Royal Wedding Fashion

So unless you live in a cave, you will have heard, there was a royal wedding today. Really! Prince William and his Fiancee Catherine "Kate" Middleton said I do in front of 1 billion spectators. I tried not to follow the masses, I really did. But I'm a girl, I love Fairy Tales and I LOVE weddings.

A Royal Wedding Group Portrait

With all the crazy fashion there, you know I was bound to make a comment. Someone's worst dress list is a costumer's inspiration.

So first, let me talk about the Queen of the day.

Katherine Middleton, Mother of the Bride - Queen Elizabeth II, Grandmother of the groom - Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Stepmother of the groom

No, I did not mean THE Queen, although one has to notice the lovely shade of butter yellow she choose, and admire her hat which is quite elegant (contrary to past habits).

To also comment on this picture, I love what the mother of the ride wore, but I hate the Duchess of Cornwall's hat.

But back to the day's Star: Catherine "Kate" Middleton.

Catherine "Kate" Middleton

No one can deny how lovely she looked in this Alexander McQueen creation. It's not really my style, what with the long sleeves and all that lace, but I can understand the need for sobriety and the difficulty in finding a dress that will please everyone.

My first thought as I watched her get out of the car was "This looks like Grace Kelly's wedding dress!"

Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, April 1956

Oh, and just a quick note in case my Sweetheart is reading, I love Kate's sapphire engagement ring. Just saying.

Diana / Kate's engagement ring

Everyone of course noticed the sister of the bride and her Maid of honour, Philippa "Pippa" Middleton, looking sexy in Alexander McQueen.

Philippa "Pippa" Middleton

One guest's dress also caught my eye: the one worn by Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco.

Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco

I have read critiques concerning this outfit because her dress had a train, but I love it all the same. It looks somewhat like a caftan, but it is extremely elegant.

What any British Royal event really is about, fashion wise anyways, it the hats.

The daughters of Earl Spencer

It seams to be a part of the dress code to have some crazy looking, gravity defying 'thing' on your head.

Princess Anne

I had a dress in these colours as a child... in the early 90's! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I am not loving this outfit.

Sophie Winkleman, Actress and wife of Lord Frederick Windsor

This hat I love. It is asymmetrical, yet sober. Can anyone explain to me how it stays in place?

Miriam Clegg, wife of deputy prime minister Nick Clegg

I am not quite sure about the turban hat, but I do love the humongous red flower fascinator!

Princess Mathilde and Prince Philippe of Belgium

TURQUOISE! (You knew we would eventually get there.)

Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall

Another gravity defying hat.

Chelsea Davy

Prince Harry's girlfriend wore a lovely suit, albeit perhaps too tight, and it is nice to see another type of headwear and the wedding.

Victoria Beckham a.k.a. Posh Spice

I realize my favourite Ex-Spice Girl is pregnant, but did she have to wear a tent? One the one side, I find it too similar to one of my night gowns, but on the other, I think it may be growing on me. Lovely draping effect, longer in the back, definitely perfect to hide the midriff. The colour and hat are truly nice, but again, pardon my ignorance, but I do wonder how this hat holds in place.

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson

Okay, she looks straight out of a Star Trek episode.

Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice

We have slowly culminated to the craziest of the hats: Princess Eugenie's, and especially Princess Beatrice's. Some people have said that Princess Beatrice's hat looked like an octopus. One thing is for sure, it has made the news. From what I read, both had very little say in their hats. Designer Philip Treacy just knows them enough to know what they like (which can be a scary though).

Ultimately, the crazier the look, the more I love it! And now I feel like wearing silly hats and fascinators too.

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

I wish the newlyweds a happy long and truly happy life together.

A Costumeholic's Best friend: the Space Bag

It is Spring Cleaning time! I am lucky enough to have a walk-in in my bedroom, which I share with my Sweetheart. 1/4 of it is his clothes, 1/3 is my clothes, and the rest is costumes (he has a few too!). What can I say, I am a costumeholic! And like many costumers, when it comes to my passion, I am a bit of a pack rat.

That is why I am thrilled to have found an invention which helps enable my costume hoarding by creating more space to store them: The Space Bag (or imitations of the original - I am cheap and not that picky). I am not trying to make any sort of publicity for them, but see by yourself ow wonderfully useful they are.

