Kat's Florence Files Mid 16th C Sottana wtih cutwork sleeves

I wanted to make something a little bit different, for attending Midwinter Coronation, and came across these two images. Both are from mid 1500s - around 1560ish, and appear to be reasonably 'simple' and stylish.

Inspirations:

First was the 1559 Bronzino's (possibly now attributed to Allori?) Portrait of a Lady, now thought to be that of Guilia the illigitimate daughter of Allessandro Medici.
The second portrait is Portrait of a Woman found in the Uffizi, dated around 1550-65 and possibly by Alessandro Allori.
Both are Florentine from a similar timeline.

Details of the outfits:

both are black or brown (colour of mourning in Florence at the time)
both have a similar neckline edging and are wide on the shoulder
both have a gold giorgeria, of varying complexity, with a collar. Sumptuary laws, made by Cosimo, allowed for one gold giorgeria (Moda a Firenze)
both have apparently similar hairstyles and veils (married women)
both do not wear earrings (more common in Florence)
Guilia' portrait has cutwork/slashed sleeves. The sleeves cannot be seen in the Allori portrait.
Guilia's sottana: waistline appears to be low ast the front, possibly at the side(?). This is difficult to see clearly. Skirt is possibly gathered (type of pleat is difficult to see) and 'flat', not with a farthingale. This is consistant with Florentine fashion of the time.

Giorgeria Research and Diary

Sottana Diary:

Research:
Evidence of other 'cutwork' or slashing can be seen, right, in the portrait of Clarice Ridolfi Altoviti by Cristofanao Dell'Altissimo (1550-55). This is of a simlilar time-line and is Florentine. Moda a Firenze gives more information on this form of decoration being used. A detail of the portrait, shows the sleeves are also decorated with cutwork. (picture enhanced).

The final picture (B&W), I found on Jen Thompson's Festive Attyre, is by unknown Italian artist (?) which is very similar in style to the portrait of Guilia (exceptions: baragoni and fuller skirts so possibly not Florentine or of a later timeline?). This shows yet another pattern for cutwork sleeves, in a 'similar' style of dress.
In 1558, Cosimo Medici created a sumptuary law forbidding cutwork unless it was only straight lines without 'artful' workmanship. It was allowed on applied bands and sleeves. (Moda a FIrenze, p176).

Colour and material:

Red is a common colour used in Florence (see The Colours of Florence) I wanted to use a relatively plain material as the sleeves were intricate. I did have some red damask in the stash (though the pattern was not perfect). More information on the materials used in Florence can be found HERE.
Unfortunately, I cannot afford silk damask and have to be content with a synthetic/cotton mixture.

Updated Research on Tailoring.
Following my trip to Florence and attending the Costume Colloquium, I have done some fine tuning on my tailoring techniques. My original article can be found HERE. An updated article is in the works...
The main differences are:

the wool stiffening of the imbusto is 3-6mm thick (I was using 2mm).
seams could be either flat fell or open and did not necessarily have the edges hemmed down.
the position of the 'side-back' lacing is more towards the side, than the back.
the armhole appears to be flat at the back pattern piece and curved on the front.
It appears that the upper class sottana has the skirt made of pieced panels and the middle/everyday sottana could have a skirt made with simple rectangles.

As a result, I planned to remake my toile for a basic dress. Unfortunately time (and the need to remake my duplicate dress dummy) did not allow for altering the 'side' lacing position. This will be attempted next time. The sleeve pattern will be the same.

Method:
Bodice:

Below shows the bodice pattern cut out and the lining herringbone stitched on. = Front and back
The layers of lining consisted of two layers of canvas/denimn = stiffened material and 2 layers of wool felt = 4mm thick.

The layers were then cut where the seam would be and the edges of the outer material was folded over and sewn in place with running stitch. The lining was then folded over, at the seam allowance, and hem stitched to the back of the main bodice.

The final bodice was quite stiff. (below L) The eyelets were handsewn. (below R)

Skirt:
The skirt was cut in triaangles and rectangles, to minimise material use. This is consistent with the extant red dress, in Pisa, and with the burial dress of Eleanora. I pleated the skirt, to minimise bulk (below L). There are extant examples of pleating, such as the Wool/linen dress in Pisa. (below middle). The seams were flat-felled using running stitches (below R)

The skirt openings were edged with a bias strip, made from the same material as previously discussed in Tailoring Techniques. The hem was also edged with a bias strip (covering a felt strip). This is again seen in the Red Pisa Dress (at the Florence Textile Colloquium) and discussed in Janet Arnold's Pattern of Fashion, with regards to Eleanora's burial dress.

Below you can see how I attatched it to the lower hem. (left) and the final, stiffened hem (works a treat!!)

The pleated skirt was added to the bodice and the lower lining 'seam' was hem stitched in place.

Sleeves: Cutwork pattern
I 'caved' into a modern cheat here. I used a very thin iron-on interfacing to try to stabilize the jacquard and reduce fraying on the longer threads.
Below Left, is the cutwork pattern, based on the Guilia portrait, over the interfacing.

Above centre, is the sleeve with the diamonds cut out. These are mostly on the diagonal, so should again reduce fraying. I used 3-4 stitches of silk embroidery floss at the corners of the diamonds to finish them off and try to reduce fraying at these points. This is based on the original portrait. If you look closely, there are little white 'points' at the corners of the diamonds. My theory is that these could possibly be stitches??
The buttons are thread covered buttons, as seen on the Red dress in Pisa. (Below L, from notes supplied at the Textile Colloquium) Below middle shows the (reconstructed?) closure as a loop (photo: K Carlise); my final sleeves (below R)

Decorations:

The neckline was decorated with a 'scalloped' type trim, instead of a cut edging. This was seen in one of the original inspirations for this dress, seen on the left. This was also the inspiration for the gold partlet.

The bodice is worn using long ties around the waist. This is suggested in Moda a Firenze, and works very well, with the bodice not moving nor having to be adjusted at any time during the day/night!! The saccoccia are worn so they can be easily accessed via the skirt openings.

Finally, the dress as worn on the night.

Conclusions:
The increased thickness of felt lining did indeed stiffen up the bodice and give a flatter profile. However, due to my pathetic modern posture and belly, there was still a crease by the end of the evening. At the beginning of the evening, there was none. If my posture was improved, then this would improve the flattness of the bodice.

Bibliography:

L'Abito della Granduchessa; Vesti di corte di Madonne nel Palazzo Reale di Pisa. Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale, Pisa
McCorquodale, Charles. Bronzino: Agnolo Bronzino. Chaucer Press. London. 2005. ISBN:1-904449-48-4
Orsi Landini, Roberta & Niccoli, Bruna. La Moda a Firenze 1540-1580. Pagliai Polistampa, Firenze, 2005. ISBN: 88-8304-867-9
Rosenthal, Margaret F, Jones, Ann Rosalind. Cesare Vecellio's Habiti Antichi et Moderni: The Clothing of the Renaissance World. Thames and Hudson, London. 2008. ISBN: 978-0-500-51426-9.
Notes and photos taken at the Florence Textile Colloquium, 2008. http://www.costume-textiles.com/pages/page.asp?lang=2&idcontent=46

http://www.costume-textiles.com/pages/images/costume_ppt_11_08.ppt

http://www.costume-textiles.com/pages/page.asp?idcontent=72&lang=2 (ha, proof I was there in photo #6!!)