ladyletitia

Over the years this dress has changed many times. I don't think this dress has been worn with the same sleeves twice. It started as Simplicity pattern #8735. That is the "EverAfter" Italian style that has become so popular with anyone interested in renaissance costume. The jury is still out on whether or not it is very accurate for the period. A great advantage to this style of dress is that you do not need a corset. Makes it more comfortable and easy to function in. Also it is flattering to almost every body shape.

As you can see from the picture on the right, it has darts to shape the bodice front. That is wrong for a perfect period dress. They just didn't use that type of shaping. The pattern pieces would have been cut in a way to shape instead. The biggest challenge with making a historical dress from a commercial pattern is the way clothing construction has changed over time.

These shots are from the other lives of this dress.
The photo on the right is The Italian Vampire and his Italian Vampire Victim. Had a great time that Halloween. The dress started out with upper and lower gauntlets (arm pieces) but during a fateful trip to a Ren Faire I lost one of the lower ones. I also used my cotton chemise under the dress.
The photo on the left is a friend of mine acting as "Roxanne" in "Moon Over Buffalo." The director wanted to have "big poofy satiny sleeves". I have found a great way of making detachable sleeves like these. Cut a big rectangle the length of your arm plus three inches or so for seam allowances and cuff as long as you want. Make a cuff anyway you want. Run a zig-zag stitch over a piece of yarn. Gather it up to fit the arm hole. Baste in the finished arm hole. Voila! You don't have to put sleeves in permanently. Also I learned to tie the gauntlets to the dress. When you don't you spend the day pulling them up!
The collar in both pictures are rabbit fur. I often take apart existing fur pieces. I would rather use something that has been around for a while instead of throwing it away just because it is fur. It would seem like a waste.