
I was on the fence for awhile, especially because I will want to make my 1580s English gown, but then I found the fabric! It HAD to be a Venetian gown1 It's actually a synthetic flocked taffeta, but it's really high quality and looks rather similar to this fabric, which is extant and has silk pile on a plain silk ground. I wanted to make a gown from the 1570s, because of the structural challenges, so I also found a few portraits from that decade showing large, scrolling patterns and similar colors.
The main inspiration for my dress will be the lady on the right in this painting. It is a detail from "Allegory of the Planet Venus" by Micheli Parrasio, 1575. I love her standing ruff and the matching shoulder ruffs. So silly and yet so elegant! I also have some theories about how the dress actually opens and how to fake the "chemise" that shows under the ladder lacing.
I soon as I get my commissions wrapped up I'll be able to start working in earnest! It might be tight, time-wise, because of my summer job and the huge move I have to make right before the deadline, but I think I can do it!