Denise Robello

I may be a bit biased by my love of all things Italian, but you don't have to be an Italian expert to appreciate the beauty of this picture-perfect Florentine gown! Denise (SCA.K.A. Viscountess Ascelin Meere of Ravenslocke, OL, OP) has kindly sent us a description of her costume that you can read below the image as well as another gorgeous photograph that you can see here. Doesn't she look like she belongs in an old master painting? And finally, you can also email Denise at drobello(at)netscape.net if you have any questions or words of praise!

The dress was inspired by my visit to the J.Paul Getty where I saw Bacchiacca's Portrait of a Woman with a Book of Music, (1540). Unfortunately, I only had three weeks to make the dress and it was intended to be worn to West Kingdom October Crown Tournament, which is notoriously hot and dusty. Therefore, there were some compromises. The embroidered piece I started for the neck didn't get finished in time and I adapted the forearms from Bronzino's Portrait of a Lady (1533) in consideration of the weather. The influence of Bacchiacca can be see in the upper sleeves, headpiece and sash. But these are subtle and because of the color combination and lack of additional adornment, I get a lot of compliments on my "Bronzino" gown.

The dress itself was made from 8 yards of red empress cotton velvet and is fully lined, making it a heavy dress to wear. I have a corset on and the bodice is interlined with wool coating to soften any ridges that might be visible due to the corset. The upper sleeves are mounted to short, fitted sleeves which have tulle mounted in four tiers to provide shaping. The forearms are black cotton upholstery velvet and lined with red silk which is visible when the cuffs are turned back. The fore-arms pin to the upper arm in the back, making them removable. The headpiece is made from silk brocade and the sash is a silk jacquard with pieces of the brocade attached in imitation of the matching headpiece and sash in Bacchiacca.