Take four 18th century outfits:

Gwenyver's entire 18th century wardrobe - for now

Now pile them up neatly, pocket hoops and all.

Put your pile of 18th century clothes in a space bag.

And vacuum to get all the air out and make your pile much smaller.

Not only are your costumes safe from the cat, as well as potential water damage or clothing moth attacks, but you also have more space to store more costumes! Now I ask you is that one of the best inventions or what! Excuse me while I go tackle the Medieval costumes in the same way.

Theatre Ghost: President John Tyler / Fantômes de Théâtre: Président John Tyler

I have finally finished the third of the play costumes for Nancy-Raven. I worked on it all of last week and added the last touches yesterday. Now all of the costumes are in the hands of the director and I can’t wait to see what it ends up looking like on the day of premiere (and last), on April 9.

J’ai enfin terminé le troisième des costumes pour la pièce de théâtre dont Nancy-Raven est la costumière. J’y ai travaillé tout le long de la semaine dernière et j’y ai ajouté les derniers détails hier. Tous les costumes sont maintenant entre les mains de l'auteure / metteur en scène et j’ai bien hâte de voir le résultat le soir de la première (et dernière), le 9 avril prochain.

My last assigned costume was President John Tyler. To be honest, I had never heard of that United States President before, but then again, I’m Quebecois, so I learned about Canadian and Quebec Prime Ministers in high school, not our southern neighbour’s head of state. I also have no idea why he is a character in the play as I do not know the story yet. I’ll let you know after I see it.

Le dernier costume que l’on m’a assigné est celui du Président John Tyler. Pour être honnête, je n’avais jamais entendu parler de ce Président États-Uniens auparavant, mais bien entendu, je suis Québécoise, alors on m’a appris les noms des Premiers Ministres Québécois et Canadiens dans mes cours d’histoire au secondaire, pas ceux des chefs d’état de nos voisins du sud. Je n’ai aussi aucune idée sur la raison pour laquelle il a été inclus dans les personnages de cette pièce puisque je n’en connais pas encore l’histoire. Je vous le laisserai savoir après l’avoir vu.

The Inspiration for his costume was this portrait of President Tyler.

L’inspiration pour ce costume fut ce portrait du Président Tyler.

President John Tyler, Reproduction of a photographic print, between ca. 1860 and 1865, printed later / Président John Tyler, Reproduction d'une photographie imprimée, entre 1860 et 1865, imprimée plus tard

My job was to make it in beige, with front Velcro closure for easy costume changes and with as little layers as possible, considering the rapidity of said costume changes. I was asked to make it in two layers because the character apparently takes off his jacket during a scene.

Mon travail impliquait de faire un ensemble semblable, en beige, avec fermeture de Velcro pour faciliter les changements de costumes, et avec le moins d’épaisseur de vêtements possible dû à la rapidité des dit changements. On m’a demandé le faire en deux épaisseurs car le personnage enlève apparement son veston pendant une scène.

Vest and Shirt combo / Combinaison Veste et chemise

The first layer consists of a short vest with attached collar and sleeves to mimic the shirt he should be wearing under the vest. The jacquard for the vest came from an old skirt that the director bought from a second hand clothes sale (church basement), while the cotton for the shirt was bought by Nancy-Raven in the bargain section of our favourite Fabricville. I used pattern Simplicity 8910 for the vest and Butterick 4486 for the shirt collar and sleeves. The fake front shirt piece I drew myself. It closes with five squares of Velcro.

Le premier vêtement consiste en une veste courte avec des manches et un col attaché pour simuler la chemise qui devrait être portée dessous. Le jaquard de la veste provient d’une jupe trouvée par l'auteure / metteur en scène dans une vente de vêtement de seconde main (sous-sol d’église), tandis que la cottonade de la chemise a été acheté chez Fabricville, dans la section des ventes. J’ai utilisée le patron Simplicity 8910 pour la veste et Butterick 4486 pour le col et les manches de la chemise. Le faux devant de chemise je dessinai moi-même. Le tout se ferme au devan grace à cinq carrés de Velcro.

Bow worn with shirt-vest / Boucle portée avec la veste-chemise

It was specified to me how very important it was that the costume of President Tyler include a cravat or bow tie of some sort. Out of an old satin peasant shirt, found once again in a second hand clothes sale, I cut strips of fabric to make a band that wraps around the actor’s neck, the bow and the knot. The band closes at the front with a strip of Velcro and the bow was hand sewn to the band, on top of the Velcro’s seam.

