• This is my new middle-class Renaissance costume.
• It's a nicely textured burgundy bark cloth (the stuff they made tropical curtains and upholstery from in the 50s) and a really great geometric floral brocade.
• The motif in the brocade is enhanced with a diamond push stud and an olivine faceted crystal bead.
• The bodice is side-laced and lined with a really silly teapot/teacup novelty print. It has a plain skirting and split epaulets. Along the stomacher are poofs of navy dupioni silk. I went with black grommets that someday (yeah right) will be couched in moss green embroidery floss. The underlining is white cotton corset coutil from AlterYears.
• The underskirt is dark green with a brocade decorated forepart.
• The overskirt is cartridge pleated and trimmed with a row of decorated brocade.
• The sleeves are of bark cloth, brocade, and dupioni fastened with these really rad brass lion buttons that cost a fortune but were really worth it. They're tied on to the bodice with moss green grosgrain ribbons tipped in gold aiglettes.
• The hat is a barkcloth escoffion (tiny muffin cap) decorated with brass studs and olivine crystals. I can wear a solana with a garland on top of it for sun protection. (Everyone wore solanas, from the Queen to peasants.)
• My partlet shirt is old. I embroidered the blackwork in St. George's cross pattern.
• I made shoe rosettes of navy and moss grosgrain ribbon with one of the rad lion buttons in the center. The shoes are Native Soles (formerly Wild Oats, Wild Soles, and Cardo's.)
• The blue feathered fan I bought at faire from Whimsey Wear.
• The bodice pattern is the AlterYears one that I had custom made to fit me at an AlterYears bodice making class a couple of years ago. I made up the patterns for the skirts and the sleeves.
• The goofy looking person on the right is Julie, who is wearing a costume that won her first place in the Renaissance Pleasure Faire (South) Costume Competition in the Fools and Merrymakers All category. Selah Barling made her costume, but I made the jester hat and pointed collar. Julie sewed 48 jingle bells as decoration.
• I won first place in the Middle Class category. We got very cool prizes- a pewter goblet (she got a pewter mug), a leather journal, and golden tokens along with the engraved pewter medals that we are wearing.

The judges of the contest included Janet, Darla, Sandy, and Liz from AlterYears.

You can email me at PiranhaBB@aol.com. I have a Regency Page that you can check out too.