Courtiers Costumes

Revived after 171 years in oblivion, the staging of Rosmonda dInghilterra at Bergamos Teatro Donizetti proved fascinating for the Italian public. From the excellent cast of singers, Jessica Pratt and Eva Mei gave standout performances. The opera revolves around a tale of love and intrigue surrounding the main protagonists- the famous Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, her husband Henry II of England, and the fair Rosamund de Clifford. Rosmonda is the quintessential innocent, unaware that the man she lo... [Read More]

By the sixth century of the common era the Roman Empire already had many hundreds of years of accumulated ceremony embedded in its government, and practical science embodied in its army.The transition from Republic to Imperium and the more hierarchical structure that entailed, and the absorption of Christianity into state processes, had pushed the development of court ceremonial apace, and particularly driven its embodiment and display in ever more opulent regalia. The regalia embraced not only ... [Read More]

The term “macaroni” was once as familiar a label as “punk” or “hipster” is today. In this handsomely illustrated book devoted to notable 18th-century British male fashion, award-winning author and fashion historian Peter McNeil brings together dress, biography, and historical events with the broader visual and material culture of the late 18th century. For thirty years, macaroni was a highly topical word, yielding a complex set of social, sexual, and cultural associations. Pretty Ge... [Read More]

Dante’s Garden is the story of what happens when Frank Farnese, a book collector from 2017, falls through Hell's Mouth, a strange sculpture in Bomarzo, Italy.In 1570, Lucrezia Romano and famed antiquarian Pyrrho Ligorio welcome him when he awakens in a garden, from what he thinks is a dream but isn’t. Together they must figure out how to put the world right again. The Inquisition, an extraordinary visit to Venice, and the dreams of Duke Francesco Orsini entwine to pull them all deeper into a... [Read More]

Medieval courtiers defined themselves in ceremonies and rituals. Tournaments, Maying, interludes, charivaris, and masking invited the English and French nobility to assert their identities in gesture and costume as well as in speech. These events presumed that performance makes a self, in contrast to the modern belief that identity precedes social performance and, indeed, that performance falsifies the true, inner self. Susan Crane resists the longstanding convictions that medieval rituals were ... [Read More]

A stunning volume showcasing the magnificent court dress of the Russian Empire, culled from the authoritative collection at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, photographed with the Winter Palace as a backdrop. Prerevolutionary Russia was renowned for the glamorous and luxurious lifestyles of the nobility, with their opulent palaces and glittering social life. Now, this lavish volume reveals the incredible clothing they wore, from everyday dress and ceremonial attire (traditional holid... [Read More]

Did lead pipescause the fall of the Roman Empire? How many toilets were in theaverage Egyptian pyramid? How did a knight wearing fiftypounds of armor go to the bathroom?Was poor hygiene the last strawbefore the French Revolution?Did Thomas Crapper really inventthe modern toilet?How do astronauts goin space?History finally comes out of the water-closet inthis exploration of how people's need to relieve themselves shaped humandevelopment from ancient times to the present. Throughout time, the most... [Read More]

From the humble garb of peasants to the elaborate styles of the nobility, this meticulously researched coloring book offers expertly rendered illustrations of medieval costumes. Both colorists and fashion devotees will adore these lovingly detailed images of lords and ladies decked in regal attire, pilgrims dressed for weeks of rough riding, crusader knights in chain mail armor, and much more.European fashions from the ninth through the fifteenth century appear in this comprehensive fashion retr... [Read More]

Toddler and child princess costumes - dress, crown and belt sewing patterns. Simplicity sewing pattern 2569, part of Simplicity Early Autumn 2009 collection. Pattern for 5 looks. For sizes AA (1/2-1-2-3).