The Stuart Tailor

The last section on women's clothes 1620-50.

Women’s Clothing (1620-1650), part 2: clothing in wills: section 3: the accessories Introduction This is the third section of part two of a series of posts on women’s clothing in the period 1620-50 from the information in...

Another section on women's clothing 1620-50 from wills and probates. This bit is on linens.

Women’s Clothing (1620-1650), part 2: clothing in wills: section 2: the linens: smocks, coifs, neckwear, etc. Introduction This is the second section of part two of a series of posts on women’s clothing in the period 1620-50 from the information ...

https://costumehistorian.blogspot.com/2026/05/womens-clothing-1620-1650-part-2.html

Women’s Clothing (1620-1650), part 2: clothing in wills: section 1: Introduction and main garments Introduction This is the second of two posts on women’s clothing in the period 1620-50 from the information in probates and wills. Part ...

A 1660s band of Venician point lace in the Metropolitan Museum New York. In 1660 the French government was getting worried by the amount of money being spent of this type of import. An edict was passed in1660, "Déclaration contre le luxe des habits, carrosses, et ornements" (Declaration against luxury in clothing, carriages, and ornaments). It didn't work. In 1665 Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who was Louis XIV’s finance minister, established a Royal Workshop in Alencon to produce lace in the Venetian style. Alencon was already a lace making centre so they had the skills. Colbert’s influence on French lace making was such that, when Samuel Jeake went up from Rye in Sussex to London in 1676, he spent 8s 2d on “seven yards of Colbertine lace.” This appears to be quite cheap because in 1674 James Master spent £3 8s 0d on two yards of point lace, and in the same year he spent £10 on "a point de Vence gorget [collar] for my wife."

These gloves, in the National Museums of Scotland collection, are dated to 1680-1700. The are leather with metallic thread embroidery, and have been associated with James Graham of Claverhouse (Bonnie Dundee).

https://costumehistorian.blogspot.com/2026/04/handkerchief-buttons-and-bandstrings.html

This will be a 1627 outfit. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122205704180528236&set=a.122128618958528236

Absolutely thrilled to be able to announce that we have been given the Janet Arnold Award by the Society of Antiquaries of London to work on a new stage of the Greensleeves Project.

Having reconstructed a set of clothing for woman in Greensleeves, we thought it would be appropriate to dress a man this time, so will be looking at the clothing from in a song by Sir Simeon Steward: 'The Clothing of Oberon King of the Fairies.' This describes clothing given to him as a New Year's Gift by the Fairy Queen on 1 January 1627.

We will be making the clothes and creating a video, filming on location in the magical gardens of Kentwell Hall to be released on the 400th anniversary of the gifts described in the song.

So looking forward to working with a wonderful team to make this happen.
Expect lots of fairy related posts over the next few months...

Sarah Bendall's recent article Queen Anne's Wardrobe: Fashion, Sartorial Politics, and the Representational Strategies of the Last Stuart Queen is now available full text online. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1754-0208.70029?fbclid=IwY2xjawRPJEJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBXeTNwQm9iaVdHVldHZkFIc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHm8KRGLwbnnNDPET7Bw4_psEejP1CfibuEwKNNCDHsSoe9LjmRUJv9OuOsg2_aem_oyYtHmartBvezrWXObQeIQ

Queen Anne's Wardrobe: Fashion, Sartorial Politics, and the Representational Strategies of the Last Stuart Queen The final Stuart monarch, Queen Anne, has often been overlooked in studies of visual and material culture, particularly of fashion and dress. This article is the first to undertake a qualitative and ...

Embroidered bag. 1675-1700. Burrell Collection. Silk embroidery in rococo stitch on a linen canvas. In the seventeenth century rococo stitch was called queen stitch and is mentioned by the water poet John Taylor (1578-1653). The four panels are seamed in green and join to an octagonal base. There is a ribbon drawstring closure. Glasgow Museums ID Number 29.154. Image of a roccoco stitch is from the RSN Stitch bank.

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