A Guide to Researching and Recreating
1480’s Florentine Women’s Fashion
By Mistress Elena Hylton
Available on the Web at Elena’s Threads
https://sites.google.com/site/elenasthreads/a-s-documentation/1480s-florentine-fashion
Famed Italian renaissance artist Ghirlandaio "represented the women of the city's elite in brocade and voided velvets embroidered over with pearls, with silver tinsel and gilded ornaments, richly ribboned and padded sleeves, and often luxurious trains" (Frick 3). The sumptuous fabrics and flowing lines are stunning, but can seem somewhat intimidating even to an experienced costumer. Additionally, as there are no extant Florentine women’s full ensembles, researching and recreating such garments can seem to be quite the challenge. Fortunately between academic sources, period paintings and modern how-to guides created by numerous costumers, anyone can create a functional and beautiful 1480’s Florentine outfit.
Research:
Where to start with research? For just about any garb project I start with a combination of period paintings and peer-reviewed/academic books. If you are less interested in historic construction techniques and are more interested in recreating the look of the paintings then you can cut back on the books and focus more on examining period paintings. While not all published books are necessarily 100% correct, academic texts are usually an excellent place to start research, and paintings allow you to get a first hand look at the fashion and aesthetic of a period.
It is important to pick a specific location and time period, while there is a lot of crossover in fashion between the various Italian City States there are some styles which were unique to a single area (Siena, Venice, etc.) or brief time period (late 1470’s, early 1490’s, etc.). A good rule is not to “cherry pick” your elements from multiple paintings unless you can find them all from a similar time period and location.
You can begin with just a web search for paintings by Ghirlandaio (or whoever you are looking to research) and see what images come up. Start making notes of the lines of the gowns, the colors and trims used/not used, and such. As you look at the period paintings you will start to get an eye for the period styles. Where is the waist seam, high or low? What shape does the skirt coming off of the bodice create? These details are what give a period its unique style and which will help you create a visibly authentic finished piece.
Books are expensive, true. But! Libraries can often get you books through interlibrary loan for free! Visit your local public library or give them a call; have the title, author, publisher, and year ready (all of which are listed below). College students have no excuse - university libraries often even have some of these books on the shelf!
Electronic resources for paintings of Ghirlandaio/Florentine Fashion:
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domenico_Ghirlandaio
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornabuoni_Chapel
Web Gallery of Art
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/g/ghirland/domenico/index.html
Domenico Ghirlandaio - The Complete Works
http://www.domenico-ghirlandaio.org/
The Athenaeum
http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/list.php?m=a&s=tu&aid=3536
Renaissance Fashion In Florence
http://aneafiles.webs.com/renaissancegallery/tuscany.html
Realm of Venus
http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/wardrobe/florence/florencewom1.htm
Books connected to Florentine Fashion/Period Construction Techniques:
Birbari, Elizabeth. Dress In Italian Painting 1460-1500. London: John Murray Ltd., 1975.
As the title implies, this text works primarily from examining Italian paintings from the period. Good resource for color, cut, and embellishments seen in period. Chapters are broken down by garments (man's shirt, woman's chemise, veils, women's sleeves, etc.) and construction (tailoring of men's clothes, etc.). This makes it very easy to refer to and discover answers to specific questions one may have. Some of the suggested patterns I question, but excellent resource.
Crowfoot, Elizabeth, Frances Pritchard, and Kay Staniland. Textiles and Clothing
1150-1450. London: Boydell Press, 2001.
Amazing resource for historical construction techniques & fibers used in period. Based on archaeological finds in London, includes numerous examples of period clothing, fabrics, woven and braided textiles, and more. Also includes excellent information on documentable construction techniques for a variety of periods and types of clothing. Highly recommend.
Frick, Carole Collier. Dressing Renaissance Florence. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 2002.
Most useful book for documenting Florentine Renaissance fashion I have found to date. Contains extensive references to letters, bills, and wills from the period to provide excellent evidence for details on fabric, construction, and embellishment that are far more specific than most books that I have seen on the topic. Easy to read, well organized, and an amazing source for period documentable details regarding fabric choice, use in period, and ideas of fashion of the day. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Florentine fashion, if you have to pick a single book I would say get this.
Herald, Jaqueline. Renaissance Dress in Italy 1400-1500. London: Bell & Hyman, 1981.
Lots of high quality pictures throughout the text make it very easy to follow the discussion of changes in style seen in the 15th century. While the details are not as extensive as Frick, it is a wonderful resource for images and general statements about the period.
Orsi-Landini, Roberta and Bruna Niccoli. Moda a Firenze 1540-1580: Lo Stile di Eleonora
di Toledo e la sua influenza. Florence: Edizioni Polistampa, 2005.
