I was encouraged by my dear friend and apprentice Alessandra to enter something for the Italian Renaissance Costuming Challenge. I haven’t done a lot of sewing for myself in recent years, so I thought it would be a good excuse to get back in the swing of it.
Lorenzo Lotto, St Dominic Raises Napoleone Orsini (1513-16)
I have done a lot of 15th century Italian clothing already, and enough later 16th century clothes to be interested in trying something new. I came across this Lorenzo Lotto painting while looking for evidence of stay tapes on pleats for 15th century men’s giorneas. While this is not a smoking gun for that (I found a better source elsewhere), it does do a good job of showing the various layers of this style.
The first layer of the outfit will be brache (drawers) and camicia (shirt), both made from linen. Next will be a guibbone (doublet) of silk and calze (hose) divided into upper and lower parts, both made of wool. The outermost layer will be a saio (gown) made of wool lined with silk.
I will not be including the riding boots shown in the image, but will likely be making some sort of hat (one can be seen in the right side of the painting, but there is little detail as to its shape). I have already acquired the fabrics I plan to use, assuming all goes to plan.