On m’a spécifié à quel point il était important que le costume du President Tyler inclus une cravate ou un nœud quelconque au cou. Dans une vieille chemise paysane de satin, encore une fois trouvée dans une vente de vêtement de seconde main, j’ai découpé des rectagles de tissus pour faire la bande s’attachant autour du cou, la boucle et le nœud. La bande s’attache au devant avec un carré de Velcro et le nœud est cousu à la main dur la bande, au dessus de Velcro.

Tailcoat / Veston Queue de Pie

I realized when taking this picture that the vest was too long. I fixed before giving it to Nancy-Raven, but I was too lazy to take new pictures. That's what happens when you sew until 2:30 AM to catch a deadline and your toddler wakes you up at 6:30 AM. So don't you worry, both the vest and the jacket are flush.

J'ai réalisé en prenant cette photo que la veste était trop longue. Je l'ai raccourcie avant de la remettre à Nancy-Raven, mais j'ai été trop paresseuse pour reprendre de nouvelles photos. C'est ce qui arrive quand on se couche à 2:30 pour terminer un projet à temps, et que votre fillette vous réveille à 6:30. Je vous rassure, le veston et la veste ont maintenant la même longueur au devant.

On top of this is the tailcoat. I used pattern Butterick 3648, but had to reduce the size considerably as the actor is Small and my pattern was a Large/Extra-Large. I just hope it fits him well since I couldn’t meet him and make any adjustments. The fabric is upholstery jacquard from Fabricville’s bargain section. It was very nice to work with! It is once again closed with Velcro. I wish I could have added decorative buttons, but it was not in the budget.

Un veston à queue de pie est porté par-dessus. J’ai utilisé le patron Butterick 3648, mais il m’a fallu le réduire considérablement puisque le comédien porte la taille Petit et que mon patron est un Large/Extra-Large . J’espère seulement qu’il lui ira puisque je n’ai pu le rencontrer et l’ajuster sur lui. Le tissu est un jaqcard de recouvrement trouvé dans la section des ventes de Fabricville. C’est un tissu avec lequel il fut très agréable travailler! Ce veston s’attache encore une fois avec du Velcro. J’aurais aimé ajouter des boutons décoratifs, mais il n’y avait pas de place dans le budget pour les fioritures.

From what I heard, this will be worn with grey pants, over a white t-shirt. With luck, I can get pictures on the day of the play, but with all the costume changes, I don’t know if it will be possible. We’ll see!

D’après ce que l’on m’a dit, cet ensemble sera porté avec un pantalon gris, par-dessus un gaminet blanc. Avec un peu de chance, je pourrai en prendre des photos le jour de la pièce, mais avec tous les changements de costumes prévus, je ne sais pas si cela sera possible. On verra!

This concludes my involvement in making the costumes for this play (can you believe I don’t even know the title?). For more of this project’s costumes, please visit Nancy-Raven’s Blog. And now, on to the next project. Lets see, what should I attack next… (Other than spring cleaning of my sewing room.)

Ceci conlu ma participation à la fabrication des costumes de cette pièce (pouvez-vous croire que je n’en connais toujours pas le titre?). Pour plus de costumes de ce projet, visitez le blogue de Nancy-Raven. Et maintenant, passons au prochain projet. Voyons voir, que pourrais-je attaquer ensuite… (À part le ménage de mon atelier.)

Everybody Dance Now

Last night was my dance school’s annual recital. It went great, we had a lot of fun and I got to wear three costumes overall.

My School Dress:

Gwenyver in her School dress at the 2010 ECRO, November 2010

My Solo Dress:

Gwenyver in her "Water" Solo dress (being pursued by a tired baby) at the 2010 Ville-Marie Feis, May 2010

And for our finale, we had a surprise planned for the audience: and 80’s/90's number to the song Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) by C & C Music Factory. Which of course meant an 80’s/90's inspired dance costume! (I mixed influences from both "eras" to make this outfit.)I decided to go for an aerobics look, without going for anything too skin tight. Here are the pieces I have found to make my outfit.