This book is a great resource for later period Florentine fashion, 1540-1580, but can also be useful to help fill in some of the missing pieces for earlier Florentine fashion, such as bodice stiffeners and skirts. Not a resource in itself for 1480’s, but it can be a good piece for supplementing Frick and Birbari. Dual lingual in English and Italian.
So - What makes a Florentine outfit?
Looking at the paintings we see really two essential components for a basic outfit, the camicia (shift/smock/chemise) and the gamurra (fitted and most likely bust supportive gown). With those two pieces alone you can have a beautiful and functional outfit. If you really want to do an entire ensemble you can add accessories or garments like a partlet (sheer shawl-like piece over the bust), an overgown like a giornea (somewhat like a tabard) or cioppa (a more fitted overdress, often with sleeves), jewelry, a girdle (belt), shoes of various styles, and/or a reta (net cap) or cap for your hair. Let the paintings be your guide for what you mix and match with what, and create what excites you.
Other Online Resources:
The Realm of Venus (Italian Renaissance Research) http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/
Loggia Vecchio - 15th Century Italian Clothing https://www.facebook.com/groups/484805158288206/
Costume and Culture in Late Renaissance Italy
https://www.facebook.com/groups/184811848294350/
Construction:
Camicia (shift/smock/chemise).
While the outer layers of clothing were made by male tailors, the linen under layers worn by both men and women were mostly made in the home, and often even by the lady of the house. The wife of the powerful Lorenzo de' Medici, Clarice Orsini, perhaps the most powerful and wealthy family of the time, wrote her mother in law asking her to send her "twenty braccia of linen cloth so that I can make camicie for these children" (Frick 41). Numerous other extant letters reaffirm wealthy women making the linens for their husbands, children, and themselves. It is quite possible that the camicie worn by the women in Ghirlandaio's paintings were made by the women in the paintings or their mothers, and they would soon be making them for their own families and households.
Materials: Linen, silk, or a linen-cotton blend all show up in various accounts, but linen is by far the most common I have seen. A 3.5-3.8 ounce linen works well for this and poofs very nicely in my opinion. Dharma Trading.com and Fabric-Store.com both have good prices on lightweight linen ($7-9/yard) and are highly recommend.
Pattern: Varies depending on who you ask, rectangular construction most likely for the sleeves and body panels. Long and voluminous to allow for folds at the neckline as well as puffs in between the laced openings of the sleeves (Birbari 40, 41). Sleeve length depends on how “poofy” you want it to be, longer length in sleeves = more poof at slashes in the sleeves. That being said, too much poof can make wearing a challenge. Lengths from knuckle length all the way to 6 inches past the fingertips seem to be common in modern recreations, and 20-30 inches wide are common widths.
Master of the Spalliera Panels, The Story of Griselda Part II Exile, 1494. An unknown Florentine painter, Portrait of a Lady, n.d.
Research/How-To guides:
A Woman’s Late 15th Century Italian Camicia, THL Peryn Rose Whytehorse
https://studioloperyn.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/late15thc-italian-camicia.pdf
Women’s 1490’s Italian Renaissance Ensemble Part 1: Camicia Baroness Briana Etain MacKorkhill http://www.modaruniversity.org/briana/Womens-Italian-Garb-Part-1-Camicia.pdf
How to Sew A Venetian Camicia (later period and Venetian, but still a good pattern and guide)
http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/library/camiciahowto.htm
1480s Ensemble - Camicia, Lady Elena Hylton
Gamurra (underdress).
There are limited extant pieces to base a gamurra off of (barring a fragment from the 1460s seen in Structuring Fashion), but between paintings and accounts in period we can suppose the following points:
- Unlined skirt, lined bodice and sleeves (Frick 127).
- Lining could be silk, wool, linen, or cotton (Herald 210, 220).
- Bust supportive - bodice is stiffened with multiple layers and quilted (Frick 127).
- Waistline is slightly high, at or just above the natural waist (Birbari 21).
- Sometimes shown with trim or embroidery at the neckline, often completely plain.
- Sleeves show numerous styles, some closed/attached, many open to reveal the camicia beneath in various ways.
- Eyelets or lacing rings both commonly used for sleeves and bodice, various lacing patterns seen.
Ghirlandaio, Portrait of a Lady, 1480, Herod’s Banquet, 1490, A Young Woman, 1485.
The gamurra is the main garment seen in many of the portraits done by Ghirlandaio. When worn without an overgown it is usually shown with a sheer partlet over it.
Materials: Silk taffeta/damasks, wool, velvet (though less common). While I could not document linen as outerwear, it is comfortable for warm events and looks fine for a lower-class outfit. Stiffening the bodice: cotton or wool felt/batting, canvas. Linings, see above.
