I made the historically 'accurate' medieval dress that's now every high fantasy costume

It's the Lord of The Rings dress, every high fantasy dress, the costume of fairies and elves, but is it a historically accurate medieval dress? Yes! It's called a bliaut, and was worn throughout Europe in the High Middle Ages. This dress is behind so many of our fantasy aesthetics, and I've always loved it-- so I chose to recreate it as a historical costume, using modern techniques and sources from medieval history. The fitted bodice, full twirly skirt, and huge draping sleeves that characterize a bliaut have become a huge part of fantasy costumes today, and it's easy to see why! Even though this is a simple dress sewn in wool, wearing it makes me feel like a medieval princess . . . or an enchantress from a high fantasy movie.
The high middle ages have been intensely romanticized in later art and literature, leading to everything from the chivalric romance of Ivanhoe, to the Pre-Raphaelite artists' repeated depictions of fantasy bliauts, to Tolkien's mythology and the birth of the high fantasy genre. This excitement and drama is what draws so many people to costuming today, whether it's high fantasy costumes, historical costumes, cosplay, or just dressing up. The joy of frolicking through the woods in a beautiful dress you've made is universal, and it's an experience everyone deserves to have. If a bliaut, or similarly-shaped dress will make you feel like your best costumed self, I hope this video helps you make one!

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0:00 What's that dress?
1:06 Project goals.
3:09 Making the pattern
6:52 Let's cut out a dress
8:35 Sewing it together
13:04 Finishing details
15:22 Go frolic in the forest!

Attributions :
"Comedies of Terence" folio 134v, digitized by the Bodleian Libraries
Used under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution International lisence

[SnappyDragon]

Here is a pinned comment with important info! (It's also in the description . . .)
Follow me on IG for more stitchy business : @missSnappyDragon
For business inquiries, send an e-mail to : SnappyDragonStitches at Gmail dot Com
I do not take personal costume/sewing or research commissions.

Want to send me letters? Send mail to PO Box 3884, Berkeley CA, 94703! Letters or cards only please 💚

[CareenasAdventures]

"Remember, we're all here to play dress up. Let's make sure everyone can get to the costume box." PREACH IT! It's so relieving when costubers can set aside historical accuracy, stereotypes, and whatever else because first and foremost costuming should be FUN! So many people get upset when you're not using wool or you get the decade wrong. But people like you embrace combining fun (bright pink wool crepe, for instance) with accuracy (researching both the period and your heritage). And the dress is fabulous! Keep up the good work; you're inspiring many 💕

[paulcarlachapman]

Never worry about sewing with a machine instead of hand sewing — if our foremothers had had access to working machines you can bet they would have used them! Well done!

[catherinerw]

Many years ago, I made a dress for a fancy dress party... wide neckline, fitted bodice, princess seams, full skirt, and HUGE SLEEVES... from curtain material! :) (In the days when you could get cheap cotton damask curtain material by the kilo from remnant shops). It's still in the cupboard somewhere, although I doubt I could get in it now. Complete with centre-back zip!
So yes, I too have made a dress-up bliaut.

Also, I think "historically plausible" is a WAY better way to go than "historically accurate"; after all, if there are no extant garments, there's no way a recreation can be accurate.

[cherylstraub]

There are statuary at certain churches that show seams on the bliaut. I had a friend who traveled to Europe and examined those statues up close. She said that on one of the statues the belt was shown slightly elevated from its normal location on the hip. Under the belt the sculpture clearly showed a seam line. She theorized that the skirt part was sewn on separate to the top of the garment. The body of the garment was extra long allowing the rucking when laced up the sides. The separate skirt allowed a form of pleating. Thus forming the look of both vertical and horizontal pleats.

[Harko-]

That’s very clever fabric usage! Trying to minimize waste, I like to believe, is very historical accurate. I love how medieval clothing often combines relatively simple construction methods with interesting designs. And this one seems to frolic very well!

[LivLaugh]

Not going to lie this is the first time I've seen the pythagorean theorem have a practical application.

[azteclady]

"we are more than our suffering" and "I'll wear this dress, and I will wear it with joy". Don't mind me, I'll be over here in the corner, tearing up.

(Also, I love the idea of planning your fabric usage on graph paper, helps my brain so much!)

[Mgraf]

The dress is gorgeous. Yasher koach! The bit about being more than our oppression made me tear up a bit. So much of what I’ve learned about Jews in the Middle Ages is about expulsion and being murdered during the crusades. There’s so much more to our history and I’m excited to see a costumers explore it via historic dress.

