Melissa Noteboom

Melissa is a new costumer from Belgium who has done such a splendid job on her first Tudor outfit. I love the rich velvet, satin, and brocade materials that she picked out for the gown, and the gable hood is so well done and looks especially gorgeous from back. Here's one more beautiful seated photograph, and she was even kind enough to share some detail shots of the construction which you can find in the description below this picture. If you would like to contact Melissa, you can email her at melissa(dot)noteboom(at)skynet(dot)be.

Because I didn't receive an education for making historical costumes (just the basic course of fashion to the 18th c.), it wasn't easy to make the dress. Thanks to all the information that I've found on the internet, I did it. My dress is based on this model of Jane Seymour that I saw in the wax museum in London a few years ago. As undergarments, I wear a contemporary corset and a hoop skirt (I had one month to make the dress for carnival so I didn't have time for a shirt and a tudor corset). The centre part of the underskirt is in gold coloured fabric. To hide the hoops, I've sewed a few lengths of cloth together to make the skirt a bit more stiff. The dress is from red satin of which I've used the wrong side (less glow). The front part of the bodice consists of 3 pieces of fabric making a panel that has boning sewn between the layers and which fastens with little hooks. Below it there's another laced fastening. Because I haven't a shirt, I have sewed a small trim on the neckline and decorated it with pearls. The sleeves and shirtsleeves are false and sewed on the inside of the big turnover sleeves. For the hat, I've found a complete description on the internet. The top is from the same fabric as the underskirt and the tails are made of velvet.