So I took some time on Friday and went to go see the Firebrand. Which is a screen adaption of a book Queens Gambit. It follows the last queen of Henry the eighth, Catherine Parr. In particular, her Leanings regarding her protestant faith. And working with the limitation that Henry the eighth was instilling being the head of the English church. In particular, the services were still in Latin the prayers were still in Latin. The only real difference in the church in England was the fact that Henry the king was in charge instead of the Pope in Rome.
Catherine and her Protestant leanings wanted prayers to be said in English. The protestants were pushing for the services to be said in English. The full translations of the Bible in English in particular. This was leaning on the belief that there should be no one between a person and their God, not even the king. The idea of talking and praying directly to your chosen deity was a new concept during the 16th century.
While I always found the religious reformation an interesting occurrence during the reign of Henry the eighth, that’s not exactly the reason that I had decided to watch this movie. As you can see from the pictures that I have posted, the clothing is absolutely spot on. Including the jewelry, the four sleeves, all the layers on the ladies, clothing and layers on the men’s clothing for that matter.
Real fur was used on the sleeves and collars on several garments throughout the film. The costume designer did mention that old fur coats were cut up for the fur features on the clothing in the film. So it wasn’t new pelts that were used in the creation of the 16th century Tudor clothing. My particular focus in this post is actually going to be on the absolutely correct use of French hoods in a costume drama film!
Firstly, We can see the layers that are known to be used in French hoods. We have a coif as the underlayer, then the silk paste with bilament jewels on a strip of velvet then a silk or velvet veil attached to the back of the paste. A chin strap on the paste holds it in place. The picture below you can see each part as they make up the hood in total.
I also enjoyed the black velvet paste with veil seen below. These are simple and elegant and I have plan on making one on silk velvet and another in silk damask. Also love the white linen veil on the other character. Really pretty wired front that can be shaped. This is the beginning of the heart shaped coifs in the mid 1540’s.
I am so happy to see so many outfits pulled directly from Holbein portraits for both men and women in this film. As a recreationist of the period, a reasonable portrait accuracy is my goal in making clothing. I might not nail it for specific person. Although I want to look like I stepped from a portrait of someone from the Tudor period.
So my goal for the fall when my next SCA events I am attending. Will be to have some new hoods with the interchangeable parts as seen in these reference photos from the film. I have the fabrics I am just looking for the jewels bilaments. Which I ordered from Truly Hats.
Mairin
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