I skipped yesterday’s CoBloWriMo in order to share a post from Finland, so today I’ll do a little catch up.
August 3 – Extant Garment
CoBloWriMo – Costume Blog Writing Month
I’ll look back at a project that came up on another one of the Facebook groups I’m on – the Tarpus.
When I was doing my Ottoman costume, my research suggested that the Tarpus was a tall pointed, or pillbox hat. The description isn’t … great… but luckily there is an extant garment (identified as an Arakçin) and for a change – there are actually measurements and materials listed!
The example (below) is listed as Ottoman, circa 1625. The hat is described as just over 24cm tall, with a top diameter of 8cm and a bottom diameter nearly 19cm.
Extant tarpus – direct link from Pinterest
The extant hat is made of silver “seraser” and is lined in blue silk. Seraser fabrics are woven entirely of either gilt (or even gold!) or silver metallic thread. This is unique, as no other country at the time was making fabric out of just metallic threads at the time. The metallic thread has a silk core.
The extant hat’s outre seraser fabric is described as ‘debossed’ which created curved lines from the top of the hat to the bottom.
Complete Tarpus with the Hirka and my necklace
Interestingly, an existing hat I had was close to 19cm in diameter at the crown, which gave me an idea how this hat sit on the head. I used similar measurements to draft my own hat, which you can find information on in this blog post.
August 4 – Fave era
The August 4 prompt was asking about our favourite era…
For anyone who has been reading my blog for a while… my favourite era should be pretty clear. Most of my costuming is around the Viking Era… but that’s not actually my favourite!
When I first decided to toy with the SCA (15 years ago or so) I opted for a sideless surcote with cylindrical crepinettes… because I have loved the sideless surcote since high school. When I went to a few events, it was the Vikings who had the best parties, were the most welcoming, and seemed to be having the most FUN. When I decided to give the SCA a try again (about three years ago) I thought “Viking” might be a good way to start.
Top of the blue apron dress with my festoon and broaches
First off, the costumes are pretty simple (and versatile.. my first apron dresses (to the left) I made in such a way that I felt I could wear them mundanely as sun dresses too) which meant I wouldn’t be making a huge investment in time and materials.
Secondly, I had a friend who was having a Viking-themed wedding, and I thought it would be great to make a costume for her wedding! (Which I actually didn’t end up going to…)
Anyways… I just kind of got hooked.
But -my ACTUAL favourite costuming era is something I haven’t really spent much time on yet! The era I find most beautiful and intriguing… is the Tudor era!
First French Hood, front view
Dawn's Dress Diary 