[susanpolastaples]

Your bliaut is beautiful and I'm happy that you are wearing it with pride and joy. I always felt that Rebecca -- a Lady of Chivalry -- got her happy ending. Although leaving England for Spain possibly, she found her soul mate in a someone who took joy in their shared religion, treated her as an equal and encouraged her to be herself and whatever she wanted to be. Not someone who didn't appreciate her value and character.

[wlonkery]

I really love the unvarnished honesty in this one: "I want a dress to run around in the woods", and "armscyes scare me" and all that. Excellent vibes.

[kentario]

"Now the sleeves, which are the part I'm most proud of." Sleeves are always one of two extremes, aren't they.

[samanthaash]

I've been wanting to get into historical costuming for years and your description of "Historically adequate" will become my mantra.

[rebeccacuthbertson]

"Today I want a pretty pink dress to run through the forest in." YES V I AM SO HERE FOR IT!! Yes! Yes! Yes!

And historical plausibility....I really like that framing and totally think that might be a more appropriate (or healthier) term than others.

The bliaut is stunning. Absolutely stunning.

And thank you for reminding me that these are our garments too. Because I catch myself feeling jealous that we, as Jews, have lost so much of our own culture to persecution, assimilation, and time that we don't have many garments that we can truly consider ours (talitot, kippot, and tefillin being the exceptions basically) because I see so many other costumers embrace their heritage(s) through cultural dress/historical garments and we can't in the same way. We were here and these were our clothes too.

So go forth and wear your bliaut in health and with joy. We all need more of that around here.

[juliabreckner]

its so pretty! I loved the whole video but also the last couple lines about everyone wanting to play dress-up but making sure that everyone can get to the costume box.
Also, as a sort-of Jewish person, seeing everyone on youtube and instagram making happy Jewish content makes me want to connect more with being Jewish.

[NouriaDiallo]

So, food for your imagination...
I don't know about England, but there have been Jews in Provence and Languedoc since the first century (when there were very few Christians, if any), and throughout the Middle Ages they were just part of the population, if strictly endogamic, having the same professions as everyone else, if maybe more often medical doctors than farmers. It's only from the 14th century onwards that things took a nasty turn, with persecutions, and by the end of the century, expulsion from the realm of France (but not immediately from Provence).
But Since the Popes have been in Avignon, they have owned territories in Provence, where the Jews lived on, in Avignon, Carpentras, Cavaillon and L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, which would only become french after the Revolution. The authorities tried to impose restrictions on them, which don't seem to have been much applied, if their repetition again and again is any indication.
The Comtadin Jews seemed to have been in good terms with their christian neighbors (after all, they had lived there for ever and were just part of the population).
In the early 16th century, they were forced to live in "carrières" a form of small ghetto, and by the end of the century, most of them were tailors (still pretty clothes, though). A few of them were allowed to live in France in the late 17th, like Israël Bernard de Valabrègue, translator at the Royal Library. It's only in the late 18th century that they could leave the carrières, after a century of growing prosperity (another opportunity for pretty clothes). They became french citizens after the Revolution, and dispersed in the country, and the culture of comtadin Judaism, and its language, Shuadit, would vanish progressively...
So in Provence, you definitely could have worn a bliaud, and all sorts of other dresses through the ages, with sometimes a specific veil, after the 13th century.
You might want to research the Jews of the Pope (les Juifs du Pape) for more details than I'm able to give, and check images of the synagogues and carrières of the towns I mentioned (The carrières were so small that their inhabitants had to build up, sometimes as many as 7 stories).

[Chibihugs]

Dress up for all. This gown is so lovely and that fabric usage was ingenious!! Wear it joyously. Also Rebecca freaking rocks and is my favorite person in Ivanhoe.

[miriamgillham]

I appreciate your terminology…‘historically plausible’ and as it aligns with my way of thinking, you put it into the right words for me I hope to remember to use it when remaking my version of historical clothing. I have a similar gown in the same shade that I threw together to attend a medieval festival and I felt like a queen in my knock of version made in cheap type of cotton. Instead though I was so short on fabric that I gathered the base of the rectangle sleeves as there wasn’t enough for triangular ones. I felt so unique and was impervious to the states and comments about its inaccuracy, both fabric and cut wise, but I was happy in it. Confidence is the key when attempting historical sewing. Thank you too for sharing your cultural feelings and pride in your Jewish roots. Always so enchanted and charmed by your subject matter and joyful, intelligent and as factually accurate, (to your perspective) delivery! So impressive!

[kendall]

So lovely! Drapey sleeves are a forever aesthetic -- I had my wedding dress made inspired by the fantasy depictions of this dress (I went with an unconventional blue linen so I can wear whenever I'm feeling the need for whimsical goddess energy)

[laartje]

The part about not always having to choose between proudly representing who you are, and enjoying other things was very inspiring. I am struggling with this myself too, and I know many other people from various minority groups struggle with it too.