2 yards rust colored brushed cotton, 2 yards
tan cotton for lining, around 5 yards white cotton, misc thread to sew it together
Mission: to recreate the extant garment which belonged to Queen Mary of Hungary
Project Started: 3/5/05
Project Completed: Still in progress
Cost: a couple of extra toddlers for an afternoon/evening
# Broken Needles: 0 to date
# Injuries: None, knock on wood...
# Hours Spent: around 20 so far
Materials: 6 1/2 yards puke green rough silk, 2 yards rust colored brushed cotton, 2 yards
tan cotton for lining, around 5 yards white cotton, misc thread to sew it together
My Take on the Original Garment:
Sent in by Kristin: From e-mail dated Feb. 3, 2006
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The ensemble consists of an overdress, chemise/bodice, belt, and necklace ('official photo' only - not currently displayed with the dress as far
as I know).
The overdress is made from silk brocade embroidered with gold thread in an elaborate large bordered floral design. The bodice has an open
front with a rusty colored brocade trim around the entire front opening and back neckline. The sleeves are not closely fitted to allow for the
sleeves of the bodice to fit inside. They end in large cone-shaped cuffs, made of the same fabric as the neckline, which were common during
that time. It seems that the ladies of the era didn't like cold hands and were able to use the cuffs as a muff. The skirt is a large circle with an
offset smaller circle that makes the waist of the skirt. It has some pleats at the back and a small train that is formed by the waist hole being
offset. There is a small border of a darker green fabric around the base of the skirt, most likely to prevent wear on the silk. I wonder if the
skirt was the same color as the border at one time - there is really no way to know how much the fabrics have faded over time. Who knows,
it may have started out as a dark green with burgundy accents. The skirt is lined in wool to around the knees - probably to help the pleats at
the back drape properly.
The bodice is smocked along the top and around the cuff of the sleeves in various widths. The embroidery is a rather complicated design
involving geometric patterns that somewhat resemble flowers which was originally done in silver thread that now looks to be tarnished to more
of a black color.
There are two different belts in question - the one on the 'official photo' and the one currently displayed with the dress.
The necklace on the 'official photo' is of the same type found in art of the same timeline.
as I know).
The overdress is made from silk brocade embroidered with gold thread in an elaborate large bordered floral design. The bodice has an open
front with a rusty colored brocade trim around the entire front opening and back neckline. The sleeves are not closely fitted to allow for the
sleeves of the bodice to fit inside. They end in large cone-shaped cuffs, made of the same fabric as the neckline, which were common during
that time. It seems that the ladies of the era didn't like cold hands and were able to use the cuffs as a muff. The skirt is a large circle with an
offset smaller circle that makes the waist of the skirt. It has some pleats at the back and a small train that is formed by the waist hole being
offset. There is a small border of a darker green fabric around the base of the skirt, most likely to prevent wear on the silk. I wonder if the
skirt was the same color as the border at one time - there is really no way to know how much the fabrics have faded over time. Who knows,
it may have started out as a dark green with burgundy accents. The skirt is lined in wool to around the knees - probably to help the pleats at
the back drape properly.
The bodice is smocked along the top and around the cuff of the sleeves in various widths. The embroidery is a rather complicated design
involving geometric patterns that somewhat resemble flowers which was originally done in silver thread that now looks to be tarnished to more
of a black color.
There are two different belts in question - the one on the 'official photo' and the one currently displayed with the dress.
The necklace on the 'official photo' is of the same type found in art of the same timeline.
the one who spoke Hungarian and the male docent's English wasn't really up to discussing 16th century underwear.)
Anyway - the chemise. It is much like the venetian chemise at the V&A except that there is no decoration on the sleeves themselves. If you look
closely at the photo on your page you'll be able to see that the underarm gusset goes all the way to the neckline. I was unable to look closely
enough to examine the embroidery because the whole is inside a plexiglass, climate-controlled box. I was promised better photos than were
available in the shop but the've never arrived. The docent was able to remember that it stops at just below mid-calf length but couldn't remember
whether the bottom edge of the sleeve was decorated or not.
What he really wanted to show off was the decorated leather coat in the next case, and the collection of armor." Thanks, Kristin!
Anyway - the chemise. It is much like the venetian chemise at the V&A except that there is no decoration on the sleeves themselves. If you look
closely at the photo on your page you'll be able to see that the underarm gusset goes all the way to the neckline. I was unable to look closely
enough to examine the embroidery because the whole is inside a plexiglass, climate-controlled box. I was promised better photos than were
available in the shop but the've never arrived. The docent was able to remember that it stops at just below mid-calf length but couldn't remember
whether the bottom edge of the sleeve was decorated or not.
What he really wanted to show off was the decorated leather coat in the next case, and the collection of armor." Thanks, Kristin!