Nina Bates

This week's feature gives us a glimpse at a true rarity in historical reenactment - a young man who appreciates Elizabethan court attire! Nina made this gorgeous outfit for her son - and doesn't he make the most dashing young courtier? Nina has done a really outstanding job of including period details and construction techniques in this outfit, and you can find more information about the costume below the picture. If you would like to contact Nina, you can reach her at andromeda(at)golden(dot)net.

The purple fabric is a symmetrical patterned, lightweight brocade of indeterminate fibres found on an end of season sale table. I don't have the court doublet finished yet but made a jerkin, which is fencing safe armor (but pretty and cool enough to fence in all day). The shirte was taken from a cutting diagram of an extant men's shirt. The blackwork is a machine digitized design from the 16th century designs on The Elizabethan Costuming site. The trunkhose are from Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion, and they were my first try at making pants from an extant cutting diagram. They have a real, lambswool stuffed codpiece. The only complaint from my son is that they aren't puffy enough!