Pattern: Some people use a flat-front pattern, but looking at the paintings I see a distinct curve to the bust which implies a curved front pattern. Most recreations that I have seen use this shape. Modifying a 4-panel bust supportive gown pattern (a.k.a. kirtle/cotehardie/gothic fitted dress) can give a solid pattern to work from. Cut the neckline lower and more square to match the paintings (unless it’s low to begin with) and cut the neckline lower and rounded in back.
Examples/how-to guides:
Diary of a 1480s Florentine Gown, Jen Thompson
http://www.festiveattyre.com/p/diary-of-1480s-florentine-gown.html
Women’s 1490’s Italian Renaissance Ensemble Part 2: The Gamurra, Baroness Briana Etain MacKorkhill http://www.modaruniversity.org/briana/Womens-Italian-Garb-Part-2-Gamurra.pdf
Patterning Italian Renaissance Gowns, Maestra Suzane de la Ferte
A Gamurra/Camora, or 15th C. Italian Gown, Giuliana Salviati
http://www.sword.net/jessica/firenze/PP-GamurraDoc.pdf
Reversible Gamurra ala Ghirlandaio 1490, Diary of a Renaissance Seamstress
http://www.costumingdiary.com/2007/08/reversible-gamurra-ala-ghirlandaio-1490.html
1480's Florentine Gamurra, Lady Elena Hylton
Giornea (overdress/tabard)/ Cioppa (fitted overdress).
Worn over a camicia and gamurra, especially when going out in public. Many paintings show a lining in a contrasting color (Frick 126, 172). Some shown in paintings heavily decorated, some plain (especially if fabric is patterned), but descriptions usually say decorated.
Materials: Silk damasks/brocade, velvet. Synthetic works as it doesn’t need to breathe as much.
Decorations: The overgowns are often described as having the most decoration of the outfit, (Frick 163) "embroidered with pearls and rubies" especially seen at the "neckline, hem, and openings" (Herald, 184-185). The hem was often trimmed (balzana) with jewels, a contrasting textile, or fur (Herald 210). Pearls and gold/silver thread seem to be the most commonly listed materials for embellishment (Frick 119, 163).
Giornea: There is one extant giornea that I have been able to track down, but it is a man's giornea earlier in period and the neckline and fullness of the men's giornea is significantly different than one worn by women. My recommendation is to pattern one based on what lines you can see in paintings, especially the Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni, by Ghirlandaio as you can see the repeating pattern of the fabric and infer the shape somewhat. Birbari describes the pattern as "a segment of a circle," which is similar to what I was guessing was the pattern is seen in pieces such as Ghirlandaio's Birth of the Baptist (21). Some people have draped a more fitted shape which looks almost like a bodice pattern, some people have gone with straight triangles, and some do something in between those options. When deciding your pattern look at what the shape people have created in their versions and choose the look you like the best.
Ghirlandaio, Portrait of Lucrezia Tornabuoni, 1488, Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple, 1486, Birth of the Baptist 1485.
Women’s 1490’s Italian Renaissance Ensemble Part 3: the Giornea, Baroness Briana Etain MacKorkhill http://www.modaruniversity.org/briana/Womens-Italian-Garb-Part-3-Giornea.pdf
A Giornea, or 15th C. Italian Overgown, Giuliana Salviati
https://anastasiadelvalente.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/pp-giorneadoc.pdf
Constructing a Giornea, Cathelina di Alessandri.
https://cathelinadialessandri.wordpress.com/2014/03/25/constructing-a-giornea/
1480s Giornea, Elena Hylton
https://sites.google.com/site/elenasthreads/sewing-garb/1480-s-florentine-gown/1480s-giornea
Cioppa: Similar to a giornea in the neckline, tends to encircle the waist and have a waist seam, and gathered/pleated skirt attached. Often has sleeves, but not always. Creates a more tailored silhouette.
Ghirlandaio, Birth of Mary, 1485, The Resurrection of the Boy, 1483.
A Florentine Gown in the Style of 1485-90, Donna Caterucia Bice da Ghiacceto
http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/yourgarb/2006/Caterucia.htm
15th Century Florentine Cioppa & Gamurra, Kit’s Clothing Collection
http://www.kitsclothingcollection.com/?tag=gamurre
Pink Wool Cioppa- 1480, Kathelyne
http://kathelyne.deviantart.com/art/Pink-Wool-Cioppa-1480-93117172
Hairstyles/Reta (netted cap/ “Juliet cap”)
There are multiple options for hairstyles/headgear - look at paintings and see if any appeal to you. While many paintings only show hairstyles caps can sometimes be seen as well - a good option for those of us bad at doing hair.
Ghirlandaio, Portrait of Lucrezia Tornabuoni, 1488, Birth of Mary, 1485, Herod’s Banquet, 1490.