"Pure" by Alfred Sung Pink Square Shirt

This is the main piece: the loose t-shirt. It is a lovely shade of bright pink, and the neckline, shoulders and sleeves are trimmed with braided self fabric. I seem to remember my mom had something with similar braiding back then. This is an Alfred Sung “Pure” T-shirt from Zellers, on sale.

Athletic Works lime green sports tank top

I would have liked to have a leotard to go under my t-shirt, but since getting one in my size would have been ridiculously expensive (Discount Dance Supply’s shipping charges to Canada generally doubles the cost of the order), I instead found a lime green sports tank top that looks perfect when peaking from under the pink t-shirt. This is an Athletic Works sports tank top from Wal-Mart, also on sale.

Black Leggings

I wore black leggings which I already own as a bottom.

Neon Green Leg Warmers

Nothing says 80’s Aerobics Fashion like leg warmers. I found these at Ardène in the 3 for 10$ section They are a different shade of green than the tank top, but this is a St. Patrick’s show after all!

Neon Yellow Fingerless gloves

When you look at photos of Madonna in the 80’s, she was often wearing fingerless gloves. The fashion was also picked up by many at the time. I got these neon yellow gloves at Ardène, also in the 3 for 10$ section.

Rainbow Bright inspired Earrings

These rainbow coloured earrings are also from Ardène, but they were bought three years ago. I saw them in magazine and loved instantly.

Neon Yellow and Black Scrunchie

I wore my hair in a high side ponytail and got a neon yellow scrunchie at the Dollar store to cover my elastic (and match the gloves). Nothing says 90's like a good old scrunchie!

Sansha Unisex "Hi-Step" Dance Sneaker

For shoes, I wore my dance sneakers. These are incredibly comfortable and worth every penny. I even wear them to work sometimes!

Want to see the result? (I am the second from the left).

YAID Senior Class, Finale, 2011 Annual Recital

Yep, we looked cool! I think I’ll wear that outfit to dance practice from now on. So comfortable!

Theatre Ghosts : Heraclia / Fantômes de Théâtre : Héraclia

I have finished another costume for the Ghost’s play. This second costume in as many hours is for the character of Heraclia, an Ancient Greek woman. When considering what to make her, I did think of a peplos, but because of the t-shirt all actors will be wearing under their costumes, I went for a chiton instead.

J’ai terminé un autre costume pour la pièce des Fantômes. Ce second costume en autant d'heures est pour le personnage d’Héraclia, une femme de la Grèce Antique. Lorsque j’hésitais encore sur le modèle à lui confectionner, j’ai considéré le Peplos, mais en prenant en compte la réalité du gaminet porté par tous les acteurs sous leur costume, j’ai plutôt opté pour le chiton.

Peplos VS Chiton

Besides, when Nancy-Raven assigned me this costume, she was thinking of my Circe costume, worn to her Halloween party in 2009.

De toute façon, lorsque Nancy-Raven m’a assigné la réalisation de ce costume, elle pensait à mon costume de Circé, porté pour sa fête d’Halloween en 2009.

Gwenyver as Circé, Halloween 2009 / Gwenyver en tant que Circé, Halloween 2009

I made this chiton the same way I hade made mine: I cut two rectangles the width of the fabric by the desired length for the actress, closed the sides up to 20 cm below the top, to leave an opening for the hands to come out, and tacked the top in eight places, four above each arm from wrist to neckline, to imitate the effect achieved in period with fibula (brooches). The fabric is the same poly/cotton poplin used for Ladanaz’ tunic.

J’ai fais ce Chiton de la même manière employée pour le mien : j’ai coupé deux rectangles de la pleine largeur du tissu par la longueur de l’épaule au sol de la comédienne, puis j’ai refermé les cotés jusqu’à 20 cm du haut afin de laisser une ouverture pour passer les mains et avant d’assembler le haut en huit points, quatre au dessus de chaque bras, du poignet à l’encolure, afin d’imiter l’allure d’un chiton historique fermée par des fibules (broches). Le tissu est le même que celui utilisé pour la tunique de Ladanaz, soit de la popeline de poly/coton.

Heraclia's Chiton / Le Chiton d'Héraclia

For the Palla or shawl, Nancy-Raven gave a piece of dark flesh coloured veiling. I simply finished the raw ends with my overlock and I pulled them through a small metal buckle. The length can be adjusted to the actress’ desire and she can easily pull it over her head for a quick change.

