It's the Lord of The Rings dress, every high fantasy dress, the costume of fairies and elves, but is it a historically accurate medieval dress? Yes! It's called a bliaut, and was worn throughout Europe in the High Middle Ages. This dress is behind so many of our fantasy aesthetics, and I've always loved it-- so I chose to recreate it as a historical costume, using modern techniques and sources from medieval history. The fitted bodice, full twirly skirt, and huge draping sleeves that characterize a bliaut have become a huge part of fantasy costumes today, and it's easy to see why! Even though this is a simple dress sewn in wool, wearing it makes me feel like a medieval princess . . . or an enchantress from a high fantasy movie.
The high middle ages have been intensely romanticized in later art and literature, leading to everything from the chivalric romance of Ivanhoe, to the Pre-Raphaelite artists' repeated depictions of fantasy bliauts, to Tolkien's mythology and the birth of the high fantasy genre. This excitement and drama is what draws so many people to costuming today, whether it's high fantasy costumes, historical costumes, cosplay, or just dressing up. The joy of frolicking through the woods in a beautiful dress you've made is universal, and it's an experience everyone deserves to have. If a bliaut, or similarly-shaped dress will make you feel like your best costumed self, I hope this video helps you make one!
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0:00 What's that dress?
1:06 Project goals.
3:09 Making the pattern
6:52 Let's cut out a dress
8:35 Sewing it together
13:04 Finishing details
15:22 Go frolic in the forest!
Attributions :
"Comedies of Terence" folio 134v, digitized by the Bodleian Libraries
Used under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution International lisence
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en