1480s Florentine Hair - A Tutorial, Time Travelling with Needles
http://historicalcostumecreation.blogspot.com/2013/08/1480s-florentine-hair-tutorial.html
An Italian Cap (scroll down), Festive Attyre
http://www.festiveattyre.com/p/diary-of-1480s-florentine-gown.html
1480s Florence - Reta, Dawn’s Dress Diary
https://dawnsdressdiary.wordpress.com/2014/11/14/1480s-florence-reta-netted-headdress/#more-6447
1480s Headgear - Reta, Elena Hylton
https://sites.google.com/site/elenasthreads/sewing-garb/1480s-ensemble---reta
Jewelry. Jewelry was essential to the Florentine fashion and can make a huge difference to how “finished” your outfit looks. Fortunately it can be pretty easy to make yourself or rework from existing pieces.
Ghirlandaio, Birth of the Baptist 1485, Portrait of a Lady, 1480. Sebastiano Mainardi, Portrait of a Woman, 1490
Re-Enactment of Renaissance Jewelry Concentrating on 1450-1500s Florence, Vangelista di Antonio Dellaluna
http://www.florentine-persona.com/renjewelry2.html
1480s Florence - Costume Jewelry, Dawn’s Dress Diary
https://dawnsdressdiary.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/1480s-florence-my-costume-jewellery/#more-6880
Partlet (sheer shawl)
Often seen in portraits where an overgown is not worn, worn over the gamura, not tucked in. Sometimes almost completely invisible, sometimes only semi-sheer, white/off-white.
In Pursuit of Partlets (scroll down), Festive Attyre
http://www.festiveattyre.com/p/diary-of-1480s-florentine-gown.html
Ghirlandaio, Portrait of a Lady, 1480, A Young Woman, 1485.
Girdle (belt)
Many paintings show a belt worn either over the gamurra or over the overgown, and while more common in the modern reenactment community that it is in paintings, a belt over a giornea creates a more fitted silhouette that many people like the look of. Tablet weaving was popular in period, though the belt can also simply be thick trim or a piece of finished fabric depending on how much structure you are looking for. Based on paintings ends can be finished by a fringe (though not very common), sewn flat, or with a metal clip. Belt can be hooked closed, tied in a knot, or secured with a buckle.
An unknown Florentine painter, Portrait of a Lady, n.d. Neroccio de' Landi, Claudia Quinta, 1490.
How to Make a Fabric Belt, Mandi Johnson
http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2014/08/make-your-own-fabric-belts.html
The Cardweaving Riff, Earth Guild
http://www.earthguild.com/products/riff/rcdweave.htm
Introduction to Card Weaving, Elena Hylton
https://sites.google.com/site/elenasthreads/card-weaving/introduction-to-card-weaving
1480s Tablet-Woven Girdle, Elena Hylton
https://sites.google.com/site/elenasthreads/sewing-garb/1480-s-florentine-gown/1480s-girdle
Shoes.
Sandals, platforms, and slippers all show up in the late 15th century Italian City States, but in Ghirlandaio the shoes tend to be simple and can easily be made as turn shoes. Try sewing up in cloth or using thin leather on a sewing machine to test your patterns. Or, look at paintings and pick up china flats or sandals which have the right look.
Carlo Crivelli, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 1476, Ghirlandaio, Birth of the Baptist, 1485.
Making Turnshoes, Morgan Donner
http://www.morgandonner.com/2011/01/making-turnshoes/
Reproducing a Late 14th Century Shoe using Patterns Taken from Extant Examples, Arenwald von Hagenburg http://user.it.uu.se/~arnoldp/SCA/Articles/1998/SHOES/
Modern Recreations
(all images are used with permission and belong exclusively to their owners)
Lady Katrhyn Perry, East Kingdom. Lady Kataryn Mercer, East Kingdom
Maestra Suzanne de la Ferté, Petranella, Kingdom of Northshield
Kingdom of Northshield
Kelly Melissa Prim https://www.facebook.com/FrancescadiCorsoSCA?ref=bookmarks
THL Peryn Rose Whytehorse, Meridies. https://studioloperyn.wordpress.com
Lady Elena Hylton, East Kingdom https://sites.google.com/site/elenasthreads/home
Many thanks to the very talented women of Loggia Vecchio for letting me share their incredible work!
Ghirlandaio, Portrait of a Lady, 1480.
Ghirlandaio, Portrait of Lucrezia Tornabuoni, 1488.
Ghirlandaio, Birth of the Baptist 1485.
Ghirlandaio, Birth of Mary, 1485
Ghirlandaio, Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple, 1486
© 2015 Jeanne Clifton a.k.a. Elena Hylton - This work may be reproduced without permission only for noncommercial purposes and in its entirety. For all other uses please contact me at jecscififan@yahoo.com. All paintings are from the public domain.