Working class dress of 1570’s, Italy.

Looking good isn’t just for court. Working class garb can be rewarding to make and fun to wear.

My inspiration for this dress was found in a fresco by Federico Zuccari, 1579 .[1]

What I particularly loved about this style, is that both the woman tending the fire and the woman serving both have overskirts covering their dress in addition to an apron. Both dresses appear to be front fastening which would facilitate easy dressing.

While these dresses likely would have been made from wool, there is a wool-linen blend extant dress of a similar style currently located at the Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale. This extant dress features a high neckline and skirt made of rectangular panels. My dress is made from linen so as to be washable and cool to wear in the humid summers here.

The interlining of the bodice is made from two layers of linen canvas pad stitched together to provide shape and suport. The blue linen of the dress was then wraped around the interlining and stiched in place using a small back stitch. Then the bodice front and back were stitched together at the shoulders.

Then the trim! I used handwoven ¼ inch cotton petersham as it is machine washable and makes curves and corners easy to do. It was stiched in place using a prick stich and has held up beautifully through multiple washings. After the trim was set, hooks and eyes were place up the front for easy fastening. The linen lining was then sewn on using slip stitch.

Like the extant dress in Pisa, rectangular panels were used to construct the skirt. It was sewn on to the finished edge of the bodice using very small cartridge pleats. The hem was finished with a strip of wool to provide stiffening and prevent the wicking from mud and dew.

The sleeves are also linen and tie on at the shoulders with red cotton tape through metal eyes. Each of the ties is finished with a metal aglet.