Pour le Palla ou châle, Nancy-Raven m’a remis un morceau de voilage couleur chair foncée. J’ai simplement passé les extrémités non-finies à la surjeteuse, puis j’ai inséré chacune des extrémités dans une boucle de métal. Ainsi, la longueur peut facilement être ajustée selon les désirs de la comédienne et elle peut facilement enfiler son Palla pour un changement rapide.

Heraclia's Chiton and Palla / Le Chiton et le Palla d'Héraclia

I actually like it! Sure it’s beige, but still, I really think it has the right feel to it. Now let’s see what Heraclia thinks about her new outfit.

Je crois que j’aime bien ce costume. Bien sûr, il est beige, mais malgré tout, je trouve qu’il représente bien la culture et l’époque du personnage. Maintenant attendons de voir ce qu’Héraclia pense de son nouvel ensemble.

Theatre Ghosts : Ladanaz / Fantômes de Théâtre : Ladanaz

I do often miss being Costume Designer for a Theatre troup, even an amateur one. I don’t have the time to do it right now, but I still miss it. When Nancy-Raven was asked to make costumes for a High School play (our High School, Rive-Nord), I of course offered to help (make that beg her to let me work on the project with her, as her assistant). Now, because this is a French High School, I will make the posts on this play bilingual.

Je m’ennuie souvent du temps où j’étais Créatrice de Costumes pour une troupe de Théâtre, même une troupe amateure. Je n’ai pas de temps à y consacrer en ce moment, mais ça me manque tout de même souvent. Lorsque Nancy-Raven s’est vue offrir de faire les costumes pour une pièce de théâtre d’une école Secondaire (notre école secondaire, Rive-Nord), je me suis tout de suite offerte pour l’aider (ou plutôt je l’ai supplié de bien vouloir me laisser travailler avec elle sur ce projet, comme assistante). Comme il s’agit d’une école secondaire de langue Française, tous les articles en lien à cette pièce seront bilingues.(J'espère seulement ne pas trop faire de fautes, ce serait honteux.)

I do not know the title of the play yet, nor do I know the story, but from what I hear, it is about people from all eras and cultures meeting, as ghosts, and sharing memories (someone please correct me if you have any more information on this play). Because the “memories” will be projected on the actors, and the characters are ghosts, all costumes must be beige to serve a screens (white is too hard to work with for the lighting experts). Also, all costumes have to be extremely easy to put on because actors change characters during the play, and change on stage (they all wear leggings / pants and a t-shirt for modesty’s sake). It’s a concept, just go with it.

Je ne connais pas encore le titre de la pièce, ni même son histoire, mais de ce que j’en sais, elle met en scène des gens de toutes époques et toutes cultures; c’est une rencontre de fantômes qui partagent leurs souvenirs (si quelqu’un en sait plus, je vous prie de me corriger). Puisque les « mémoires » seront projetées sur les comédiens, et puisque les personnages sont des fantômes, tous les costumes doivent être beige afin de servir d’écran (le blanc étant rendant le travail des éclairagistes trop compliqué). De plus, les costumes doivent être très facile à enfiler car les comédiens change de personnage durant la pièce et se change sur scène (tous porteront un legging ou un pantalon et un gaminet, question de modestie). C’est un concept artistique.

The first costume I made is for the character of Ladanaz, a Mayan girl. Originally, the idea was to give her a short sleeved dress such as the one worn by Zia in The Mysterious Cities of Gold (1982) (Taiyō no Ko Esuteban). After doing a little research on traditional Mayan female clothing, I discovered that they wore Huipils.

Le premier costume que j’ai complète est celui du personnage de Ladanaz, une jeune Maya. À l’origine, on voulait lui faire porter une robe simple à manches courte inspirée de celle de Zia dans Les Mystérieuses Citées d’Or (1982) (Taiyō no Ko Esuteban). Après un peu de recherche sur le costume traditionnel des femmes Maya, j’ai découvert qu’elles portaient un Huipil.

Huipil, Brooklyn Museum

A Huipil is a highly colourful, incredibly embroidered tunic or blouse, which can be short and worn with a skirt, of long. Here is the fun part: translating that rainbow into beige. With no budget.

Un Huipil est un vêtement très colorée et brodée, portée court comme blouse avec une jupe, ou long comme une tunique. Maintenant la partie amusante : appliquer le concept beige à ce vêtement arc-en-ciel. Sans budget.

