Dressing a Renaissance Queen

the date is October 5th 1600 the world is about to change in only a few short years Queen Elizabeth the first of England will pass away throwing that nation into religious and political conflict on the continent the Hyuga no wars that have ravaged France for over a century are coming to an end but that hasn't happened yet and the importance of this day weighs heavily on the shoulders of a woman in Florence Italy marie de medici prepares for her wedding day even though her future husband King Henry the fourth of France is not in attendance she will marry him by proxy not even meeting him until after they are legally Wed regardless Marie knows that she must present herself as his Queen her ladies-in-waiting and maid scurry around to help her into her garments died a beautiful coppery red her hair is curled and primped to perfection the small bejeweled crown is carefully pinned in place Marie's makeup is carefully applied to achieve the alabaster skin rich ruby lips and the slight virginal blush to her cheeks as is currently fashionable ironically much of the makeup is also deadly all Marie knows is that she will be beautiful on her wedding day her chemise is made of a fine linen these undergarments were universally worn and would be washed frequently the main reason for the chemise was to keep the fine expensive clothing clean and away from the less frequently washed body wool linen or silk stockings were popular and Murray's are made from fine wool yarn the stockings are secured just above or below the knee by a buckle garter next she wears Kali khan's also known to us as split drawers which featured an open crotch seam these are made from delicately embroidered silk this allowed the wear of protection from chafing and gave extra warmth in the winter most important was the ability to use the chamber pot without completely destroying the fashion for wearing split drawers was introduced to France by Marie's great-aunt Catherine de Medici in 1533 when she married King Henry the second Marie's fiance's grandfather high heels made their debut at the end of the 16th century the heels though low by today's standards were uncomfortable and often difficult to adapt to walking in a rosette was used to decorate the toe and hide the lacing many people had a hard time adjusting to the one and a half inch height they were so unaccustomed to this unusual fashion that occasionally carved swell than their legs have to be bandaged the fashionable hoop under skirt or farthingale was developed in Spain in the 14 60s when women started adding cane or osseous tough narrow long willow branches on the outside of their skirts creating the distinctive silhouette the term farthingale or Worthing gayle is from a Spanish word Verdugo's that means saplings contemporary commentators attribute their introduction to a queen who used a hoop skirt to conceal a pregnancy after committing and discussion what today we refer to as a corset were called stays or a pair of bodies the bones encased inside the corset giving the rigid shape could be made of reeds or whale bone the farthingale is tied to the corset to prevent gaps the center front contains a busk a piece of wood sometimes elaborately carved to keep the center front straight the corset was just beginning to become a fashion staple this was another new fashion designed to reshape the body creating a smaller waist and smooth cone-shaped torso the bomb role created a more rounded shape at the hips and emphasized the small waist it could be relatively small as is this one or larger eventually becoming a French farthingale or the drum farthingale which is a cross between the bum roll and farthingale the addition of the silk petticoat smoothes the appearance of the hoop skirt lace was painstakingly handmade and very expensive the small amount of lace trim in a place where it would not be seen reflects the conspicuous consumption of the wealthy at this time the cartridge pleated over skirt serves to add more volume to the hips with the intention of making the waist seem even smaller Murray made sure she arrived in France dressed at the height of French style by having fashion dolls sent to her so she could see the latest fashions in advance the bodice is an outer garment worn over the corset often with extra boning to maintain the smooth appearance it is heavily decorated with pearls and gems indicating her status and wealth intentionally restricting movement this also indicated the high rank of the wearer as more common folk would be required to have a wider range of body movement for day to day activities this bodice is closed in the back with bound lacings that are reinforced with small metal rings the rough and support us are added last the rough became a large independent piece after 1575 this bulky collar of rice water starched lace was often stitched on while being worn it is hand sewn onto the front and neck of the dress for the day Marie de Medici was married by proxy on October the fifth she however did not arrive in France until November the 3rd and did not actually meet her husband until December 9th 1600 was finally crowned queen of France in 1610 after providing Henry with six children henry was assassinated the day after she was crowned marie was then set up as regent for her nine-year-old son louis xiii when lui became king in 1617 he banished marie de medici from the French Court at the urging of the infamous Cardinal Richelieu Marie commissioned this painting by Peter Paul Rubens as part of a series depicting her life the larger than life-size painting hangs to this day in the Louvre Museum [Music]

Channel: CostumeTrek

Views: 882,767

Keywords: historical, costume, fashion history, film, medici, marie de medici, fashion, costuming, film festival, cosplay, renaissance, queen, french queen, queen of france, 17th century, 16th century, dressing the renaissance, CostumeTrek, nola yergen, brian lapham, corset, farthingale, split drawers, ruff collar, chemise, handmade stockings, 16th century shoes

Id: _3aj2vQbJHU

Length: 8min 10sec (490 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 02 2019