Concept Sketch for Ladanaz / Illustration Concept pour Ladanaz

Nancy-Raven and the play’s Writer/Director bought poly/cotton poplin on sale to make the costumes (again, no budget) and this is what I used for the tunic. To mimic embroidery, I added a large square at front and back made from what I believe is leftover upholstery fabric my aunt gave me when I was working on costumes for my previous play. It is beige toned and thickly woven.

Nancy-Raven et l’Auteure / Metteur en scène ont acheté plusieurs mètres de popeline de poly/coton en vente, et c’est ce que j’ai utilisé pour la tunique. Afin d’imiter la broderie, j’ai ajouté au devant et au dos un large carré de tissu que je crois être un reste de tissu de recouvrement, don de ma tante à l’époque où je travaillais sur ma pièce de théâtre précédente. Il est dans les tons de beige et tissé de fils épais.

Ladanaz' "Huipil" / Le "Huipil" de Ladanaz

Please ignore the pressing, it is late and this will get washed before the play anyways.

Veuillez je vous prie ignorer le repassage; il est tard et ce costume sera lavé avant la pièce de toute façon.

Pattern wise, it is simply two rectangles with openings at the sides for the arms and slits at the bottom for ease of movement. For the neckline, I used my own pattern of Key hole, which I normally use on medieval t-tunics. It is not necessarily accurate, but accuracy is not a goal here: suggestiveness and a feel for the approximate culture and period is.

En ce qui concerne le patron, il s’agit simplement de deux rectangles avec ouvertures aux latérales pour les bras et de fentes au bord afin de permettre une plus grande facilité de mouvement. Pour le col, j’ai utilisé mon propre patron de col trou de serrure qui me sert habituellement pour mes tuniques médiévales. Ce n’est pas nécessairement une reproduction précise d’un véritable huipil, mais une reproduction exacte n’est pas le but recherché : il s’agit plutôt de suggérer la culture et l’époque de manière approximative.

So now I have one down and two more to go, all due in two weeks! Since it is St. Patrick’s week, I’m already super busy with Irish dance shows, but I promised them to Nancy-Raven and a witch is only as good as her word. Besides, I Iove making costumes!

J’ai maintenant un costume de fait sur trois de promis, le tout dû dans deux semaines! Comme c’est la semaine de la St-Patrick, je suis déjà très occupée avec différents spectacles de danse irlandaise, mais je les ai promis à Nancy-Raven et je tiendrai parole. De toute façon, j’aime faire des costumes!

Purple Herringbone Toddler T-Tunic

I am not the only one in need of garb for next week: my daughter needs some too! She has the light blue jersey tunic made by Nancy-Raven, but if I am to wear my houppelande, she's wearing her nightgown! (Hey, maybe I'll bring it for her to change in at the end of the night.)

In preparation for Spring Crown Tourney of last year, I had begun to make us both matching tunics from a piece of purple and black twill. Since the cars both broke down the in days before the event and it was a 3 hour drive, we didn't go. Thus I never bothered to finish the new dresses.

But today, during nap time, I finished my daughter's!

Purple & Black Herringbone Toddler T-Tunic

Honestly, I now know why this fabric was in the discount section: it is so flimsy, it is hell to work with! See how all the seems are pulling? Not my best work, but it will do. Besides, since I cut it when she was 14 month old and she will be turning 2 this week (can you believe it? I still can't!), the sleeves are this close to too tight, and they are now 3/4 length, and the tunic is about knee length now. So you see, she will probably only wear it this once.

Under it, she will wear a long sleeved white t-shirt and black leggings. I will belt the tunic with a card woven belt I made her during the last weeks before she was born; it is white, green and red, which is fine because the trim has green and red in it. Shoes wise, I guess I'll put her in her leather slippers; they are lime green with red lady bugs on the top. Modern, yes, but so cute.

By the way, the fabric isn't as dark as it looks in the picture.

Purple & Black Herringbone fabric and Trim detail

See? And the trim may not be period, but heck, I paid 5.99$ CAD (plus taxes, of course) for the whole roll! So it looks good enough to me! And eventually, I will finish my own tunic too.

Now, I still need to make my daughter a new coif, and get crunching for my own garb!